The Different Kinds of Frosting

Weather is one of the things that one should consider when it comes to cake. There is no doubt that with the hot temperature in Manila, catering services will not be able to use frosting that might easily melt, no matter how delicious that vanilla buttercream frosting on a wedding cake might be.

There are different kinds of frosting and it depends on the baker what kind they want to put on their pastries. Some can even double as filling! Here are some of the different types of frosting to help you decide which one you think is best for your baking.

Buttercream

This type of frosting is made by creaming together butter and icing sugar. There are different kinds of buttercream and here are some of them:

• One is the American buttercream, where you beat butter and confectioner’s sugar in a bowl until combined, light yellow, and fluffy. It can also be colored using food coloring.
• Another is the crusting buttercream, which is made with shortening, butter, and a whole lot of icing sugar. This makes it set and a little firm, making it the best frosting if you want to create piping designs on cakes.
• The next one is called flour buttercream; here, flour, sugar, and milk are boiled until the mixture thickens. Then, it is cooled and mixed with butter to give it a taste and texture that is similar to that of American buttercream.
• Meringue buttercream icings have egg whites. There are also various kinds of meringue buttercream: Swiss, where egg whites and sugar are cooked together and mixed with butter later; Italian, where boiled sugar or syrup is carefully incorporated into beaten meringue before adding butter later on; and French, where raw egg whites are beaten with sugar and cream of tartar. 

Ganache

The wonderful thing about ganache is that it can be frosting, topping, filling, glaze, and decoration; so when you make a bowl of this amazing chocolate mixture, you’re sure to use every drop. This type of frosting is made by warming milk until it simmers, then pouring it into a bowl of chopped chocolate. The chocolate then melts and mixes with the warm milk. Continue mixing until the texture turns smooth. Once you pour it on the pastry, it sets and becomes somewhat firm. You can use this to cover entire cakes. 

Glaze

The glaze is probably the easiest frosting to make. All you need to do is mix confectioner’s sugar with some milk or water. The consistency of the frosting will depend on how much milk or water you add to the sugar. This can be used as a topping or to cover an entire pastry such as glazed doughnuts. 

Fondant

This list wouldn’t be complete without the fondant. Fondant is used usually on white wedding cakes but it can also be used on any cake that needs decorating. It is a kind of icing that is somewhat firm and needs to be rolled out like dough before being utilized as decoration or to cover cakes. The fondant can be store bought or made, and usually it starts out white. However, you can change its color with the use of food coloring.

Try making any of the mentioned frostings in this list. After all, the holidays are fast approaching, and your relatives might be eager to try out what you have in mind.