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Dessert

Frosting Without Eggs

A thick, egg-free frosting made with cornstarch, powdered sugar, and water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Frosting Without Eggs

Ingredients

Directions

Make the starch paste

  1. Dissolve cornstarch in cold water.

  2. Add a little hot water and cook in a basin set in hot water until very thick.

Finish the frosting

  1. If sugar is lumpy, roll it thoroughly.

  2. Stir in powdered sugar while the starch is hot.

  3. Flavor to taste and spread on the cake while it is a little warm.

  4. Make this the day before using for best results.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Cornstarch
Thickens the liquid into a smooth paste that gives the frosting body and a stable set.
Powdered sugar
Provides sweetness and bulk, becoming the frosting's main structure once stirred into the hot starch.

The step that matters

Cook the starch until very thick. Cornstarch must be fully heated in liquid to swell and gelatinize. If it is undercooked, the frosting stays thin and may not set properly once the sugar is added.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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