How Much Frosting You Should Actually Make For One Single Cake
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What do birthdays, anniversaries, surprise parties, and afternoon tea all have in common? They're all a whole lot better when there's a cake involved. While you could certainly whip up a pound cake or a bundt cake and do a simple icing drizzle or glaze — some cakes deserve something creamy and luscious, like Jaime Bachtell-Shelbert's classic vanilla buttercream frosting. Many types of cake simply aren't complete without a frosting to envelop each and every crumb. But exactly how much does one single cake need?
It can be difficult to determine just how much of that tasty frosting to whip up. Chances are, the recipe you're using to make frosting isn't going to be the exact amount you need for a single cake. So, what's the rule for preparing frosting to make sure there's enough or that none of it goes to waste? Jerrelle Guy, author of "Black Girl Baking" and the founder of Chocolate for Basil, is an expert when it comes to all things baking, and she recommends using the same rule whenever you're making cake frosting.
"A good rule is to always make more than you think you need to account for mistakes or mixing multiple colors — you can freeze any you don't use," said Guy. "For a basic 9 inch cake with a basic buttercream frosting, make at least 2 cups of frosting per layer. Regular-sized cupcakes take about 2 tablespoons per cupcake, and mini cupcakes need about 1 teaspoon of frosting each."
It's always better to have too much frosting than not enough, so freeze the rest
You've baked a simply beautiful multi-layered cake, and now it's time to make a frosting and decorate it accordingly. Channeling your inner "Great British Bake-Off contestant," you follow Jerelle Guy's advice and prepare 2 cups of frosting for each layer — but there's extra frosting to be had, and not just a few delicious licks off the back of a spoon. What to do with that extra frosting? Guy has the answer, though it may be considered a controversial one.
"It's always better to make extra frosting so you won't run the risk of running short midway through decorating, but if you do run out, just whip up another batch, you can always just freeze whatever you don't use for next time, so it doesn't happen again," said Guy. "And once it's frozen, just remember you'll need to thaw and re-whip it to get it back to the right texture before you apply it."
If there's extra frosting, freeze the rest. Seems simple enough, right? Here's where the controversy comes in. Some bakers say it's a bad idea to make cake frosting in advance, noting that frosting made ahead of time can become dry and unworkable. But, by using Guy's tip of re-whipping it to get it back to its former creamy, velvety texture, that frozen cake frosting is as good as gold when you need frosting in a pinch.