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READY IN 17 mins

Frosting Made Easy

Read Reviews (15)

"This was my Nana's homemade frosting and everyone loves it! So I'm now sharing it with all of you so you can enjoy it also. It can easily be flavored and colored with extracts or food coloring." — Kim

Ingredients Edit and Save

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Sugar and Sweeteners

Original recipe makes 3 cups Change Servings

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup margarine, softened

1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup milk

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Directions

Pour milk into a saucepan, and bring to just a simmer. Be careful, if it starts to boil, it will quickly boil over.
Meanwhile, combine the shortening, margarine and sugar in a large bowl, and beat with an electric mixer until light. When the milk is heated, gradually drizzle in the hot milk, while continuing to whip until light and fluffy.

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PREP 15 mins
COOK 2 mins
READY IN 17 mins

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Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Oct 04, 2005

My mother in law also made this frosting, the tips she told me to having it turn out good were to always use whole milk and to have patience. It takes about 10-15 minutes of beating (easier in a stand mixer). My personal preference is to use this frosting on a cake that is kept in the fridge. Jello cake is excellent much better then the standard cool whip. Also I learned the first time I ever made this not to taste it til it was completely done, IT WILL TASTE AWFUL before its mixed til fluffy, it sets up to a firm frosting on a fridge cake. I also stick it in the fridge for a few minutes before I frost my cake.

—Cinnamon

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Oct 04, 2004

Needed some frosting in a pinch, and this worked out great. It was pretty basic, but i suppose it's supposed to be. I flavoured mine with vanilla. The flavor of the frosting was pretty decent, a little lacking in complexity (all my mouth was thinking was 'Sugar and butter') Aslo, i would strongly recommend adding the hot milk, very little by little. I accidentally put too much in at once and it melted all of my butter and shortning, and i was left with a runny liquid. I tried to put it in an ice bath, but it never thickened up the way i was hoping it would. Ended up using it still drippy Will probably try this recipe again when i have the need- I like how simple it is to make. Good recipe to know, incase you ever have a frosting emergency.

—ShrimpGhost

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18 Ratings

Jun 27, 2008

This was good and easy to make. I used 1 cup of butter instead of shortening and margarine. You definitely have to add the milk slowly and mix it for a bit til it's a nice texture. Turned out great.

—kate sf

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Apr 14, 2010

I followed the suggestion of another reviewer and used unsalted butter instead of shortening and margarine; I also added a teaspoon of vanilla and combined half-and-half with 1% milk. I used my KitchenAid stand mixer to whip the frosting and it turned out fluffy, light and not too sweet. I will definitely use this recipe again!

—Kinzie

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Apr 01, 2009

i made this recipe because i didn't have enough confectioners sugar to make the icing i usually make. this was definitely easy to make, and it ended up with a nice consistency- very light and fluffy and easily spreadable. it was mostly bland with a strong aftertaste of shortening, and not at all sweet. i ended up dumping the rest of my confectioners sugar in it to sweeten it up a little and that didn't improve it much.

—distorted_perfection

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Feb 13, 2008

Well, it is easy - i'll give it that. However, I really do not care for this frosting at all. I did listen to the advice to let it blend for 15 minutes first, but it still tastes aweful and I'm pretty sure that I did everything correctly - it would be hard not to. I just abhor the taste of shortening and this tastes like crisco mixed with sugar. Sorry, but no thanks. I looked at some other recipes in an effort to fix this. I added one egg white and another 1/2 cup butter. It tastes a lot better and the butter seems to have gotten rid of the shortening taste. it will do.

—Kelly

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Mar 21, 2011

I used butter instead of margarine and shortening and this frosting tasted sooo good and was wonderfully fluffy. I will be using this recipe for the rest of my life!

—SCIXONU

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Apr 01, 2011

If I could give this no stars I would. I followed the recipe to a tee and all I got was slop. looked like soup in the bowl. I was very upset that I had wasted my ingredients on this. DO NOT MAKE!! For those that had no problem I'd like to know your secret. Very dissapointed.

—yogi

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Nutrition

Calories
143 kcal
7%

Carbohydrates
11.6 g
4%

Cholesterol
< 1 mg
< 1%

Fat
10.9 g
17%

Fiber
0 g
0%

Protein
0.4 g
< 1%

Sodium
63 mg
3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Frosting Made Easy

Serving Size: 1/18 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 18
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 143
Calories from Fat: 98

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 10.9g 17 %
Saturated Fat 2.4g 12 %
Cholesterol < 1mg < 1 %
Sodium 63mg 3 %
Potassium 18mg < 1 %
Total Carbohydrates 11.6g 4 %
Dietary Fiber 0g 0 %
Protein 0.4g < 1 %
Sugars 11.6g
Vitamin A 5 %
Vitamin C < 1 %
Calcium 2 %
Iron < 1 %
Thiamin < 1 %
Niacin < 1 %
Vitamin B6 < 1 %
Magnesium < 1 %
Folate < 1 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.