Vanilla Frosting
Vanilla Frosting is the SUGAR-ful icing recipe that is perfect for decorating homemade cakes and cupcakes!
Let’s get straight to it. This Vanilla Frosting / Vanilla Icing recipe is SUGAR-ful. If you like lighter, less-sweet icing, then this is not the frosting for you. This is the icing that you make for those people in your life who crave an overload of sweetness.
Perfect for Decorating!
Is the cake in these photos the prettiest cake ever made? Absolutely not. Is this the prettiest cake I’ve ever made for my daughter? Yes. By a mile. Since you can change the consistency of the frosting to meet your decorating needs, this icing is perfect for all of your homemade cakes. If you’re going to use it for decorating, I strongly recommend to keep the frosting on the thicker side. I have learned that lesson the hard way. (For my older daughter’s second birthday, I made the frosting too thin. All of the frosting roses I had made fell off the cake, so I had to scrape off the icing, thicken it up, and try again. And then she still cried and refused to eat it until the next day.)
Recipe Overview
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Add an additional 1 tbsp of water at a time until desired consistency is reached. Add food coloring if desired.
How to Freeze and Reheat
Vanilla Frosting freezes pretty well! I always freeze the leftover icing so that I can use a small amount on an individual brownie in the future. However, the appearance doesn’t hold up 100%, so I always whip up a new batch when decorating for company.
To freeze, place icing in an air tight container. (I use a freezer-safe plastic bag.) To thaw, let sit in the fridge or at room temperature. I usually slice off just enough for the brownie that I am eating and let the rest stay in the freezer. When slicing off a few tablespoons, it only takes about 30 minutes to reach a cool, but thawed state.
FAQs & Tips
How much frosting do I need?
Typically, the information in the table below works well for my decorating. Note that the amount that you need will vary greatly depending on how thick of a layer of frosting you create.
Most of the photos you see on this page are of an 8″ round, two layer cake. This cake used just slightly less than one batch to frost the cake’s light purple base layer and interior layer. It required another half of a batch to complete the pink lettering and dark purple stars. The Christmas Tree Cake used about 1.75 batches of icing due to the style being a heavy-use style.
| Type of Cake | Amount of Frosting Needed |
|---|---|
| 9×13 cake still in a pan (icing needed on top only) | 1/2 to 3/4 of a batch |
| 9×13 cake out of the baking pan (icing needed on top and sides) | 3/4 batch to 1 batch |
| 8″ Round, two layers | 1 batch |
| Minimal decorations | 1/4 to 1/2 batch |
| Heavy decorations | 1/2 to 1 batch |
So how much water do I need?
This is difficult to answer because it heavily depends on exactly how much powdered sugar was used.
- For thicker icing, I usually use 4-6 tbsp of water total
- For regular consistency, I normally use 6-7 tbsp of water total
- For thinner icing, I use 8+ tbsp of water
The biggest recommendation I can give is to start with 3-4 tbsp of water, mix, and evaluate. It’s quite easy to add another 1-2 tbsp of water if the icing is still too thick. Also, verify that you have mixed the icing well to ensure it is well-blended before you add any additional water so you don’t accidentally end up with icing that is too thin for your needs.
Help! I made the icing too thin!
This happens to the best of us. Simply add in a small amount (1/4 cup) of powdered sugar at a time until you get back to the desired consistency.
Recipe Quick Stats
Cost:
Total Recipe Cost = $3.41 · $0.28 per serving
(Recipe makes ~3 cups of frosting; each serving is about 1/4 cup of frosting)
Note that costs and nutrition data does not include food coloring costs or nutritional info in the estimates.
Nutrition:
Servings: 12 (each serving is about 1/4 cup)
Calories: 317 kcal · Total Fat: 16 g · Sodium: 196.7 mg · Total Carb: 42 g · Dietary Fiber: 0 g · Protein: 0.3 g
Listed values for cost and nutrition are estimates only. View how we calculate cost and nutritional data here. View our full cost and nutritional disclaimer here.
Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients
- 4 cup Confectioner's (Powdered) Sugar
- 4 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Crisco (Vegetable Shortening)
- 3 tbsp Cold Water (and more as needed for desired consistency)
- Optional: Food Coloring
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together (sugar, flour, salt, vanilla extract, Crisco) with 3 tbsp of cold water. Mix until well-blended using an electric mixer.
- Add additional water, 1 tbsp at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
- If using food coloring, add desired colors and mix until blended.