The Healthy My Ass Cookbook

Velvet Icing

This is an easy to prepare rich buttery icing.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Do not start this recipe until the cake you intend to ice is completely cooled.  If the cake is very fresh, you might even want to refrigerate the cake prior to icing it.

Let the Butter soften at room temperature in a large bowl.

Thoroughly whisk the Flour and Whole Milk in a small saucepan.  Cook slowly over medium-low heat stirring constantly until thick or it begins to boil, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Cover and set aside to cool completely, about 30 minutes.  Refrigerate to hasten cooling or if it is warm in the house.

Once the milk and flour mixture is cool, cream the butter at medium high speed for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy.  Cream the Sugar into it another 3 minutes until fluffy.  Add the vanilla and beat well to blend.  Add the milk and flour mixture 1 tablespoon at a time while continually beating between additions until all the flour mixture is added or a total of 5 minutes, whichever is longer.  The mixture should be much whiter and almost the consistency of whipped cream.

If the cake is not ready for icing, or if the house is warm, refrigerate the icing for up to 15 minutes, but no more or it will become too stiff.  Spread the icing on the completely cooled if not chilled cake.

Notes:

If available, I use Baker's Sugar, a.k.a. Superfine Sugar or Caster Sugar.

A cake with this icing should be refrigerated if it is not eaten in 6 to 8 hours.

My aunt Arlene had this same recipe she called Whipped Cream Icing but with 2/3 the quantity of ingredients, i.e., 1 cup and 1 teaspoon but for some odd reason, 4 tablespoons of flour, which might be fine for a two layer cake.  What made her call it "Whipped Cream" icing escapes me since it does not contain any.  She also noted that pineapple or coconut can be added to it for flavor.

A.K.A. Velvet Frosting.  Growing up anything sweet that grandma put on brownies, cakes, cookies, cupcakes etc. was called icing.  I've since learned that icing is generally thinner and glossier, like on a glazed doughnut and frosting is a thicker and fluffier mixture.  We called the former glaze.  But why do we have the expression, "The icing on the cake"?  So though technically this should be called Velvet Frosting, it will always be icing to me.

See Also:

Red Velvet Cake - A red triple layer cake especially good with velvet icing.