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).
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!
hi iam now into cupcakes but i need ideas to makes cupcakes for valentimes day .thanks
Nancy-I’ve got a post right now on valentines cupcakes! Check out my Hidden Oreo Cupcakes — they are perfect!