Icing or frosting is used to cover or decorate baked goods like cakes and cookies. It is made of sugar with a liquid such as water or milk, and often contains ingredients like butter, cream cheese or flavorings. Common types of icing include buttercream, whipped cream, royal icing, cream cheese frosting, and fondant. Buttercream is soft and spreadable, whipped cream is light and fluffy, royal icing is white and hardens, cream cheese frosting is creamy and rich, while fondant can be molded and sculpted. Icing can be tinted with food coloring and decorated with sprinkles or other toppings.

1. Icing and Frosting

2. Icing or Frosting is a sweet, often creamy glaze
made of sugar with a liquid such as water or
milk, that is often enriched with ingredients like
butter, egg whites, cream cheese or flavorings.
It is used to cover or decorate baked goods such
as cakes and cookies. When it is used between
the layers of cake, it is called filling.
Icing can be formed into a shape such as flowers
and leaves using a pastry bag and such
decorations are common on birthday and
wedding cakes.

3. Chef’s color dye (food color) is commonly added
to icing mixture to achieve the desired color.
Sprinkles coloring mist, edible ink designs or
other decorations are often used on the top of
the icing.

4. Types of Icings
Butter Cream:
Butter cream is softer and more spreadable than
most icing and is the preferred choice for taste
and flexibility.
It can be used as a filling inside cakes and also as
a coating for decoration.
It is made by creaming together sugar and
butter or other fats like lard or margarine.

5. The quality of the fat used will affect the taste,
consistency and appearance of the cream
frosting, as also the temperature at which the
butter is whipped.
Add a burst of flavor with vanilla extract. The
cream melts easily in hot weather and so must
be kept chilled to keep its form.

6. Whipped Cream:
If lighter frosting is what we need then whipped
cream is the answer.
Often called Chantilly cream or crème Chantilly,
it is made by cold-whipping together heavy
cream and sugar till light and fluffy.
We could also add or use meringue powder for
stability. Enhance our cake’s taste by adding
flavors to the cream.

7. Royal Icing:
Traditionally used to cover and decorate dense
fruit cakes, Royal icing is a pure white and fluid
paste that solidifies into a hard outer shell on
drying.
Made by beating together egg whites, icing
sugar, and lime juice, it looks smooth, hard and
matte when dry. Some may use meringue
powder instead of the egg whites.

8. Cream Cheese Frosting:
Cream cheese frosting is perfect for carrot cakes,
cupcakes, red velvet cake, as a filling for doughnuts and
well just about any kind of pastry with all that creamy
and cheesy deliciousness.
It comes together quickly by creaming together part
butter cream frosting and a good quality cream cheese.
A bit heavier than most types of cake icing, the texture
and taste are best when made with high-fat cream.

9. Meringue:
This very light & frothy icing is made by beating together
egg whites, cold water, and granulated sugar.
The technique of introducing air to the mixture gives it a
foamy consistency.
The added sugar stiffens the foam. It can be plain or
flavored and with nuts added to it.
There are 3 popular varieties of meringue – French,
Italian and Swiss.
The difference lies in the methods of beating the eggs.
Uncooked meringue can be used as pastry toppings, or it
can be baked until crisp and eaten likes cookies.

11. Fondant:
Fondant is a popular heavy frosting that can be
easily sculpted and is used mainly for
celebration cakes. Basic fondant ingredients
include water, gelatine, glycerine, sugar (icing or
castor sugar) and shortening.
Some use marshmallows in place of gelatine and
glycerine. The ideal texture is a fondant that can
be stretched without tearing. It can be worked
into different shapes using carving and
decorating tools.