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Rachel Allen

American Frosting


American Frosting

Makes 600ml (1 pint)

This delicious soft icing is a little tricky to make, so follow the instructions exactly. Quick and accurate decisions are necessary in judging when the icing is ready and then it must be applied to the cake immediately. If the icing is not cooked enough, it will still taste good, but will not dry out properly on the outside. If cooked too much, it will be difficult to spread over the cake.

Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites
  • 425g (15oz) caster or granulated sugar
  • 100ml (3 1/2 fl oz) water

Method

  1. Ensure your cake is ready before you start, as this icing begins to set very quickly. Bring to the boil a saucepan of water large enough to hold a heatproof bowl. Place the egg whites in the bowl and whisk with a hand-held electric beater until very stiff.
  2. In a separate saucepan over a medium-high heat, dissolve the sugar in the water and boil for 5-10 minutes until the liquid is thick and syrupy and has reached the 'thread' stage - when the last few drops that fall from a metal spoon dipped into the syrup come off in one long, quite thick and syrupy thread.
  3. Pour the boiling syrup over the stiffly beaten egg whites, whisking all the time with the hand-held beater. Place the bowl in the saucepan of simmering water. Continue to whisk over the water for 10-15 minutes until the icing is snow white, very thick and meringue-like.
  4. Spread quickly over the cake with a palette knife, regularly dipping the knife into a jug of boiling water. The icing sets very quickly at this stage, so speed is essential.
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What do you think?

  • chaie booth
    September 2010

    hi love this recipe

  • Natalie
    March 2010

    I just love all of Rachel's recipes.....they r gr8 ,will be trying this one too !!!

  • bob
    March 2010

    i tried to make this before but i forgot to add the water and destoyed my moms saucepan! haha! jilly xx

  • Nicole Parish
    February 2010

    Forgot to add, I had to google "Candlebridge Bakery" before I got all access to all the lovely recipes and they have a great website as well! Love your designs on Zazzle as well! Nici xx

  • Nicole Parish
    February 2010

    Oh wow, I tried your recipe Candlebridge for the carrot cake and the rolls and they were absolutely gorgeous! The rolls were real light and the carrot cake was very light and moist and it was nice to see you could enjoy this cake without having to halve it and ice the centre with more buttercream, so it was healthier (!!) than other carrot cakes which have frosting on the outside and on in the inside and the brandy was wooooooosh....hiccup! Lovely! Well done on a great cake!!

  • Candlebridge Bakery & Soup Kitchen Ireland

    I made a frosting using a small tub of philadelphia cream cheese, 6 oz of icing sugar, tablespoon of orange essence, tablespoon of lemon essence and I have left it to set. Am hoping to use it later when the cake cools sufficiently and then ice it... if not, then I'll use my own recipe of melting 2.5oz butter and adding that to the icing sugar, stir it well, then adda tablespoon of both the lemon and orange essence and make sure my icing is smooth and tasty before liberally applying it to the cake but one has to taste, taste taste! Everyone's taste buds are different!

  • KayKay
    October 2009

    Can you colour it with food coloring or will it wreak it?

  • onlinepastrychef
    April 2009

    This type of frosting is an Italian meringue, and, while tasty, it in no way approximates "American frosting." Italian meringue is what I would use to top a pie, or I'd beat butter into it to make an Italian buttercream. True American frosting, in my experience, is butter beaten together with powdered sugar, possibly a little milk, cream or water, and flavorings. This frosting is similar to what Americans call 7 minute or marshmallow frosting, but the ingredient list also includes some flavorings, usually vanilla, but peppermint is nice, too, along with a bit of acid to firm up the egg foam (lemon juice or cream of tartar) and a pinch of salt to balance some of the tooth-aching sweetness. The other difference is that it doesn't call for the sugar to be melted into a syrup.

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