My mom's Easy and Extra Fluffy Icing is a light, bright and not-too-sweet topping to douse on cupcakes and cakes of all varieties!
The words frosting and icing are sometimes used interchangeably but they have a few differences in texture, appearance and ingredients. Frosting is typically made with a cream cheese or a butter base while icing is usually made with egg whites and sugar as the base. Icing is a lighter, thinner texture than frosting as well. Both are delicious and serve different purposes but I am excited to share this super fluffy icing with you.
Extra Fluffy Icing
This is such a neat recipe and one I have loved since I was a girl. My mom would make this frosting recipe often and she'd top a Devil's Food cake or cupcakes with it. My favorite part was she'd let us do the honor of loading the cake up with sprinkles. It's one of my favorite memories growing up!
People often ask me what this icing tastes like because it's a little different than your typical icing. It has a light flavor and isn't overly sweet. The texture is super puffy and fluffy; it will remind you of an extra-light marshmallow cream spread. It's also crazy and unusual that this frosting recipe is made without butter or powdered sugar. It's so unique!
How do you store white cloud icing?
Because this is SUCH a light icing, it sort of loses its consistency over time if you don't use it right away. I'd recommend icing whatever cake or cupcakes you've made, and then either eating or tossing leftovers if you have any. But it's so good, you won't want to toss it. Get out a spoon, friend!
What do you put white cloud icing on?
This frosting goes so great on so many things. You can pile it high on chocolate cupcakes, like the pictures here, or really any cupcake that vanilla-flavored frosting tastes good on. You can also put it on any other favorite cakes or favorite desserts, including Angel Food cake, vanilla cake, or a cookie cake. I wouldn't put it between the sections of layer cake because it's too light to support the weight.
How do you make white icing not yellow?
This icing is perfectly white because there is no butter in it! If you are finding that your favorite vanilla buttercream icing has a yellow tint, you can use a very, very small drop of violet food coloring to counteract that yellowish tint.
Can I pipe this icing on cupcakes?
Yes! This extra fluffy icing is the perfect topping for cupcakes. Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes or frost your cake right away because once the icing sets up, it's hard to spread and doesn't pipe well.
Can I double this recipe for extra fluffy Icing?
Yes, this recipe doubles really well. If you only make 1 batch it will be enough to frost 12 cupcakes. So doubling will allow you to frost 24 cupcakes.
How do you make the best white cloud icing?
Here are my tips, passed down from my mom, for getting the BEST white cloud icing:
- Use a stand mixer. Because you add a lot of the ingredients as you're mixing, it's way, way easier to use a stand mixer rather than a hand mixer.
- Make sure your bowl and utensils are clean. Egg whites do NOT handle grease well, and the consistency won't end up great if there's butter or oil on any of your materials.
- Slowly add your sugar and corn syrup. When it's time to pour the sugar into the mixer bowl, do it very slowly to allow everything to incorporate well and form the best soft peaks. Same goes for when you add the hot corn syrup!
- Use it immediately. If you don't, it sort of de-fluffs and loses its great shape and fullness. Also, add your sprinkles or other decorations right away because they stick best right after icing!
More icing recipes:
- Light and Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Royal Icing for Gingerbread Houses
- Cupcakes perfect for this frosting: Easy Chocolate Cupcakes
If you’ve tried this easy homemade fluffy icing recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories AND add your photo to your comment so that other can see your creation.
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Extra Fluffy Icing
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 cups 1x
Description
My mom's Easy and Extra Fluffy Frosting is a light and bright, not-too-sweet topping to douse on cupcakes and cakes of all varieties!
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Use a stand mixer. It will change your life. You can make this using a hand mixer, but it just takes time. In a clean bowl (any grease on your bowl or utensils will ruin the icing -- egg whites hate grease!), beat the egg whites and salt on high speed until foamy.
- With the mixer still running, slowly add the sugar. Beat mixture until soft peaks form (when you pull the mixer out of the white mixture, you should get a little point that bends over).
- Bring the corn syrup to a boil over medium heat in a small saucepan. When the corn syrup comes to a boil, remove from heat.
- Slowly pour the hot corn syrup into the egg mixture while your mixer is mixing on high. Beat the mixture until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla, and mix to combine.
- Use right away.
Notes
- Use the frosting right away and eat any leftovers, as it doesn't store well.
- You can leave a cake that has been iced with this frosting uncovered, since any type of plastic wrap on it will be a mess.
- Add the sprinkles as soon as you are done spreading the icing. A thin crust will form, and the sprinkles won't stick if you wait too long.
- This recipe doubles well.
- This is enough to frost 18 cupcakes or the outside of 1 layered cake. This is not a great icing to fill a layer cake. The cake kind of smashes it into nothing, and you don't have a nice layer in the middle anymore.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Category: dessert
- Method: no bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: frosting, icing, cake, cupcake, dessert, white cloud, egg free, gluten free
Some cupcake, cake, and frosting recipes you might like:
- Sweet Tooth Fairy's VaNIElla Squared Cupcake Copycat Recipe
- Cherry Chip Cupcakes
- Lightened Up Chocolate Cupcakes
- Party Cupcakes
- Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
- Lemon Chiffon Cake
- Rich and Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe
- The Best Easy Apple Cake
- The Best Strawberry Shortcake, Two Ways
- Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes
- Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Caramel Frosting
- Watermelon Cake with Whipped Cream
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Extra Thick Pumpkin Cake
- Grandma Shoaf's Quick and Easy Chocolate Sheet Cake
Easy and Extra Fluffy White Cloud Icing is a recipe that you will use over and over again. You are going to love the bright white color and it’s subtle sweetness. The perfect addition to top cupcakes and cakes of all kinds!
Alma Jean Irving
My mom and later me made this icing a lot. Only difference is we cooked the sugar with the syrup until it spun a thin thread. Then slowly poured it into the beaten egg whites while beating the whole time. Once that is done you have to work quick or it will harden right there while working on it. It takes some pratice but it is really good
icing and it will last more than a day. Same ingredients at this one. We called it boiled icing, not 7 minute, but boiled.
Melissa
That's so neat! I think I'll try that next time. Thank you for sharing.
Kimberly
Best frosting ever. I've tried and tried to make frosting and it always fails. This time it worked out for me ! Yay! ?? and my husband who doesn't like frosting, ate it and liked it!
Lissy
Cabin use food coloring with this recipe? If so which one gel or liquid?
Melissa
You can, I have used both. I add it when I add the hot corn syrup mixture.
Tammi S.
This is fabulous!!! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂 My mother used to make this frosting for my birthday cakes with angel food cake, my absolute favorite! For those that are leary or questioning the raw egg whites, could they be substituted with meringue powder somehow? Again.... thank you, thank you, thank you!
Megan
What about adding color...any suggestions?
Melissa
I like to add a little liquid food coloring when I add the hot cory syrup mixture! Works great.
Megan Frey
I made this today and it was REALLY runny. I even refrigerated it for 30 minutes. Any suggestions to make it firmer? The flavor is wonderful!
becky
What is the nutritional values for this frosting?? Thanks 🙂
Helen
Hello! I just wanted to know how much frosting comes out of this recipe. If I want to make cupcakes, about how many cupcakes will this recipe cover?
Melissa
It just depends on how heavily you frost them. I normally get 8 to 10 cupcakes out of it but I like a lot of this icing!
Rebecca Riker
Does this frosting need to be refrigerated?
Melissa
I don't put it in the fridge, I think it my sweat or something weird.
isabelle
Is this recipe become hard enough to put fondant over it?
Melissa
I don't think it is... in my mind it's too soft, but that being said, I've never worked with fondant.
Natalie Nicolaou
I made this yesterday! I was looking for a nice simple recipe that isn't unbearably sweet. THIS was perfect! I didn't have enough corn syrup so I just added more sugar. the only problem I ad was it didn't really hold shapes very well when I tried piping, but if you use a simple circular tip (I used a thin one to add designs ) it should be fine! Also, I tried dying it, worked fine other than watering it down a bit.
Aimee
For those asking about the danger of eating raw egg whites, the heat from the corn syrup "cooks" the egg whites.
Mary
Happy Easter. Found your recipe this morning, I wanted something quick and easy. I remember my aunt many years ago pouring the hot syrup into the whites and whipping by hand. She had an old beater set, the bowl that went around, but 55-60 years ago farm wives had muscles to do things by hand.
But this morning I beat the egg whites too much, iced the cake and the icing was rough looking. I solved my problem by using colored coconut to make it look like a wonderful mushroom. I know that this recipe if not beaten as much as I did is a wonderful fluffy result.
thanks from Mary
p.s. I warmed the syrup in the microwave until it boiled. Just a fyi.
Vicki
I have been looking for a recipe like this! I also have a couple of questions about the icing. I have looked in several stores for egg whites and all I can find is the pasteurized ones is that ok to use? Because it says it wouldn't whip well for meringues on the package. Did you use egg whites right from the carton? What about salmonella warnings does the corn syrup then cook the egg whites? Would I be able to use meringue/egg powder? Thank you Vicki
Melissa
I think the corn syrup cooks the egg whites so I just use them from my eggs that my chickens lay! It makes about 6 cups of icing.
afton
could you torch this icing, so it looked like lemon meringue pie? i'm making lemon meringue cupcakes for a birthday and am trying to find an icing!
Marta Welch
Thank you! Thank you!! I remember this from my childhood, too. On special days at school, there were the cupcake moms that brought these amazing treats with fun colors . It seemed like that frosting was 3" high!! This is the 1st recipe I've seen that doesn't use marshmallow. I can't wait to try it.
Jen
I tried this, twice. They look less fluffy than the photo, what could be the problem? Thanks in advance.
Melissa
I would beat it longer probably to have more air incorporated into it...
Kristen
I added Oreo crumbs after the mixing and it looks awesome an tastes so good!
Melissa
Say what?! You'll have to tell me if you loved it!!!
Kim
Can anyone suggest a corn syrup substitute? Not something we see often in Australia and don't want to go searching for just one recipe. TIA
Lauren
Use glucose syrup. It will work no problem. I've done it and sub all the time. I do the same when I make my marshmallows.
Sonya
What about eating uncooked eggs? Isn't there a chance of salmonella?
sarah
similar concern, but my concern is more on the uncooked eggs for infant/toddler. :-/
Wendj
I have made this frosting for years. Generally, you beat everything with a hand mixer except the vanilla over a double boiler for 7 minutes. This will heat the egg whites so there is no health risk. You can then transfer the mixture to a stand mixer add the vanilla and continue mixing until stiff peaks are formed. You can make this the day before but don't put it in the fridge or the moisture will ruin the frosting. This is also known as 7 minute frosting.
Mishu
Hi! The eggs are cooked with the heat of the boiling corn sirup when you add it.