Water Icing
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Sift the confectioner's sugar into a bowl.
Make the icing
For plain water icing, mix the sifted sugar with cold water until smooth.
For boiled water icing, mix the sifted sugar with boiling water until smooth.
Finish
If using plain water icing, set the iced goods in a 400°F (200°C) oven for a few seconds to dry.
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
- Confectioner's sugar
- Provides sweetness and the bulk that forms the icing.
- Cold water
- Dissolves the sugar into a smooth, thin icing for a plain finish.
- Boiling water
- Dissolves the sugar more fully, giving a smoother, glossier icing that sets with a sheen.
The step that matters
Sifting the confectioner's sugar. Sugar lumps left in the icing will not dissolve fully and leave a grainy texture. Sifting breaks up clumps so the icing mixes smooth.
“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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