How To Frost A Cake

The art of frosting a cake

If you remember the ongoing slogan in “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”, it was “Frost Yourself”. I always thought this was a bit of an odd slogan seeing as frosting, to me, should only ever belong on a cake!

“But what does ‘frosting’ mean?” I hear you ask – well, it is quite simply decoration in the form of icing or meringue for your baked goods.

Tools You Need for Frosting

Turntable – to allow you to turn your cake smoothly and with ease.

Offset Spatula – to enable a smooth levelling of the frosting.

Large spoon or scoop – to dollop the frosting on top.

Scraper – For getting rid of rough edges around your frosting.

Non-slip Base – to place under your cake so it doesn’t end up on the floor as you decorate!

How to Frost a Cake

1. Frosting a cake needn’t be a complicated process, but you do need to have a good deal of patience and a steady hand to get the best results possible. When it comes to frosting, practice usually makes perfect!
2. Get rid of air pockets in your icing by whisking using a hand mixer for 5 mins – this gives it a much easier texture to work with.
3. Scoop a small amount of frosting on top of your cake. You will only need a thin first layer so don’t go overboard. This is to simply smooth down and stick crumbs to the base so they don’t get everywhere! Use your offset spatula to push the layer down, and spread it out from the centre to the edges.
4. Push the frosting out enough that it spills over the sides a little, then spread it around the sides of the cake. Add more frosting to the cake using a clean spoon if you need more to cover the sides.
5. Thin the frosting using the edge of your spatula and gently scraping it along the sides and top of the cake then use the scraper to get rid of excess frosting. Hold it in one place and rotate the cake on the turntable.
6. After you have finished the Crumb Coat as it is called, add a big amount (e.g. 3 scoops) of frosting to the top of the cake. Repeat steps as before, but this time make sure the frosting is evenly thick all over the cake so that you can’t actually see the cake’s base. Don’t worry about any lumps and bumps for now, just make sure it is covered.
7. Hold your scraper against the cake at a 45 degree angle then spin the turntable towards it steadily for a smooth and even finish. If there are any lumps, scrape them off, if there are any holes, fill them in then scrape off the excess!
8. Do the edges first then work on smoothing the top by using your spatula to smooth from the edges into the centre of the cake. And hey presto, your frosting is done – either leave it as it is to admire your efforts or add further decoration!

Find many recipes for frosting a cake on Recipebridge.