Frosting

gooberette · 02-12-2008, 05:26 PM

What is a good frosting recipe for decorating a cake?

I made my test cake for Tai's b-day last night using a butter cream frosting recipe and it just wasn't right. The frosting like "ran" not a lot but I was trying to separate the layers with different colors and they pooled down onto the next layer a little bit.

Also, what is a good way to get good colors in the frosting? I used some drops of normal food coloring and it was okay but didn't great, any ideas?

Lisa · 02-12-2008, 05:40 PM

The problem is probably not the recipe but the shortening your using....the new shortenings are trans fat free which is what causes it to be greasy and run.

You can buy shortening with transfat in it(called HI RATIO SHORTENING), i buy mine at a cake baking shop but you can get it in generic in most grocery stores......crisco does not have the trans fat so dont use it.....The colors I use are the wilton colors or some of the colors from the cake baking store nearby....they have colors in a squeeze container which is so much easier to use than the toothpick method using wilton colors....regular food color is so liquid that it can cause it to run if you use too much, the wilton ones are a gel and you use so much less plus they are more true for colors....you can buy them at any craft store...each color is about $2.00.

This is the recipe I use.

From The Well-Decorated Cake, by Toba Garrett, © 2003 by Toba Garrett
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/re...s/views/109260

Ingredients
2 cups (1 lb or 454 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (230 g) vegetable shortening or hi-ratio shortening
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice or 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract, pure vanilla extract, or almond extract(any extract works, just depends on the flavor you want the icing to be....I used a even mixture of vanilla, almond and wiltons butter flavor)
3 lbs (1.36 kg) 10X confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp (4 1/2 fl oz or 135 ml) water, milk, or clear liqueur(i always use water, for a kids cake I would avoid the liqueor and I dont like to use milk if im keeping the cake out of the fridge)
3 Tbsp meringue powder
1 tsp salt

preparation
1. Cream shortening and butter with an electric, handheld, or paddle-whip mixer. Add flavoring and salt. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time. Add meringue powder. (The mixture will appear dry.)
2. Add liquid of choice and beat until light and fluffy (approximately 5 to 8 minutes). Keep the bowl covered with a damp cloth or plastic wrap.
Storage: Store the icing in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Yield: 2 1/2 quarts (2.37 L)

also here is how to dr your cake to make it a bit more dense...

"Doctor" a Cake Mix

1 Box Cake Mix
1 box (4 serving size) regular (not sugar free) instant pudding mix
Number of eggs called for on cake box + 1
Double the amount of oil called for on cake box
1 cup water (use lemonade if making a lemon cake or orange juice for orange cake)

Beat the eggs to mix together the whites and yolks
Slowly beat in the oil
Mix in the pudding mix
Add 1/2 of the cake mix and 1/2 of the water, mix until combined
Add rest of cake mix and rest of water, mix until combined
Beat on high for 3 minutes

Bake at 350 degrees, may take 45 to 50 minutes to bake, depending on size of pan, start checking for doneness at 30 minutes.

The above amounts will make 1 quarter sheet or 1 two or three layer 8" or 9" round cake.

gooberette · 02-12-2008, 06:00 PM

Thanks Lisa! This is perfect!!

Koloe · 02-12-2008, 06:04 PM

with Lisa

And the butter cream frosting can be thrown in the freezer for later use if you have more than you need. Though you made need to whip it up before using it it was frozen.