Easy Decorator Icing

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This is a traditional Easy Decorator Icing is homemade, easy to make, and delicious!

This frosting recipe is what bakeries use for birthday and wedding cakes. It’s my favorite because it’s easy to work with, sets quickly, yet it’s easy to manipulate if you make a mistake. It’s creamy, smooth, and can be made in just minutes.

Decorator Icing Frosting - Creamy and smooth, this Easy Decorator Icing comes together in minutes.

This frosting is versatile. You can make it any color you want. As well, you can have it ready in 7 to 8 minutes.

Easy Decorator Icing

This recipe has just 4 ingredients: confectioners’ sugar, solid vegetable shortening, vanilla, and water (or milk). The trickiest part is getting a perfect consistency. Sometimes I need more water, sometimes I need a little less water. But the wonderful thing is that you can manipulate the icing to get the proper consistency by adding more water or more confectioners’ sugar. Consistency is ultra important, it needs to be thin enough to squeeze through the piping tool, but firm enough to hold a shape.

Decorator Icing Frosting -Creamy and smooth, this Easy Decorator Icing comes together in minutes.

Easy Decorator Icing or what a lot of people refer to as ‘birthday cake’ icing. I use this not only on cakes but also to make cookie sandwiches.

I like to use clear vanilla frosting in this Easy Decorator Icing recipe. Regular, brown vanilla extract will tint your icing slightly. This may be only slightly detectable, but if you’re adding colors to the frosting it can alter them. I find this Wilton brand vanilla at Amazon with free shipping. I like to use pure vanilla extract but haven’t been able to find clear vanilla except in imitation vanilla.

Ingredients

  • Confectioners’ sugar aka powdered sugar.
  • Solid vegetable shortening. Shortening holds it shape that’s why you use it instead of butter. I recommend Crisco brand.
  • Milk or water. If you use milk you’ll need to refrigerate the cake. You can use any percent of milk, as well as, half and half, heavy cream, evaporated milk, or almond milk.
  • Clear vanilla. You can use regular vanilla but it will tint your frosting. I recommend always use pure vanilla for the best flavor.
clear vanilla for Decorator Icing

Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary based on products used.

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Easy Decorator Icing

This is a traditional Easy Decorator Icing that bakeries use for birthday and wedding cakes. It’s my favorite because it’s easy to work with, sets quickly, yet it's easy to manipulate if you make a mistake. It's creamy, smooth, and can be made in just minutes.
Author: Paula
4.80 from 15 votes
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Prep Time: 19 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute
Total Time: 19 minutes
Servings: 1 cake

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 and ⅓ cup solid vegetable shortening I recommend Crisco brand
  • ½ cup milk or water
  • 2 teaspoons clear vanilla

Instructions

  • Cream the sugar and shortening in the bowl of your electric mixer.
  • Add milk or water and vanilla and mix until smooth.

Nutrition

Calories: 3445kcal | Carbohydrates: 905g | Fat: 273g | Saturated Fat: 68g | Sodium: 29mg | Sugar: 887g | Iron: 1mg
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17 Comments

  1. This is very similar to the recipe I’ve used 40 years! Mine also included 1/2 cup sifted cake flour or you can use 1/2 cup sifted white cake mix. This helps cut the sweetness and helps the icing crust which is useful if you use the paper towel method to get the icing smooth.

  2. 5 stars
    I have been using this recipe for 50 years! It’s fool proof. You can’t mess it up. You can also store it in the fridge in an air tight container. If it thickens up just add a small amount of hot water from the stove top until you have the consistency you need.
    I use nothing else

  3. I would like to know will this be enough for a two layered cake? With one layer of just the normal butter cream smoothed then another with another layer but dyed. And some swirls on bottom and the top? I know that’s alot but I’m just wondering.

  4. This is delicious… it’s been my go to decorator icing for a couple of years now. It never fails me !

  5. I see the ingredients for the frosting but you don’t give the recipe on how to make it.

  6. 5 stars
    My recipe is similar except: use 1 cup Crisco (not and extra 111/3), add 1 teaspoon butter flavoring, 1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring. If the cake or cupcakes need to set in a warm area, I will use water, otherwise I use milk. Also, I add 1 heaping tablespoon of Witon’s meringue powder to the mix.

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