One of the best things about cakes and cupcakes is that they come in different shapes, sizes, and flavors. Aside from using a wide variety of cake flavors and ingredients, one other aspect that makes cakes unique is the icing. Today, we will learn about different kinds of icing that you can use on cakes and cupcakes.
Buttercream
This is arguably the most common kind of cake icing, made from butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla. The mixture is creamed until you get a soft, pale cream icing. You have the option to either pour buttercream icing over the cake, or use a piping bag to create customized shapes and patterns.
Cakes with buttercream icing should be refrigerated, so that the icing won’t melt.
Cream Cheese Frosting
This unique icing mixture has butter, sugar, and – you guessed it – cream cheese. The resulting icing is denser than buttercream, but is still fluffy enough to be poured onto cake or piped on top of cupcakes. Its standout flavor makes it perfect for carrot cake and walnut cupcakes.
Depending on the degree of mixing, cream cheese frosting or icing may appear smooth and dense like fondant, or fluffy and light like buttercream.
Meringue
One of the best cupcake toppers is meringue, because of its stiffness and aesthetic appeal. Made by heavily beating sugar and egg whites, this kind of icing softens under heat and hardens as soon as it is cooled. Therefore, make sure that you apply the icing as soon as the meringue icing is taken off the hot sauce pan.
What’s great about meringue is that you can pipe it into a swirl shape on a baking sheet, and enjoy it even without cake! Its firm texture allows it to stand on its own and be held by hand.
Fondant
Popular for its smooth and dainty look, fondant icing has become popular in wedding cakes and other types of cakes that involve a touch of decoration artistry. The stiffness of fondant allows you to roll it to your desired thickness, and cut it into custom shapes that you can decorate onto cakes.
Royal Icing
Some people consider this kind of icing as a cross between meringue and fondant, since it also hardens when the mixture is cooled. Royal icing is made typically of sugar, egg whites, and acetic acid. You may either pour or pipe it onto cakes and cupcakes, but be sure to do it quickly before it hardens.
Ganache
Typically made of white or dark chocolate, ganache produces a rich and glossy finish to any cake. Some bakers use it as cake topping / icing, while others use ganache as pastry filling. This kind of icing works well with heavy cakes (such as bundt cake or mud cake), as well as strawberries.
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Isn’t it fun to decorate cakes with different kinds of icing? We hope you’ve had your fill of icing options that you can use for your next cake decorating project.
