Cake frosting comes in a wide variety of flavors. Buttercream frosting is a popular choice, and it comes in vanilla or chocolate flavors. Cream cheese frosting is another option, which is commonly used on red velvet or carrot cakes. A cooked meringue frosting contains egg whites, whereas royal icing also contains egg whites. Whipped cream can also be used to make cake frosting.
Buttercream is a popular cake frosting. It’s made by creaming butter sticks and then adding half and half or cream, along with powdered sugar, to make a frosting for birthday cakes. Vanilla extract is also added if the frosting is to be vanilla-flavored. A baker can use either cocoa powder or melted chocolate to make a chocolate buttercream frosting. A baker can make buttercream frosting with either a hand or stand mixer, and it doesn’t need to be cooked. The ingredients should be combined and beaten until completely smooth.
A meringue frosting is made by beating egg whites with sugar and vanilla extract. To keep the frosting smooth, sugar syrup or corn syrup is usually used. The meringue frosting can be made in a double boiler, which heats it to a temperature high enough to kill any bacteria in the egg whites. Another option is to use powdered egg whites, but this will result in a less light and fluffy frosting.
In that it contains egg whites, royal icing is similar to meringue frosting. Royal icing, unlike meringue frosting, is supposed to harden as it sits on a cake. It’s commonly used to frost cakes, but it’s also good for making gingerbread houses and icing sugar cookies.
Whipped cream frosting may be used by bakers looking for a light frosting for a low-fat cake, such as angel food cake. Heavy cream and a small amount of sugar are used to make whipped cream frosting. Whipped cream frosting, unlike other types of cake frosting, can make the cake underneath soggy, so it should be applied right before serving.