Help...icing or frosting like they make on British cakes..? (cake recipe, brown sugar)

[GypsySoul22]

My husband (British) says he hates the icing/frosting here in the USA on cakes (we buy or make them).

He says in England you can lift the icing up with a fork. I'd like to make him a cake with this sort of icing. Do you think he means fondant?

I have begun to make quick cakes from scratch and have a great white cake recipe but I need 'icing' or 'frosting' he'd like...

Any ideas?

[southdown]

Royal icing is typical on British 'formal' cakes - like wedding or Christmas cakes. It's made with icing (powdered) sugar, egg white and liquid glucose/glycerine added to make it pliable.

Fondant icing is similar but has more glycerine added, to make it softer.

Creamy soft frosting is common in the UK too, usually made with whipped butter and icing sugar.

Royal icing gradually hardens, which provides support for tiered cakes.

A rich fruit cake with a seal of warm jam, then marzipan and then royal icing can keep for months if not years!

You can buy Royal icing in powder form which contains dried egg, or in sheets or blocks, ready to roll. http://www.silverspoon.co.uk/home/pr...-to-roll-icing

[Debsi]

Originally Posted by southdown

Royal icing is usually put on top of a layer of marzipan. Royal icing gradually hardens, and a fruit cake with a seal of marzipan and royal icing can keep for months if not years!

Ya know, I've read about cakes like this in books by Nigel Slater and others.. and my question is always why is this a good thing?

[southdown]

Originally Posted by Debsi

Ya know, I've read about cakes like this in books by Nigel Slater and others.. and my question is always why is this a good thing?

Guess it comes from ancient times, before refridgeration!

I believe the tradition of keeping the top tier of a wedding cake for the christening still goes on ... amongst braver folks!

[Debsi]

I am sure you are right, but ancient fruitcake doesn't appeal to my "new world" palate.

I still very much enjoyed reading about all the different desserts which Nigel Slater described in his book Toast though, including Christmas Cake.

[rainroosty]

I had to have that hard crap on my cake very often as I was growing up. I hated that stuff!!! One of the downfalls of being English.

[southdown]

Originally Posted by rainroosty

I had to have that hard crap on my cake very often as I was growing up. I hated that stuff!!! One of the downfalls of being English.

I never met anyone who liked that kind of cake or icing!

[GypsySoul22]

Thanks for the reply.
I think we'll just skip the icing for now!

[linicx]

I use a receipe for bakery frosting I've had for 50 years that seems to work quite well for most occassions. The 100 year old old family butter icing is real butter whipped first, then combined with XXXX sugar, vanilla and a drop or two of whole milk if the consistency is too thick. Last but not least is the our old brown sugar cocount broiler frosting we put on a spice cake. Specialty cakes like the Black Forest and Red Devil had special frostings that was more trouble than it was worth.

I really hate to say this, but most of the commercally producted frosting/icing used today it not very good compared to the recipes of long ago that had little shelf life. .

[Opyelie]

American icing/frosting ala the sheet cakes etc you get in markets is just WAY too inedibly sugary (and COARSELY sugary at that) for most non Americans......... just make him butter icing