Perfect Frosting !!!

Perfect Frosting and a perfect quick recipe - Believe me....

Ingredients:

2lb 10x Powdered Sugar - i got Dominos

1 cup Vegetable Shortening - i got Crisco

1/4 cup water, if required 2 tbspns more

Directions:

1] Sieve the powdered sugar to remove all the lumps and keep in a separate bowl

2] Beat the vegetable shortening at medium speed for 3-5 mins till it becomes light, creamy and shiny

3] Mix water and powdered sugar and mix well with spatula

4] Once mixed well, beat the mixture for 5 mins on high speed till you get a nice glaze and peaks in the frosting as seen in the pic

5] Frosting is ready with medium to stiff consistency which can be used to make borders and flowers. If you want to use this frosting to ice the cake or cupcake then add little water till you get thin consistency.

Your Frosting is ready in less than 10 mins.

Types of Consistency:

Stiff consistency Icing/Frosting -

Stiff icing is used for decorations such as flowers ,figure piping and stringwork. If icing is not stiff enough, flower petals will droop. If icing cracks when piped out, icing is probably too stiff. 

Medium consistency Icing / Frosting -

Medium icing is used for decorations such as stars, borders and flowers with flat petals. If the icing is too stiff or too thin, you will not get the uniformity that characterizes these decorations. Medium to thin icing is used for icing your cake. Add water or milk to your icing recipe to achieve the correct consistency.

Thin consistency Icing / Frosting -

Thin icing is used for decorations such as printing and writing, vines and leaves.

Now make your cake or cupcakes and this super easy frosting and let the creativity begin....
Have fun!
Richa

Chocolate Cake with roses on top

Cake just out of Oven

Icing Rosettes made by me

White Icing Rosettes made by me

Creamy Frosting/icing

Cake in the making

The Final Touch - The Borders

Final Product ~ Cake for my lil one's 1st Birthday

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:

• 200g plain flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 40g best-quality cocoa
• 175g soft unsalted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
• 150ml sour cream

FOR THE ICING:

• 75g unsalted butter
• 175g best quality dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
• 300g icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• 125ml sour cream
• 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
• Rosettes made from Frosting, optional

Method

1. Take everything out of the fridge so that all the ingredients can come to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C and line and butter two 20cm sandwich tins with removable bases.
3. Now all you have to do is put all the cake ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream - into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you want to go the long way around, just mix the flour, sugar and leavening agents in a large bowl and beat in the soft butter until you have a combined and creamy mixture. Now whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture.
4. Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tins and bake until a cake tester, or a thin skewer, comes out clean, which should be about 35 minutes, but it is wise to start checking at 25. Also, it might make sense to switch the two cakes around in the oven halfway through cooking time.
5. Remove the cakes, in their tins, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins. Don't worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the icing later.
6. To make this icing, melt the butter and chocolate in a good-sized bowl either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Go slowly either way: you don't want any burning or seizing.
7. While the chocolate and butter are cooling a little, sieve the icing sugar into another bowl. Or, easier still, put the icing sugar into the food processor and blitz. This is by far and away the least tedious way of removing lumps.
8. Add the golden syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved icing sugar. Or just pour this mixture down the funnel of the food processor on to the icing sugar, with the motor running.
9. When you've done, you may need to add a little boiling water - say a teaspoon or so - or indeed some more icing sugar: it depends on whether you need the icing to be runnier or thicker; or indeed it may be right as it is. It should be liquid enough to coat easily, but thick enough not to drip off.
10. Choose your cake stand or plate and cut out four strips of baking parchment to form a square outline on it (this stops the icing running on to the plate). Then sit one of the cakes, uppermost (ie slightly domed) side down.
11. Spoon about a third of the icing on to the centre of the cake half and spread with a knife or spatula until you cover the top of it evenly. Sit the other cake on top, normal way up, pressing gently to sandwich the two together.
12. Spoon another third of the icing on to the top of the cake and spread it in a swirly, textured way (though you can go for a smooth finish if you prefer, and have the patience). Spread the sides of the cake with the remaining icing and leave a few minutes till set, then carefully pull away the paper strips.
13. Top this with Rosettes and border the cake if you like.

Enjoy!!!

I got this recipe over internet by Nigella Lawson and thought of giving it a try and it was a hit :) I changed few things like adding 1/2 cup of Cocoa powder to the Icing as i thought it was slightly sweeter and also gave it personal touch in decoration as i wanted it to be special for my lil ones 1st Birthday.