This whipped wedding cake frosting recipe has been in my favorites file for probably 20 years. I've used it on every wedding cake I have made and the results are always delicious. It's light and creamy with a delicate almond flavor and it holds up well for decorating, too. You don't have to use it on wedding cakes, of course! It's sure to become a favorite.
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was making a wedding cake and a grooms cake for my eldest daughter's best friend's wedding. I'll be posting that strawberry poundcake recipe soon, I promise, but this wedding cake frosting recipe is one that I think you'll want on file. it's so light and creamy, fluffy and just a touch of almond flavor but it works great for decorating and holds up in transport, warm temperatures, and inquisitive children with grimy fingers.
Not that that has ever happened.
Although the recipe calls for clear vanilla I prefer to use my own homemade vanilla which is certainly not clear. Still, with the amount of frosting the color is white or at the most a very light ivory. Feel free to use what you like.
Now, let's talk sugar. Technically Confectioner's sugar is Confectioner's sugar no matter what brand you use BUT I ALWAYS use Imperial Sugar (nope they didn't pay me) because it is pure cane sugar and not the cheaper, GMO infested beet sugar that other sugars are. If GMOs don't bother you then use whatever you like... if they do then get a sugar that says "pure cane sugar" on the label. Yes, I know that my family ingests some GMOs in the things we eat anyway but I like to cut it back as far as possible and sugar is an easy place to make sure I am getting something I consider to be high quality.
End rant.
If you have leftover frosting then you can keep it tightly covered in the fridge. You can add food coloring to make it any color you like. You can add other flavorings, lemon instead of almond for example. The only thing difficult about this wedding cake frosting recipe is making sure to whip it a full 10 minutes before adding the remaining powdered sugar. You HAVE to do that... do not cut corners!
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Flavorings make all the difference. Use real stuff whenever possible and the highest quality that you can find. Experiment with different brands until you find what you like! Here are the flavorings used in this recipe:
Clear Danncy Pure Mexican Vanilla Extract From Mexico
Simply Organic Almond Extract, Certified Organic, 4-Ounce Container
Watkins All Natural Extracts, Butter, 11 Ounce
📖 Recipe
Whipped Wedding Cake Frosting Recipe
Print SaveIngredients
- 1 cup Crisco
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt dissolved in 1 teaspoon warm water.
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla, clear keeps the frosting bright white
- ½ teaspoon clear butter flavor
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup water
- 2 pounds Confectioner's sugar, 8 cups
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Instructions
- Beat the Crisco, the salt solution, the vanilla, butter flavor, almond extract, water, and 1 pound of the Confectioner's sugar in a mixer at low speed with the whisk attachment until combined.
- Turn the mixer to highest speed and beat the mixture for a full 10 minutes, stopping occasionally to wipe down the side and mix in to the frosting.
- After 10 minutes turn the mixer off.
- Add the remaining Confectioner's sugar.
- Turn the mixer on to low and mix until the sugar is blended in.
- Add a little water if necessary to achieve the texture you want.
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Michelle
Thank you! This sounds just like the recipe that my mom used to make and I have been searching for the recipe for a long long time! I can't wait to try it
57haddreams
What kind of Crisco? Oil or solid?
Marye
Solid.
Sheila
Hello. Just wondering when do I add the coloring dye to mixing? I have gel colors. Thank you.
Marye
Anytime during the mixing process.
Carol Stuart
Hello Marie, Thank you for this recipe! I am making my granddaughter’s wedding cake and have to travel 4 hours mid September (in Ontario) to get it to the venue. I purchased the Watkins butter flavouring on Amazon - it it weren’t for you, I never would have known that that product existed! But as we have someone who is allergic to nuts, I will swap that flavouring with cream cheese flavouring. It will be going onto a carrot cake. I will make a regular cream cheese icing for between the layers but will use your icing to frost the cake. Thank you! If you have any recommendations for me, I am open to them! Take care,
Marye
Wonderful! No recommendations but thanks for commenting!
Martha Lichtenberg
Thank you for this recipe. I am making my daughters wedding cake and needed a bright white frosting that will hold up it the heat of an August evening and I wanted a bit of that almond taste. This recipe is great!
Marye
I used it for my daughter's April (in Texas) wedding and it held up beautifully!
Wanda
Looks like a wonderful icing recipe. I swore off Crisco/shortening years ago. Does this recipe do well if you substitute unsalted butter? Thank you!
Marye
Not really. The whole point of the Crisco is that it doesn't melt easily and holds it's texture for days.
Debbie
Hi Mary, I haven’t made this yet, but I am going to try it this weekend. I have a lot of sweet fresh strawberries so I’m going to make a strawberry cake with fresh strawberry glaze in between the layers. So I was going to try your icing with my cake. I have a quick question. Why would you use water instead of milk? Is that a preference? This resembles wedding cake frosting, which I’ve made in the past but using milk and not water. I do like the idea of using butter flavor instead of using direct butter again keeping the icing white.
Marye
Hi Debbie. The water allows it to crust over. For a cake like you are making I'd suggest this whipped cream cheese frosting - https://www.restlesschipotle.com/whipped-cream-cheese-frosting/