Icing, or frosting, is a

sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

, often creamy glaze made of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

with a liquid, such as water or milk, that is often enriched with ingredients like

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

egg white Egg white is the clear liquid (also called the albumen or the glair/glaire) contained within an egg. In chickens, it is formed from the layers of secretions of the anterior section of the hen's oviduct during the passage of the egg. It forms a ...

cream cheese Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream.Oxford English Dictionary Cream cheese is not naturally matured and is meant to be consumed fresh, so it differs from other soft cheeses such as Brie and Neuf ...

, or

flavoring A flavoring (or flavouring), also known as flavor (or flavour) or flavorant, is a food additive that is used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of ...

s. It is used to coat or decorate

baked goods Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but it can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot Baking stone, stones. Bread is the most commonly baked item, but many other types of food can also be baked. Heat is ...

, such as

cake Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...

s. When it is used between layers of cake it is known as a filling. Icing can be formed into shapes such as flowers and leaves using a

pastry bag A pastry bag (or piping bag in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth) is an often Cone (geometry), cone- or triangular-shaped bag made from cloth, paper bag, paper, plastic bag, plastic, or the intestinal lining of a lamb, that is squeezed b ...

. Such decorations are commonplace on

birthday A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many religion ...

and

wedding cake A wedding cake is the traditional cake served at wedding receptions following dinner. In some parts of England, the wedding cake is served at a wedding breakfast; the 'wedding breakfast' does not mean the meal will be held in the morning, but at ...

s. Edible dyes can be added to icing mixtures to achieve a desired hue.

Sprinkles Sprinkles are small pieces of confectionery used as an often colorful cake decorating, decoration or to add Texture (food), texture to desserts such as chocolate brownie, brownies, cupcakes, doughnuts or ice cream. The tiny candies are produced ...

, edible inks or other decorations are often used on top of icing. A basic icing is called a glacé, containing powdered sugar (also known as icing sugar or confectioners' sugar) and water. This can be flavored and colored as desired, for example, by using

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

in place of the water. More complex icings can be made by beating fat into powdered sugar (as in

buttercream Buttercream, also referred to as butter icing (food), icing or butter frosting, is used for either filling (cooking), filling, coating or cake decorating, decorating cakes. The main ingredients are butter and some type of sugar. Buttercream is ...

), by melting fat and sugar together, by using egg whites (as in royal icing), by whipping butter into

meringue Meringue ( , ) is a type of dessert or candy, of French cuisine, French origin, traditionally made from Whisk, whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acid, acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or potassium bitartrate, cream of t ...

(as in Italian or Swiss meringue buttercream), and by adding other ingredients such as

glycerin Glycerol () is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, viscous liquid. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known as glycerides. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant in pha ...

(as in fondant) or dairy (as in ermine or cream cheese frosting). Some icings can be made from combinations of sugar and cream cheese or

sour cream Sour cream (sometimes known as soured cream in British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturall ...

, or by using ground

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

s (as in

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...

). Icing can be applied with a utensil such as a

knife A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least Stone Age, 2.5 million years ago, as e ...

spatula A spatula is a broad, flat, flexible blade used to mix, spread and lift material including foods, drugs, plaster and paints. In medical applications, "spatula" may also be used synonymously with tongue depressor. The word ''spatula'' derives ...

, or it can be applied by drizzling or dipping (see glaze), or by rolling the icing out and draping it over the cake. The method of application largely depends on the type and texture of icing being used. Icing may be used between layers in a cake as a filling, or it may be used to completely or partially cover the outside of a cake or other baked product. Apart from its aesthetic functions, icing can also improve the flavor of a cake, as well as preserving it by sealing in moisture.

History

Covering cakes with powdered sugar or other materials was introduced in the 17th century. The first documented case of frosting occurred in 1655, and included sugar, eggs and rosewater. The icing was applied to the cake then hardened in the oven. The earliest attestation of the verb ''to ice'' in this sense seems to date from around 1600, and the noun ''icing'' from 1683. ''Frosting'' was first attested in 1750.

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

, 3rd edition, 2012,
s.v.
'

Types

Buttercream Buttercream, also referred to as butter icing (food), icing or butter frosting, is used for either filling (cooking), filling, coating or cake decorating, decorating cakes. The main ingredients are butter and some type of sugar. Buttercream is ...

, made primarily of sugar and butter *

Fondant icing Fondant icing, also commonly just called fondant (, ; ), is an icing used to decorate or sculpt cakes and pastries. It is made from sugar, water, gelatin, vegetable oil or shortening, and glycerol. It does not have the texture of most icings; ...

, heated water and sugar, sometimes with gelatin-like stabilizers ** Rolled fondant is rolled out like sugar cookies; a stiffer version can be used like

sugar paste Sugar paste icing is a sweet, edible sugar dough, typically made from sucrose and glucose. It is sometimes referred to as sugar gum or gum paste. Though the two are both used in cake decorating, sugar paste differs from fondant icing Fondant ...

for three-dimensional sculptural modeling. ** Poured fondant is a thin, pourable glaze. * Ganache, melted chocolate and cream * Powdered sugar glacé, a simple glaze made from powdered sugar and a small amount of liquid (e.g., water). It may be poured, drizzled, spread, or, in thicker versions, piped. *

Meringue Meringue ( , ) is a type of dessert or candy, of French cuisine, French origin, traditionally made from Whisk, whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally an acid, acidic ingredient such as lemon, vinegar, or potassium bitartrate, cream of t ...

, cooked egg white and sugar. **Some icings, such as Italian meringue buttercream, are meringues with butter added, in which case they are classified as buttercreams. ** Seven-minute frosting is a soft meringue. It does not store well. * Royal icing, uncooked egg white and sugar. Dries hard and keeps for months. *

Whipped cream Whipped cream, also known as Chantilly cream or (), is high-fat dairy cream that has been aerated by whisking until it becomes light, fluffy, and capable of holding its shape. This process incorporates air into the cream, creating a semi-soli ...

, may be used for decorating cakes. It does not store well. *Ermine frosting, or boiled milk frosting, involves cooking flour and sugar with milk to make the frosting base. It is stable frosting making it suitable for cake decorating and is considered less sweet than buttercream.

Cake decorating

File:Ladybug cupcakes.jpg, Cupcakes decorated with green buttercream frosting File:Piping buttercream onto cake.JPG, Buttercream decorations being added File:Easter cupcakes - carrots on white frosting.jpg, Carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting File:FondantCake.png, Rolled fondant with sculpted fondant roses File:Colourful Easter petits fours forming a square.jpg, Poured fondant on petit fours File:Blueberry Papaya Cucumber Juice and Chocolate Cake with Ganache 1.jpg, Chocolate ganache being poured onto a cake File:The Ladies' home journal (1948) (14579582969).jpg, Advertisement showing chocolate cake with seven-minute frosting File:Christmas sugar cookies, January 2010.jpg, Christmas cookies decorated with powdered sugar glaze File:ChocolateTruffleCakeIdeal03.JPG, Chocolate truffle cake with icing and

whipped cream Whipped cream, also known as Chantilly cream or (), is high-fat dairy cream that has been aerated by whisking until it becomes light, fluffy, and capable of holding its shape. This process incorporates air into the cream, creating a semi-soli ...

References

{{Authority control Articles containing video clips Cake decorating Confectionery

History

Types

Cake decorating

See also

References