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
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- Cherry Chip Cupcakes
- Lightened Up Chocolate Cupcakes
- Party Cupcakes
- Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
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- Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Caramel Frosting
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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!
Amie
Would this make a good filling for a hollowed out angel food cake, with mixed berries?
Melissa
Ohhh I think it would be lovely for that use! It has a bit of a marshmallow vibe but not so sweet.
Susan Gause
Do you have to Refrigerate the cake Or cupcakes after you frost them or will is stay stable if it is left on the countertop? How about once the cake is cut?
Melissa
I just keep it out on the counter and after I cut it I just put the plastic wrap on the exposed cake and not over the icing.
jayda molina
OHMYGOSH! this is a game changer, its so good and fluffy. I'm never going back to buttercream again. I made mine coffee flavored for my grandmothers birthday cake and everyone loved it.
★★★★★
Melissa
Isn't it fun! It's our go-to as well. It feels easier than buttercream to me too! So glad you liked it!
Lindsey W
I was a little nervous after seeing some comments, however with no butter on jad this was the recipe I needed.
My frosting turned out perfectly! Thick and fluffy and tasted amazing ?
I wiped out my "clean" mixing bowl and whisk with a paper towel, just to be sure there was no grease.
If you take your time and follow the instruction exactly, you will have amazing results ❤
★★★★★
Jamie
Tried this and it didn’t come out anywhere near the picture just looks like very thin icing. I’m used to it I have tried multiple types of frosting and every type it comes out as Icing so it must be me. I know this says icing on it but the pictures show it as a different texture than what I got. I Didn’t make any changes except had to use a hand mixer because I don’t own a stand mixer.
Jamie
Couldn’t edit my comment but the picture shows it’s more like a whipped frosting than an icing. So I expected it to look like the pic. I must of done something wrong but then again like I said above I have tried multiple different recipes and for some reason they all have come out as thin icing.
Melissa
It won't whip up nice like it's supposed to if there is any grease at all on your beaters, spoon, bowl OR if any of the egg yolk breaks and gets into the whites, the egg whites won't whip like this if there is any kind of fat involved. That's the only reason this recipe has failed on my in the past and I'm 97% sure that's what you are running into too.
McKayla Brown
Hey there
I’m thinking of using this as a base for custard buttercream (German buttercream). Due to a shortage, I can’t use butter to make traditional buttercream. Do you think this would hold up if I added firm custard?
Thanks
Melissa
I really don't know. I think the oil from the custard might break down the whipped egg whites. Let me know if you try it!
carol
I didn't turn out at all, I wouldn't recommend it.
★
Melissa
I'm so sorry that it didn't work for you. It must have been an error on your end though (most likely some grease or fat left in your bowl/beaters), because I know that this recipe works as I've made it 100's of times!
madi
Any idea if this would work on the outside of an icecream cake? I would have to freeze the entire cake after it was assembled.
Emma
Did this frosting work for an ice cream cake? It sounds delicious but I’m curious about how well it does on an ice cream cake. Thank you!
Justine
Hi. I am making a cakes on Friday and icing it. Same day. It will not be eaten until Saturday and Sunday. Will icing hold up on the cake ? You mentioned that we must eat Or throw away since they don’t hold up.
Melissa
You'll definitely want to ice the cakes as soon as you make the icing, the icing doesn't hold up just in the bowl, it holds up really well on that cakes though, so yes, you'll be find to ice it a day or so ahead of time!
Elise Oberlin-Brown
Yay this is exactly the comment/question I was scrolling for 😊
Jamine
Hi,
I really want to make this. If I make the frosting a day before the event and remix it will it work
Melissa
It doesn't really work like that, once it cools it kinds of sets, so there's no remixing it, it'll just be a mess. So if you are making it a day ahead, I'd put it on the cake and just do all of the steps the day ahead of time.
Hanifa
Thanks! And I also had another question, what happens if you over-mix the icing?
Melissa
If you mix if for too long, it doesn't "break" or anything but it starts to cool too much and then it doesn't pipe nice and smooth when you want to put it on the cupcakes.
Tomyra Pate
By far, this recipe is the best! My mom is a diabetic and it's not super sweet. She loved it and I did also!
Hannah
I’m so glad to have found this recipe, thank you!! I’ve made it once, and it does work beautifully. Quick question— how would you adapt the recipe to make it chocolate flavored?
Melissa
I really don't know. I wonder if you could use some kind of chocolate liqueur for flavoring? But it wouldn't be brown in color...
Wendy
I haven't tried making this yet, but it looks so yummy! QUESTION: Will it hold up enough for a triple layered cake covered with fondant. I just need to make sure the frosting wont start to squeeze out the sides. Or would you suggest I make the outer ring with regular buttercream to hold in your frosting? I really want to use this as buttercream is so thick and too sweet.
Melissa
It doesn't work well for layered cakes, the weight of the cakes makes it kind of absorb into the cake, it'll look like you never added icing in the first place. I'd do a butter cream ring first like you mentioned, not because it leaks but it almost deflates with the weight!
Danielle
Hi
I used this on a double layer cake, but when I cut into the cake the frosting deflated so to speak and just looked like a thin layer of stretchiness if this makes sense between the layers.
Should I use more frosting between layers next time or is there another way to avoid it??
★★★★★
Melissa
If you make a "dam" our of butter cream around the edge so that it holds the weight of the cake off of the fluffy icing a bit in between the layers it works a lot better.
Danielle
So, that would be a separate frosting recipe of traditional buttercream to make this "dam"??
Melissa
Yes, I normally just deal with squished icing in-between the layers because I'm not going to make a buttercream dam most of the time. Or I'll do something totally different than the white cloud in-between (maybe do a fruit filling or a pudding layer...)
Betsy Carothers
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! My Aunt made this icing to top all of our birthday cakes growing up. It is delicious, gorgeous, and timeless. Perfect for any occasion!
★★★★★
Sue
How would I add Cherry flavoring to this frosting?
Melissa
Just add the desired amount in place of the vanilla extract at the end! It'll work great.
April
I have scoured the internet for days trying to find a marshmallow icing that is stable enough to make ahead of time and can be toasted. This looks like the perfect recipe for the s'more cupcakes I plan to make. Thank you! I'm happy to have came across your page.
Melissa
It should work great! You are going to love it. I'd love to hear what you think!
Heather
Does this work for a 1st birthday smash cake? I was just concerned that the shell that forms won’t be gooey enough for photos.
Melissa
SO sticky still! It would be PERFECT for that reason, sticky but not greasy! I can't wait to see pictures!
Dawn
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Especially for the video. My mom used to bake wonderful cakes from scratch (I didn't inherit the cooking gene, only the eating gene) and she would make this icing. I loved it.
she has since passed away. This reminds me of her so much. With the video, I may brave this for my son's birthday this weekend.