Snail Pace Transformations

Transforming Life Inch by Inch

  • Home
  • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • My Story
    • Books Read In 2022
    • Let’s Chat!
  • Work At Home
    • Reselling
    • Point Programs
    • Blogging
  • My Book
  • 52 Resources For Stretching Your Money
  • My Shop

Simplest Icing Ever: If You Can Boil Water You Can Make This Icing

March 4, 2015 By Victoria 40 Comments

Share
Pin
Tweet
Share

Last updated on September 16th, 2021 at 02:52 pm

I am out to fix what I think is one of the biggest myths of all time, something I hear from the mouths of friends all the time ” homemade icing is hard to make”. No, it is not!

In fact, if you can boil water you can make icing. Well, at least the recipe for the icing I grew up with. It truly is the simplest icing recipe ever!

Simplest icing recipe ever! Uses just 3 ingredients and takes under 3 minutes to make.

This recipe iced pretty much every cake and cookie in my home growing up. The only thing that changed was the color or the sprinkles on it.

Simplest Icing Ever: If You Can Boil Water You Can Make This Icing

(Links in this post are affiliate links. I will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking those links. See my disclosure page for more information)

indgredients for homemade icing

 Ingredients for simple homemade icing

  • 2 to 3 tablespoons milk (put in 1 tablespoon at a time until you it becomes the right thickness)
  •  1/2 cup butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar, icing sugar, confectioners sugar (this sugar goes by so many names)

You will also need something to whip the icing up with. I have used an inexpensive handheld mixer for years. They worked great for icing but …..not so well for sugar cookie dough. So after burning out the engine in a few handheld mixer models I cashed in some Amazon gift cards and bought I splurged on a top-quality hand mixer and I LOVE it. I have used it for a few years now and it is still going strong. It breezes through a triple or quadruple batch of cookie dough like a walk in the park! Worth every penny.

(psst….you can earn gift cards for Amazon purchases too through several different point companies but my favorite two are Swagbucks & InstaGC)

Instructions for homemade icing

Back to making the icing. Here is my biggest tip for successful icing making; make sure you take your butter out to soften several hours before. Do not try softening it in the microwave, that never works. You end up with slightly melted butter and that will not make good icing at all.

Cut the butter up into small pieces and beat it with your mixer. Next, add in about 1/3 of the powdered sugar (amounts in the recipe below) with 1 tablespoon of milk. Starting with your mixer on low beat the mixture well. As the powdered sugar mixes in you can turn up your mixing speed.

When that is beat repeat that twice more so that you have added all the powdered sugar and 3 tbsp of milk.

At this point icing gets a bit personal, as in you have to decide how soft you like it for spreading purposes. I usually add in at least one more tablespoon of milk making it 4 tablespoons of milk total.

However, if you are using an icing bag to make cupcakes with icing piled high you might want to stop at 3. Or if you are icing cookies with a knife you might want to add one more tablespoon to make the icing easier to spread, especially if little ones are helping you.

Adding the perfect amount of milk is really the only tricky part in making the icing, and the secret to doing this successfully is to add just 1 tablespoon at a time and check the icing after you blend that tablespoon of milk in to see if it is at the consistency you want yet.

If you want colored icing I like to add the coloring in last and then beat it one more time until the color is all mixed in.

Want a simple basic cookbook to guide you in the kitchen? Check out the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook

Chocolate Truffle Icing

Prefer chocolate icing? Try my chocolate truffle icing. It is just as simple to make!

Star shaped sugar cookies.

This icing recipe works well on sugar cookies –here are 20 tips for making fabulous sugar cookies.

Simplest Icing Ever: If You Can Boil Water You Can Make This Icing

Snail Pace Transformations
5 from 5 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 cups icing sugar
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons milk

Instructions
 

  • Several hours before you intend to make icing take the butter out of the fridge to soften.
  • Unwrap butter and place it in a bowl
  • Beat butter
  • Add icing sugar slowly (about 1/2 a cup at a time) and beat it into butter
  • Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time beating after every tablespoon until you get the thickness you want.

 

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Become A Snail Pacer

Receive a monthly newsletter full of tips for making life changes at a realistic pace.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit
Share
Pin
Tweet
Share

Filed Under: Food

Comments

  1. Kelley says

    March 4, 2015 at 8:55 am

    5 stars
    mmmm….this looks delicious! I’ve never been an icing fan–until recently. Now I can’t stop myself from licking the whisk and bowl clean. Haha!

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      March 4, 2015 at 11:54 am

      I love beating the kids to licking the beaters (whisks). Probably means I am not going to win the mother of the year award any time soon. LOL

      Reply
  2. Leanne | The Transplanted Southerner says

    March 4, 2015 at 9:26 am

    5 stars
    Awesome! I love simple recipes, and I love homemade icing. Double win!

    Reply
  3. Elizabeth says

    March 4, 2015 at 11:17 am

    My Mom has been making icing just like that for years! Except she adds vanilla. 🙂

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      March 4, 2015 at 11:52 am

      Yes you can add vanilla. My mom use to add peppermint during the holidays and sometimes maple.

      Reply
      • JESSICA says

        December 9, 2019 at 3:37 pm

        HOW MUCH VANILLA DO U ADD

        Reply
        • Victoria says

          December 12, 2019 at 11:08 am

          If you want to add vanilla (it is optional) I would start with 1/2 a teaspoon and add it before the milk as it will make the icing less firm –that way you can adjust milk as needed.

          Reply
          • Athena Johnson says

            October 26, 2022 at 3:33 am

            k

  4. Kara says

    March 4, 2015 at 1:39 pm

    This is very similar to the icing that I make. I like to add almond extract to mine 🙂
    I felt like a magician the first few times I made my own icing!

    Reply
  5. Natosha says

    December 17, 2015 at 5:40 pm

    Do you use regular butter or unsalted?

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      December 18, 2015 at 10:23 am

      Regular

      Reply
      • Angela says

        January 17, 2016 at 9:44 am

        Does it matter what percent of Milk is used? I only have Skim on hand.

        Reply
        • Victoria says

          January 18, 2016 at 8:21 am

          I have used skim before and it doesn’t seem to make much difference. Just remember to add the milk in a tablespoon at a time until you get it to where you want it. Skim milk is less creamy so it might take a bit less.

          Reply
      • Tracy F says

        January 16, 2020 at 1:06 pm

        Can unsalted butter be used?

        Reply
        • Victoria says

          January 16, 2020 at 2:20 pm

          You can give it a try. I can’t see why it would make a difference, but I have never tried it.

          Reply
  6. Toni Hunter says

    January 28, 2017 at 2:56 pm

    I have made this multiple times and it never seems to come out right :(. Its not fluffy or thick it ends up being liquidy what am I doing wrong????

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      January 29, 2017 at 6:28 pm

      If it is runny I would suggest less milk. I go one tablespoon at a time until I get it just right

      Reply
  7. Megan says

    May 25, 2017 at 11:39 pm

    How much does this recipe make? I’m teaching a baking class and have two sessions, each with 10-15 students? I need to know ASAP please!

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      May 27, 2017 at 4:28 pm

      It makes enough to ice a 9 by 12 sized cake or roughly a dozen cupcakes. Hope that helps.

      Reply
  8. Carol says

    October 12, 2017 at 9:07 pm

    Can you make this frosting ahead of time and refrigerate

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      October 13, 2017 at 7:26 am

      You can but if you do, you will need to take it out a few hours before you want to ice the cake. Refrigerating it will make it harden up some, to make it spreadable again it needs to be brought back up to room temperature.

      Reply
  9. Myra says

    June 10, 2018 at 6:24 pm

    I can’t find the amount to any of the ingredients?

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      June 17, 2018 at 2:06 pm

      Sorry it looks like the recipe plugin that makes up a printable of the recipe has malfunctioned I will fix it. In the meantime it is 2 cups icing sugar, 2 to 3 tablespoons milk (one tablespoon at a time to desired thickness) and 1/2 cup butter.

      Reply
  10. Brandy says

    December 10, 2019 at 3:13 pm

    If I were to add vanilla how much do u add?

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      December 12, 2019 at 11:07 am

      I would start with 1/2 a teaspoon and add it before the milk as it will make the icing less firm –that way you can adjust milk as needed.

      Reply
  11. Briana says

    April 21, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    5 stars
    I made this and it’s FABULOUS! Can the icing be used on cupcakes and then left covered and unrefridgerated? I prefer that but wasn’t sure bc it contains milk;)

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      April 21, 2020 at 7:05 pm

      We have done that with no problems.

      Reply
  12. Bri says

    November 25, 2020 at 1:15 pm

    How much will this yield? Enough to ice a cake?

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      November 29, 2020 at 2:17 pm

      Yes, it will do an entire cake, 2 layers,s or 9 by 12 sheet. It will also do a dozen or so cupcakes.

      Reply
      • Draco❤️ says

        September 24, 2022 at 11:09 pm

        5 stars
        Hi Me and my friend made a Harry Potter themed cupcakes and the icing was the best I have ever had and me and my friend are only twelve and me and her enjoyed the cupcakes watching the last few Harry Potter movies thank you so much for this recipe❤️❤️❤️

        Reply
        • Victoria says

          September 29, 2022 at 10:39 am

          You are welcome! My daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan! And she too has been making icing using this recipe since she was your age.

          Reply
  13. Angelica says

    February 9, 2021 at 10:05 pm

    Can I use a unsalted butter or no??

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      February 11, 2021 at 11:45 am

      You could give it a shot. I really don’t know if it would change the flavor much or not.

      Reply
  14. Alicia Eide says

    March 10, 2022 at 1:43 pm

    THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  15. Alicia Eide says

    March 10, 2022 at 7:13 pm

    one question will it ice
    2 22 cm cakes?

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      March 18, 2022 at 6:14 pm

      Not sure. I have iced a double-layer circle birthday cake with it before though.

      Reply
  16. Cherie says

    April 25, 2022 at 9:58 pm

    5 stars
    I added a tsp of vanilla and used heavy whipping cream instead of milk and omg I can’t stop licking the bowl. It’s fluffy and thick. Yummy

    Reply
  17. Lucy Humphrey says

    May 5, 2022 at 11:53 am

    How long will this store in the fridge? Looking to make for a project!

    Reply
    • Victoria says

      May 21, 2022 at 12:53 pm

      It is best if applied to bake goods when it is best.

      Reply
  18. Linda says

    July 7, 2022 at 9:40 am

    Is this real sweet?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Follow Snail Pace Transformations

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Looking for something?

Sign Up For My Newsletter

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Hi, I'm Victoria

Welcome to the Snail Pace Transformations blog where I share my tips for improving finances and home management one small step at a time. Why small? Because small changes are more likely to transform your life.

My Book Thrifty & Thriving Available On Amazon

Recent Posts

  • A Simple & Quick Decluttering Plan For Busy People
  • 31 Fast & Easy Ways To Earn Extra Cash For Christmas
  • 29 Christmas Gift Ideas For People Who Love Their Kindle
  • The Best Ways To Make Christmas Extra Special On A Tiny Budget
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Lifestyle Pro Child Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in