Icing that doesn't require a mixer

[nakji]

My husband's birthday is next week, and I'm baking cupcakes to take in to work. (We both work at the same school)

He doesn't like anything chocolate, and I don't have a mixer or hand-mixer; nor am I likely to get one before the day. I was just going to throw my hands up and use canned product (I know, I know), but the shops are all out. I'd just whip the butter by hand, but the ambient temperature in our flat is about 15 degrees, and I'm not keen on whipping hard butter for a half hour.

So: I had resolved the easiest thing to do was to make a white-chocolate ganache; lo; the shops have also picked this weekend to run out of white chocolate.

I'm feeling pretty frustrated. Do you have any ideas on a butter-based icing that doesn't require beating? He likes coffee, lemon, caramel...anything like that; just not chocolate.

[JeanneCake]

Well, there's always a glaze of sorts - mixing icing sugar with some type of liquid (milk, or water usually) and then a bit of flavoring (coffee, caramel, or lemon juice perhaps). You can make it as thick or as fluid as you like - it will be somewhat similar to a poured fondant in that it will develop a crust as it sits but is easy to bite through. I find it very sweet so I am not as fond of it, but it works really well on some cakes.

Or what about lemon curd as a topping - quite tart but with the right type of cupcake, it might work. Maybe a gingerbread cupcake?

[gap]

I've used passionfruit puree as the liquid to mix with icing sugar - made a tasty, last minute topping for some cake we were doing at the time

[Blether]

Hi, Nakji. I don't remember butter icing ever needing that much beating, and doesn't it soften up pretty quickly once you mash it a little ? Otherwise, how about leaving the butter in some warm(er) water to soften up ?

[nakji]

Otherwise, how about leaving the butter in some warm(er) water to soften up ?

I was thinking about buttercream frosting, I guess, which requires a lot of beating. Softening the butter in water is a great idea, though. My flat's so cold, it's hard to get anything to soften without sticking it in the microwave, which invariably ends up melting some part of the butter, while having other bits remain rock hard.

[JAZ]

My mother used to make a browned butter icing for spice cakes and cookies which called for browning the butter, then just mixing in confectioners sugar and a bit of cream to the right consistency. It's not a fluffy style like buttercream (it does tend to harden up a bit upon sitting), but it's really good and easy.

[nakji]

A harder icing might be useful, since I'll have to transport them stacked on each other, likely. About how much butter did she start out with? A half cup?

[JAZ]

I don't remember the details, so don't quote me on this! But I imagine it was a half cup of butter to maybe 1.5 cups confectioner's sugar, and 1 tablespoon cream.

[baroness]

Here is a fairly sturdy caramel icing; it's particularly good with salted nuts on top:

Penuche/Caramel/Praline Icing

1/3 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar (packed firmly)

1/4 cup cream or milk, plus more to thin if needed

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

about 2 cups powdered sugar

chopped pecans or other nuts (optional; salted ones are good here)

Mix butter, brown sugar, and milk in saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Cool until your hand can be held on the pan's bottom comfortably (can speed this up with cold water or ice). Sift in the powdered sugar gradually and beat in with the vanilla. If too thick to spread well, thin with milk or cream. Top with nuts if desired. Makes a generous cup of icing.

[teagal]

Browned butter frosting/icing is FANTASTIC. Very nutty tasting. I think I just used the same recipe for buttercream frosting and just subbed browned butter for the regular butter.

[emilyr]

This Burnt Sugar Icing recipe is a lot like the one that I love from my Grandma. This one calls for a hand mixer at the end, but we always just whisk it a bit. It's pourable and hardens some with a nice matte finish - definitely stackable.