Frosting & Icing

The method is so easy, you'll wish you knew it sooner.

In a recent TikTok video with 3 million likes, a woman shows the proper way to juice your lemons and limes.

When it comes to making a beautiful Bundt, the decorating portion of this job is a total piece of cake. Forget what you know about dolling up layer cakes — none of that is necessary here. Save the buttercream for another day because the very best, and easiest, way to decorate a Bundt cake (beyond powdered sugar, of course) is drizzling a glaze or simple sauce over the top. You see, Bundt cakes are simply stunning the way they are.

Cookie decorating is supposed to be a joyous celebration of the holiday season — you’re making holiday memories plus gifts for friends, neighbors, and maybe a cookie plate for Santa too. Except cookie decorating with tiny, sugar-fueled, and sprinkled-eyed humans can be more frustrating and messy than we expect and leave us holiday harried parents more stressed than joyful.

Ah, buttercream. Our cupcakes wouldn’t be the same without you, birthday cakes would be a fleeting memory, and licking the beaters wouldn’t be nearly as enticing. But all this we know. But did you know that all buttercreams aren’t created equal? Buttercream is a beloved frosting made with a combination of fat and sugar. At my house, we’re all about the butter + confectioners sugar variety.

Frosting is often the first thing we turn to when it comes to decorating a cake (it is totally delicious, after all), but this sweet topping just scratches the surface when it comes to decorating. There are so many different and simple ways to put the finishing touches on a cake that turn out impressive results, like glazes and sauces, fruit, and edible flowers, to name a few.

Growing up, my mom always made cream cheese frosting to have with our birthday cakes and cupcakes and so, to this day, that’s what I most prefer. Buttercream often comes off as a bit greasy to me and not all that interesting flavor-wise whereas cream cheese frosting has that wonderful tanginess. But lately, I’ve been swayed on occasion by this delicious (and simple) recipe.

No cake carrier? No problem. Here’s an easy way to keep your frosted and whip-cream-topped desserts looking as pretty as ever.First, lay out an extra-long piece of plastic wrap on your counter. Set the cake on its plate in the centre. Insert toothpicks around the circumference of the cake and a few in the middle. Make sure there is a half inch or so of toothpick visible above the frosting or whipped cream.

It’s Friday, folks. What’s that mean? Well here at The Kitchn we’re letting down our collective hair and taking a look at glow-in-the-dark cupcakes. Wait? What? Oh you heard me. Glow in the dark cupcakes, baby! I recently checked in on Camber over at Food Snots. Camber was challenged to create a glow-in-the-dark, or rather, glow-in-the-black-light frosting for a party.

Q: What is a good icing that won’t melt in the heat?I’m taking cupcakes to a graduation party on the beach soon and I don’t want to have soupy icing.Sent by AmyEditor: Amy, my first instinct would be to go with a meringue icing. Since it’s cooked it is a bit more stable. You could also try a cooked buttercream.

The hardest part of making a pretty layer cake is usually frosting around the sides—filling in gaps, spreading at an awkward angle, working fast enough so that the icing doesn’t slide onto the countertop… But if you want to keep the process stress-free, try leaving the sides un-frosted. It can be just as pretty.This technique works great if you have a fluffy filling, maybe one dotted with fruit or nuts.

A chocolate ganache is just chocolate melted and beaten into heavy cream. It’s a magic substance; it can be a glaze, a filling, a coating, a solid truffle — it just depends on the ratio of cream to chocolate. I like a ratio of a bit more cream to chocolate for a whipped filling; this ensures that it doesn’t get too hard and difficult to spread.

If you’ve been baking long enough or simply made enough frosting, surely you’ve had your lovely buttercream break into greasy, grainy clumps of sugary butter at least once. If not, at least tell us you have because it’s certainly happened to us – and significantly more than once, too!