Icing and Frosting

Icing and frosting are basically the same thing, and fillings are very similar. A filling might be a little softer and is intended to go between layers of a cake, while icing goes on top and maybe on the sides. But it's a thin and shifting line. Unfortunately, putting icings and fillings on the same page made the page kind of unwieldy, so they are separate here—but don't let that stop you from pouring a filling over the top of a cake or spreading icing between layers. On this page you find:

• Boiled Icing
• White Icing
• Black and White Icing
• Butter Icing
• Basic Chocolate Icing
• Fudge Frosting
• Rich Chocolate Icing

Boiled Icing

This is the icing Isabella used on her Devil's Cake

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons boiling water
• 1 egg white, beaten

Cook the sugar and boiling water until it threads. Then beat in the egg white.

Great-Grammy says, “Spinning a thread is the stage before a soft ball. The syrup makes a 2-inch coarse thread when dropped from a spoon. (Remove from heat when testing.) For more on testing icing and candy stages, see "When Is It Done?"

White Icing

A little spiffier version from Averil's sister Margaret, 1954. Using the double boiler means there's less chance of burning the sugar syrup.

• 1 egg white
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 4 tablespoons water

Beat until it stands in peaks, cooking all the time in double boiler.

Black and White Icing

When Isabella wanted to make her cake a little fancier, she used Black and White Icing . Start by covering the cake with White or Boiled Icing. Then melt a square or two of bitter chocolate and drizzle it over the white icing.

Butter Frosting

For me, Butter Frosting has the advantage that it doesn't need cooking. Here I have combined a few recipes from the mystery box.

• 2 rounded tablespoons butter
• 1 (or 1 1/2) cups confectioner's sugar.
• up to 2 tablespoons cream or milk

Cream butter and sugar. Thin with cream or milk (just enough to make it spread smoothly).

For a flavored icing, use fruit juice or coffee instead of cream. One chocolate cake recipe suggests using orange juice to make a "light and elegant" icing for a summer drinks party.

Use a bit of cocoa to darken a coffee icing, or see Mocha Filling on the next page.

Basic Chocolate Icing

The book's recipe for chocolate frosting is pretty bare bones:

• 1 square unsweetened chocolate
• powdered sugar
• a small piece of butter
• "very little milk"

Presumably one melts the chocolate and butter, mixes in the sugar, and adds only enough milk to help the mixture spread smoothly.

From the mystery box, we have (among others) a fudge frosting for brownies and a rich chocolate icing recommended for a sponge cake. For any of these recipes, the darker the chocolate, the richer the flavor.

Fudge Frosting

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 square unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Put butter into saucepan and when melted, add sugar and milk. Bring to boiling point and boil ten minutes, add the chocolate and let boil 5 minutes, taking care that chocolate does not adhere to bottom or sides of pan. Remove from range, add vanilla and beat until of right consistency to spread.

The recipe notes that Eva (I'm sorry, I don't know who she is) makes a double recipe to keep mixture from adhering to pan. The point of the boiling is to reduce the liquid. It doesn’t need to be a full, rolling boil; a simmer will do. I would stir constantly to keep it from sticking or burning. When the frosting gets thick enough to spread, stop cooking it. Brownie icing is often quite thick. If you are using this for a layer cake, it might not need to boil quite so long.

Rich Chocolate Icing

• 1/4 pound sweet butter
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 squares melted chocolate
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

I would treat this like White Icing: melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler, add sugar, beaten egg and milk. Cook and stir until it is the consistency you want. Beat in the vanilla after removing the icing from heat.