by Lidya Sin

Created on: September 23, 2009

Icing is the most beautiful and tastiest part of the cake. With icing, we can make various decorations and add different taste to our cakes either for desserts or snacks. Colorful icings make the cakes even look more appetizing, sometimes even too good to eat.

There are many kinds of icing made with varieties of methods and ingredients. Below I will list the most common icings as the base. To color the icing, simply add a drop or two FDA approved food coloring you can buy at a baking store. I will also add method for natural colored icings without using any food colorings.

Basic Icing Sugar Glaze:

1 cup of icing sugar

10 g of unsalted butter

1 drop of food coloring of your choice

Variations:

Lemon glaze: grated lemon rinds from 1 lemon, 1 tbsp lemon juice.

Chocolate glaze: 1 tsp of cocoa powder, 1 tbsp of hot milk. (This recipe will turn the glaze chocolate brown, so skip the food colorings)

How to:

Mix all ingredients until they form thick paste. Put in on a bowl over simmering water (double boil method) and mix it until it form a glossy mixture. Pour over cake and spread with spatula.

Buttercream:

Basic:

75 g unsalted butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 drop of food colorings

How to:

Mix the butter and the icing sugar with electric mixer until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the food colorings and continue to beat for about 3 minutes with high speed until the cream is light and fluffy.

Natural ingredients for colors:

Some people dislike using food colorings for their food. FDA approved food colorings are safe and can be found in almost all processed food in stores. But if we still prefer natural ways to color our food, here are several options:

1. Chocolate

Chocolate is attractive and delicious. This is the best way to add colors and tastes to our icing. Use white chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate to vary between the taste and colors. Melt the chocolate with double boiler method to avoid the chocolate becoming grainy and unattractive. You can also use cocoa powder.

2. Beet

Beet has natural bright red color. But beet juice sometimes tastes funny on cakes, so never use it to get strong red color. Use it to get pinkish tinge to the icing. Use lemon juice to cover the taste.

3. Pandan leaves

Pandan leaves make attractive green colors and have very strong flavor and smell. You can found it fresh or made into essence and paste at Asian gourmet shops. When using fresh leaves, chop 2 leaves finely, add 2 tbsp water, and squeeze the juice out.

4. Coffee

Use 3 tbsp of strong espresso to get milky brown color in your frosting.

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