Experimenting with New Frosting

I tried out 2 new frosting recipes recently, both very different from each other. I like to have some other options besides the standard butter and powdered sugar buttercream frosting that I typically use.

In searching for a frosting that could hold up to being in the heat for a period of time (I have a late September outdoor wedding in AZ that I am making a cake for and need some frosting that wont slide off the cake in all that heat), I came across IndyDebi's buttercream recipe that got great reviews for holding up well in heat and humidity for long periods.

Indydebi’s Crisco-Based Buttercream Icing:

Ingredients:

•1-1/3 cups Cricso
•1/3 to 1/2 cup milk, depending on consistency needed
•3 Tbsp powdered Dream Whip (*)
•2-3 Tbsp clear vanilla, depending on your personal taste
•2 lbs powdered sugar
•(*) A powdered whipped topping mix made by Kraft Foods, usually found in the cake/sugar aisle in the grocery.


Instructions:

There’s no wrong way to mix this. I usually mix all but the powdered sugar for a minute or two, then gradually add the sugar, but the only reason I did this was to avoid the “sugar-splash” factor. The longer the mixer runs, the smoother it gets. Sifting the powdered sugar before blending helps with smoothness but is not necessary.


In addition to the vanilla extract, I also added butter flavoring since this is made with Crisco instead of butter. I used 1/2 cup milk and it was still very, very thick making it a little difficult to spread. I think next time I will add a little more milk to thin it out a bit because it was a little hard to work with.

Here is the cake I used this frosting on:

The Verdict:

It did hold up really well, so it definitely will be the recipe I use for the upcoming wedding cake. It crusted nicely and made a good base to lay the fondant on. As for the taste, this is harder for me to assess. Although I love to make cakes, cake and frosting are not my favorite things to eat. I'm the person that scrapes all the frosting off to the side and just eats the cake. One downside to this recipe is that it has the "mouth feel" (is that a saying?) of shortening rather than butter. It tasted good, but it tasted like frosting, and well, I don't like frosting :) But, everyone that ate this cake said they liked it.

The next frosting is like the exact opposite of the first one. It's more like a whip cream frosting, very light, very easy to spread and not the frosting you would want to use in heat and humidity. It uses a heated milk and flour mixture, which is kind of interesting.

Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Directions:

Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool.

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

Grab a spoon and taste this wonderful goodness. If there is any left after your taste test, spread it on a cooled chocolate cake.

Cut yourself a piece and put it on a pretty plate. Grab a fork and prepare to experience the most divine pairing you can imagine. This frosting on chocolate cake is to die for. Sure, the recipe sounds strange — it has flour in it — but it’s sublime. Try it, you’ll see. You’ll love it so much you won’t go back.


Here is the cake I used this frosting on:

The Verdict:

I liked the really light consistency of this. It wasn't too sweet, which would be perfect on a really sweet cake. It had a good flavor and didn't have that heavy buttercream quality. It was super easy to spread, but definitely not the best frosting for decorating a large fondant covered cake, like the one I did. I think it would be a perfect cupcake frosting though. My daughter who likes the piece of cake that has the most frosting (and will even eat the frosting I scrape off), loved this frosting.

There you go, 2 different frostings as an alternative to your everyday buttercream.

Enjoy :)


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