Home › Decorated Candies and Cakes › Decorated Candies and Cakes: Frosting

Decorated Candies and Cakes: Frosting

Uncooked Ornamental Frosting Whites 2 eggs 2 teaspoons lemon juice Sifted confectioners' sugar Put eggs in a large bowl, add two tablespoons sugar, and beat three minutes, using a perforated wooden spoon. Repeat until one cup of sugar is used. Add lemon juice gradually, as mixture thickens. Continue adding sugar by spoonfuls, and beat until frosting is stiff enough to keep in shape after being forced through a pastry bag and tube. Color as desired. With a pastry bag and variety of tin tubes, or with paper tubes, candies or cakes may be ornamented as desired.

Boiled Ornamental Frosting 1 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 cup water Whites 2 eggs Lemon juice Put sugar and water in saucepan, stir until dissolved, bring to boiling point, wash down sides of saucepan with a piece of cheesecloth or a pastry brush dipped in cold water, add cream of tartar, cover, and boil three minutes, uncover, and let boil without stirring.

Beat whites of eggs in a large shallow pan with wire whisk until light but not stiff, and slowly add a spoonful of the boiling syrup, continuing the beating. Then add another spoonful of syrup in the same way, and a third spoonful. Continue beating the eggs until the boiling syrup spins a long thread, remove from fire, and add syrup in a fine steady stream to the egg mixture, beating constantly.

Set the dish containing the frosting in a dish of boiling water; the upper pan should fit tightly over the pan of hot water in order that steam may not escape. Gently fold the mixture over and over until it is stiff enough to hold its shape. Remove from the water, and very gently and slowly fold the frosting over and over until it is cool. Cover with a piece of damp cheesecloth. Frosting may be used at once, or will keep until the next day. With a variety of tubes and colors, beautiful and artistic decorations may be made on candies and cakes.

Paper Tubes for Decorating A pastry bag of heavy drilling with a hole in the end through which can be inserted tin tubes with different kinds of openings, may be used for ornamental frosting, but sheets of linen foolscap paper, or strong thin typewriter paper, are quite as satisfactory. Cut the paper diagonally across, making two pieces measuring 8 X 11 X 14 inches. Shape the tube by taking one corner of the paper (1) in the right hand and the other corner (2) in the left hand, and rolling the paper around, making a cornucopia with a very sharp point at (3). The point of the funnel should be the center of the longest side. It may take some practice to learn how to hold and roll the paper, but it is really very easy to do when once understood. Turn in the edges of the paper at the open end of the cornucopia to hold it in shape, and cut an opening at the point.

For stems, dots, and writing, clip off the end of the paper funnel with a pair of scissors. For leaves, press the point of the funnel flat, clip off one fourth inch from the end, clip off corners, making another point, and make a slit one eighth inch long in each point. For some flower petals, clip off the point of the funnel, and cut the end in the shape of the letter W. For fine decorating, cut a small opening; for large full roses, or heavy flutings, cut a deeper slit. Have a paper tube for each color of frosting. With these tubes, almost any kind of ornamental frosting work may be done on candies or cakes. How to Use Ornamental Frosting Half fill a paper funnel with frosting, bring edges of open end together, and fold over twice, that frosting may not come out at the top. Hold the funnel in the right hand with the little finger toward the point of the tube and the thumb and forefinger closed tightly above the frosting. Force the frosting gently through the hole in the end of the tube by squeezing with the right hand and guiding with the left hand. Allow the tube point to rest lightly on the surface to be decorated. Conventional designs may be attempted at first, and soon it will be possible to make flowers and leaves. Colors should always be very delicate, and designs on candy should be small and dainty. Do not use a tube after it has become soft and out of shape at the point. How to Color Frosting Divide frosting into several portions, putting each portion on a saucer. Remove a bit of color paste from jar with a toothpick or steel skewer, and place on one side of saucer. Mix with a very small portion of frosting, then gently fold, not stir, into remaining frosting. Color each portion. Forget-me-nots Dilute a bit of blue or rose color paste with two or three drops of water or frosting, and gently fold it (do not beat it) into a small portion of ornamental frosting. In the same way color a small portion with leaf green, adding a tiny bit of blue if the color is not good. Color another portion with yellow. Make two stem tubes and one leaf tube of tough thin paper. Put blue or pink frosting into a stem tube, and force five tiny spots in a circle on the object to be decorated. Put green frosting into the two remaining tubes, and with the stem tube make a stem to the flower, and with the leaf tube, two forget-me-not leaves. Put a bit of yellow in the center of the flower with the point of a toothpick. It is well to have a blossom or a picture as a guide in making the design.

Wild Roses Color portions of ornamental frosting rose and green. Put rose colored frosting in a leaf tube, and make four or five broad petals radiating from a center. Make stem and leaves with green frosting, and put a bit of yellow frosting in the center of the flower. For a double rose make a smaller group of petals inside the first group.

Large roses may be fashioned two inches in diameter, dried slowly in a cool oven, and used for decorating a dish of candies.

Sweet Peas Color portions of ornamental frosting pink, red, lavender, and green, and put in leaf tubes. Make one broad petal by forcing frosting through a leaf tube, then force two upright petals on center of first petal. The petals may be shaded by putting white frosting on each side of a tube and a colored frosting in the center, and forcing them out together. Add stem and leaves. Violets Color portions of ornamental frosting violet, green, and yellow. Make three broad violet or white petals that meet in the center, put a bit of yellow where they join, and add stems and leaves.

Lilies of the Valley Color a portion of ornamental frosting green. Make with stem tubes a curved stem of green ornamental frosting, with five or six tiny blossoms of white frosting depending from it. Add one or two long narrow green leaves made with leaf tube.

Jonquils With stem tubes make three tiny petals of yellow ornamental frosting, add a green stem, and two or three long slender leaves.