This recipe is quick and easy to make-requiring only a few ingredients that any frugal family should have in the pantry. It doesn’t require any cooking (which always scares me when I look at frosting/icing recipes).
Homemade Icing.
It is stiff enough to pipe out of an icing bag, tastes yummy, and can be kept in the fridge or freezer for a long time (just bring back to room temp to make it spreadable).
But don’t even think about how many calories it is. After all frosting is not a diet food!
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (I sometimes skip this)
1 cup shortening
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
3 Tablespoons milk
Beat shortening with extracts.
Add 1/2 of the powdered sugar and beat until incorporated.
Beat in 3 TBS milk.
Add in the other 2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar and beat together.
Icing can be tinted (I separate it out into a couple of batches-tint more than you think you will use because you’ll never make the exact same shade again).
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Do you have an estimate how long the frosting will keep in the freezer?
Samantha-I have no idea. I would think a really long time though! High sugar content is one of the things that slows bacteria growth-that is why you can can jellies and jams in a boiling water canner instead of a pressure canner, or leave a cake or pie out on the counter for days without worrying about it spoiling.
Add to that the fact that it’s in the freezer-well, I would think you are good for as long as you might want to keep it. Also, I store mine in a zippered freezer bag with all the air squeezed out, so even the freezerburn thing isn’t much of an issue.
If you really must know an actual number of weeks/months etc, you probably could call your local cooperative extension office and find someone who could tell you by looking at the ingredient list.
Hey Jenn, when a recipe calls for sifted flour/sugar, I put the offending item in a bowl and stir it vigorously with a whisk. It works like a charm and is easy!
Becca-that’s a great idea. I never really liked those sifter things anyway, they are messy and awkward. You should post that as a Works For Me Wednesday tip!
One of my favorites is cream cheese frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c butter
2 t vanilla
about 4 c powdered sugar.
Easy and it’s wonderful on carrot cake, though I am a sucker for bakery frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting! Yummm! I’ll have to try it soon (although I’m trying not to bake too much, I’ve noticed a correlation between how much I bake and weight gain. . . imagine that!)
Re: life of frosting. A cake decorator told me to use water in place of the milk. With no dairy indgredients the icing can last for 2-3 months in the fridge and longer in the freezer. It also will not spoil for a day or more on the counter. Great for finishing the cake ahead of time!
Hi there, I am from New Zealand. What is shortening and what would we call it in NZ? Butter or margarine?
Thanks
Imogene
Imogene-I’m not sure what you call shortening in NZ-Crisco maybe? It’s a vegetable oil made into a solid-sort of like a lard or butter. The difference is it stays solid at room temp, where butter gets soft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortening
That’s the wikipedia link above, hopefully it will help you locate the right product. Good luck frosting!
I was wondering if you have tried the butter flavored Crisco instead and if it is any good in the icing?
I have never tried the butter flavored Crisco-I usually just buy the Aldi’s brand shortening. I’m sure that the butter flavor would be very nice in the frosting though. Why don’t you give it a try and let me know?
As a side note-my MIL swears by using the butter flavored Crisco in pie crust
I will try it and let you know.
thanks for the pie crust tip!
well I am going to make the “butter” kind for Saturday t-ball on cupcakes. Do you know how much one recipe makes? I will be making two boxes of cupcakes…thanks again!
oh, one more idea (sorry for all the posts!) I saw on food network to use a can of fruit nectar, like strawberry, in place of the water for a cake mix. I find it in the ethnic section at the store and it is a 120z. can. There is always some left so I ust that in place of milk when I make icing. (I have only made butter cream but I will try it with the crisco too) I will leave out the almond extract if I do this so the flavors are not competing.
Kristie-Well of course it depends on how much frosting you put on each cupcake! I did a good thick swirl (see the post on decorating cupcakes w/the 1 M swirl) on each standard size cupcake from a single box of mix and had frosting left over. You might want to make a double batch for the 2 boxes worth. . .you can keep any extra in the fridge for quite a while and use it for other cupcakes-or you can put the kids on a sugar high some day by letting them make little “sandwiches” out of frosting & grahamcrackers
My HomeEc teacher in high school (many many years ago) said to remove 1 tablespoon of flour and you had the equivalent of softed flour. Works for me,
Hi
I came across your blog while searching for recipes on gingerbread cookies. I enjoyed reading yours
I also read your recipe for your homemade icing, as opposed to using royal icing. Can you tell me if your recipe will achieve the same results as the standard one? I am adhering edible sugar paper to my cookies and it says to use royal icing, but I’m curious to try yours. Any advice is most appreciated. Thanks!
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