Frugal Upstate

Use what you have, get creative and save!

  • Home
  • Cooking
  • DIY
  • Gardening
  • Repairs/Mending
  • Contact
  • About
    • Disclaimer
You are here: Home / Recipes / Homemade Frosting / Icing Recipe

Homemade Frosting / Icing Recipe

May 21, 2007 By Jenn @ Frugal Upstate 20 Comments

This post may contain sponsored and/or affiliate links. Click here to read our full disclaimer and find out more about this.

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).

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!

Homemade Icing.

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).

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Share on Facebook Share
Share on TwitterTweet
Share on Pinterest Share
Share on LinkedIn Share
Share on Digg Share

No related posts.

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: cakes, frosting, recipe

Tweet
« Make a Barbie Cake Part I-Making the Cake without a Mold
Where is the Festival of Frugality? »

Comments

  1. Samantha says

    May 21, 2007 at 7:01 am

    Do you have an estimate how long the frosting will keep in the freezer?

    Reply
  2. Jenn @ Frugal Upstate says

    May 21, 2007 at 8:14 am

    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.

    Reply
  3. Becca says

    May 22, 2007 at 4:44 am

    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!

    Reply
  4. Jenn @ Frugal Upstate says

    May 22, 2007 at 4:47 am

    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!

    Reply
  5. Scribbit says

    May 23, 2007 at 10:23 pm

    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.

    Reply
  6. Jenn @ Frugal Upstate says

    May 24, 2007 at 4:21 am

    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!)

    Reply
  7. Anonymous says

    November 19, 2007 at 1:43 pm

    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!

    Reply
  8. Anonymous says

    September 10, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    Hi there, I am from New Zealand. What is shortening and what would we call it in NZ? Butter or margarine?
    Thanks
    Imogene

    Reply
  9. Jenn @ Frugal Upstate says

    September 11, 2008 at 4:59 am

    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! 🙂

    Reply
  10. kristie says

    May 20, 2010 at 9:16 am

    I was wondering if you have tried the butter flavored Crisco instead and if it is any good in the icing?

    Reply
    • Jenn @ Frugal Upstate says

      May 20, 2010 at 11:32 am

      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 🙂

      Reply
  11. kristie says

    May 20, 2010 at 11:41 am

    I will try it and let you know.
    thanks for the pie crust tip!

    Reply
  12. kristie says

    June 24, 2010 at 9:30 am

    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!

    Reply
  13. kristie says

    June 24, 2010 at 9:37 am

    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.

    Reply
  14. Jenn @ Frugal Upstate says

    June 24, 2010 at 10:09 am

    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

    Reply
  15. PJ says

    April 8, 2011 at 9:57 am

    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,

    Reply
  16. Vanessa says

    July 16, 2011 at 5:28 am

    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!

    Reply
  17. nancy says

    February 10, 2012 at 1:16 pm

    hi iam now into cupcakes but i need ideas to makes cupcakes for valentimes day .thanks

    Reply
    • Jenn @ Frugal Upstate says

      February 10, 2012 at 1:26 pm

      Nancy-I’ve got a post right now on valentines cupcakes! Check out my Hidden Oreo Cupcakes — they are perfect!

      Reply
  18. Cheryl says

    December 2, 2020 at 3:51 pm

    I am a Home Economics teacher and love love this recipe. Thanks. I’ve used it going on three years. Does the frosting you posted with Crisco get hard. Just wondering if the cookie frosting would smush in a pretty bag.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Follow us

  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • rss

About Frugal Upstate

About Frugal Upstate

I’m Jenn –an Upstate NY wife, mom, blogger and veteran. I talk very fast, read constantly, take on too much and make plenty of mistakes. I’m a real person, not perfection. I love to talk about the frugal lifestyle, “Village Homesteading”, living a more sustainable lifestyle and being prepared for all the curves life throws at you.

Search

Free Email Updates:

FEATURED

Contributor at the Homestead Bloggers Network

The Motherboard
Blogger Outreach Made Easy Quantcast
Blog PR Wire Blog Network
Frugal Upstate is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Design Junky · Hosted by New Blog Hosting

Copyright © 2023