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Best icing/frosting to use


momlovestocook

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Hi

This is my first post but I have been reading for a couple of months. I'm a home baker-would prefer to bake over cook a meal. My daughter is having two birthday parties and I am making her cakes(they are in the freezer already). I am confused over the best recipe for frosting. I have the cake bible and would like to try a buttercream. Not sure which is best(easier) and tastiest for the palate of 7 year olds. Should I try the buttercream with egg yolks or whites? I have only made the wilton butter/crisco frosting and would like to branch out a bit. I do have some piping tips and bags and will be doing basic edging around a two layer 9" round cake and a 9x13 cake.

I have a basic kitchen aid stand mixer to help in my mixing.

thanks for any help.

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Sea foam frosting. My mother first made me a chocolate cake with sea foam frosting when I was about six or seven years old. I loved that frosting and still do. She's 80 years old now and does very little baking but still makes me that cake for my birthday if I'm in town at the time. It tastes as good now as it did then :biggrin:

Here's one recipe for it. Very simple to make. The caramelization of the brown sugar and the fluffiness created by the beating process makes for great flavor and a nice light texture.

Sea Foam frosting

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Seven Minute Icing is what I craved when I was seven years old (still do, actually-but now I can make it myself :wink: ).

My father's mother couldn't cook a lick in the meal category, but she could bake her ass off. She was an excellent decorator as well and her cakes were the coolest. She always had soft peppermints and stuff formed into patterns and houses and lion cages and who knows what else (actually I could figure it out if I was at my mom's. She actually had the mind to take pictures of alot of these things). That icing is awesome. It dries slightly to a nice toothy crunch and is truly delicious and unbelievably sweet.

No kid will be anything but happy.

Happy birthday to him.

Brooks

Brooks Hamaker, aka "Mayhaw Man"

There's a train everyday, leaving either way...

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My daughter is having two birthday parties and I am making her cakes...Should I try the buttercream with egg yolks or whites?

Well, since you have two cakes, you could try one of each. :smile:

To answer your question (rather than suggest an alternative), the difference in flavor between a plain buttercream made with egg yolks and one made with whites is so subtle, I hardly think it would matter to a 7-yr.-old. If she's like most kids, sweet is what makes it good.

That said, Sea Foam frosting sounds great. :wink:

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In my experience, I have to agree with the other posters about the 7-minute frostings--kids love it. And it certainly does seem like the sweeter the better!

I made a cake for my niece's 7th birthday party frosted with an Italian meringue-based buttercream. Bascially, the kids didn't really like the buttercream terribly much. Not that they disliked it, but it did not generate that "oohs" and "mmms" that usually come from adult buttercream eaters. It was just another frosting to them.

It also brings to mind the time I hosted a tea party themed b'day party for 8-year-old twins... petit fours, pastries, cookies, tea cakes and so forth, and you know what was the biggest hit? The sugar cubes! :wacko:

Other than the basic flavoring (i.e. if it is chocolate or vanilla), I doubt the kids will even notice the type of frosting on the cake (too much other excitement). So, if you want to practice your buttercream skills (both making and decorating with), this could be a great opportunity. And I suspect your daughter will be happy with any cake you make! :smile:

Welcome to eGullet!

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I find that many young kids don't eat much of the frosting on a cake (yet the icing was always my favorite part). A fancy icing could be wasted on them. If serving a separate cake to adults attending the party I would make a more special frosting for that cake.

That said, kids (like adults) tend to divide into 2 camps, those who love chocolate and those that don't. Chocolate ganache (heavy cream, chocolate, butter) is great for those who love chocolate, and it's shiny and glossy.

In addition to the other good icings already posted in this thread, for a white icing there's always whipped cream or uncooked vanilla buttercream (confectioner's sugar, butter (never crisco), milk, vanilla).

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I was a big fan of the uncooked buttercream as a kid, either vanilla, or chocolate (probably made with melted chocolate). It goes together really, really quickly.

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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Thanks for the replies. The seafoam frosting sounds good but I do not have a double boiler(on my christmas list). I think I'll do the wilton buttercream(butter only) for the kids party and try my hand at the italian meringue buttercream for the family. When I brought cupcakes to school, I noticed some of the kids just licked off the frosting so I'm sure the sweeter the better for the kids LOL.

Sandra

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Welcome to Egullet Momlovestocook!

You don't need to buy a pan specifif labeled a double boiler to double boil. All double boiling is, is placing a bowl (stainless steel is best) over a pot of simmering water. They don't have to match at all.

I second the mention of using ganche. Its something 'different' (you can learn how to use it both hot and cold) and totally wonderful to eat. You mentioned you have RBL's baking book.........boy, she's got tons of frosting recipes that I'd suggest you try before you try Wiltons buttercream frosting. I've made the Wilton buttercream (years ago) and it's really not the best of that style. I've seen many people rave over RBL's mousseline buttercream.

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I made a chocolate ganache last week(for the tester fudge brownie cake from the best chocolate cake thread). The only problem is my daughter wants a pink frosting for her cakes. I'll look at the buttercream from the cake bible-thanks for the suggestions.

Sandra

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my daughter wants a pink frosting for her cakes.

How about making a simple 7-minute icing, tinted pink... the recipe's in nearly every cookbook I've ever picked up. Then - for the coupe de gras - a batch of nightscotsman's Strawberry Marshmallows on the side. 'm'm'm'm'm

Edited by DiH (log)
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[...] Then - for the coupe de gras - a batch of nightscotsman's Strawberry Marshmallows on the side. 'm'm'm'm'm

Coupe de gras! Good one, DiH! Wish I'd thought of that.

My favorite frosting since I was a child has always been a boiled white frosting, sometimes called White Mountain, sometimes called Italian meringue. I've had more luck with this than with the seven-minute frosting, which I can't get to firm up on humid days. The boiled white frosting, made by boiling a syrup to a soft-ball stage and pouring it in a thin stream into whipped egg whites while continuing to beat, is a lot more stable and dependable, in my experience. I also like how white the frosting is, taking food coloring beautifully.

Edited by browniebaker (log)
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May I suggest the following recipe for a white icing that uses marshmallow fluff. I have made this icing several times and it has passed the test with preteens. Kids taste buds are different! The good things about this icing are that it is easy to make, will not harden (great for an amateur decorator like myself), keeps well, works great for decorating, and you can flavor it as you wish. The way I see it, the 7-minute and sea foam icings have a cooked meringue base, and the marshmallow fluff is like a pre-made meringue.

I have been making and decorating cakes for my 12-year-old-daughter since she was 4. She has hated several icings from The Cake Bible (that I found delicious). Try this one, you won't regret it.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Makes: 3 cups. Can be refrigerated up to 4 days or frozen up to 1 month. Bring to room temperature and beat before using. I've kept the decorated cake overnight at room temperature (70 deg F) and its been fine.

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened

1 jar (7 or 7 1/2 oz) marshmallow cream (such as Marshmallow Fluff or Creme)

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract (can use up to 2 tb flavoring)

In the medium bowl of a mixer, beat the butter until creamy and fluffly. Add marshmallow cream and beat well. When well blended, beat in confectioners' sugar and vanilla.

Note: I use salted butter, because I think a bit of salt helps the flavor.

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