This recipe is quite old, and belonged to my mother.

Fluffy Boiled Icing

white sugar

water

corn syrup

salt

vanilla extract

confectioners' sugar

Combine sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a saucepan; stir until well blended.  Boil slowly without stirring until mixture will spin a long thread when a little is dropped from a spoon (hold the spoon high above saucepan), or reaches 238 - 242 degrees F (114 - 117 degrees C).


In a large bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer until they are stiff, but still moist.  Pour hot syrup slowly over egg whites while beating.  Continue until mixture is very fluffy, and will hold its shape.  Add vanilla, and beat until blended.  If icing does not seem stiff enough, beat in 2 or 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until stiff enough to hold its shape.  Spread on cake.


This frosting was delicious and fluffy right after being prepared, but after sitting overnight, it lost all of it's fluff and dried up into a thin crust.  Unappetizing.

I loved this recipe - just like Grandma's!  I was a little worried I wouldn't know what the "spin a long thread when a little is dropped from a spoon" part looked like but it was pretty obvious once it happened.  I kept some cupcakes covered on the counter and the icing did harden a little the next day; the others I kept in the fridge and the icing was still soft.

This is a really great icing recipe.  I used it to make a flag cake and made all of the recommendations on the All Recipes article.  Although this recipe did need your full attention at all times, it was delicious, easy to spread, and looked fantastic.  Thank you for the great recipe- I will for sure be making it again.

I have been using this recipe for 10 years now. This is a classic, soft, fluffy and not so sweet frosting. This goes well with sponge cakes. This is also the very first frosting I have ever used and I absolutely loved it! I am using this recipe right now for my cakes in my cake shop. It is a hit! The costumers loved it because it is fluffy and it's great for decorating cakes and cupcakes too.

Wow is all I can say about this recipe.  I just made it for the 4th of July Flag cake and it came out so nice.  Yes, it did take a while(at least 1/2 hour) to come to the consistency it was supposed to be but it was worth the effort.  It tastes and spreads wonderfully.  Definitely a keeper.

This recipe will not hold its shape as it was represented for outside activities.  It sort of melt.  It dried out in places that was thin.

This frosting took 90 minutes to make.  I thought it was good alone, but on the cake nobody liked it.  It also was impossible to color with food dye.  It takes way too long for mediocre results, sorry.

What a great frosting.  I did not use vanilla and quite frankly, I didn't miss it. The recipe was very accurate.  I did need to add some powdered sugar to increase the thickness.  Don't be afraid that it's not thick enough.  If you try to ice your cake you will see that it just looks thin.  It has the consistency of whipped cream. I can't see using this as a decorating icing.  This was perfect for the cupcakes I made and the amount was enough to ice 26 average cupcakes.  This is a perfect marshmallow icing and I sprinkled some coconut to half of the cakes.  Thank you for this recipe.  It was perfect.

I tried this and replaced cherry juice for the water and it came out wonderful and not too sweet.

This was a great recipe! The icing was heavenly, though it did require undivided attention while cooking.

Love this icing and have made it for years. One trick I have found is to cook the icing (continually beating it over the heat until the icing can be cut with a knife and retains a clean cut. If the icing runs back together it has not been cooked long enough. Cook until you can obtain this test. All boiled icings require longer cooking on damp, heavy days than they do on dry days.

This recipe worked great for me.  I stored it in the fridge and it looked like I just made it when I took it out the next day.  Tasted wondereful.  One tip for allyour readers, is to use a metal bowl for whipping your egg whites and chill it and the beaters for an hour before using.  It helps when whipping the egg whites.

Great recipe! so white and fluffy. Not too sweet. Probably not great for detailed decorating. It looks like dairy queen soft serve ice cream or whipped marshmallows. If you don't use a thermometer then you may run into trouble. The first time I made it I thought that I had boiled it for what seemed like an eternity but when I checked it with the thermometer it wasn't quite ready. You can get a thermometer at Michaels. Well worth it This is my go to recipe unless I use cream cheese or choc icing. 

I followed this exactly and it came out great. It held its shape as I piped onto cupcakes.

I've used this recipe since 1950.  I added a little cream of tarter to hold it's shape in case the cake lasted more than a day or two.  Usually cakes were eaten before evenings end.  We liked it on Dark chocolate cake and sometimes flavored it with peppermint extract.

though i never tried it before,this recipe is great. but i recomend using paste colors, and 1/8 tsp of cream of tartar instead of salt. also it reminded me of the filling in cream horns....it's so sweet.  

I may be an average cook but I am a fantastic baker.  This icing was gross.  It tasted like cheap trashy grocery store icing.  I'm sorry but I would not even serve it to my dogs.  Oh well.

This is a definite keeper.  I printed the recipe out with photos and everything to remember.  This recipe goes so well with those July the 4 cakes with the strawberries and blueberries, and everything inbetween!  We had so much fun making this.  Be careful to estimate the correct time the mixture has been in saucepan.  We threw the first batch out and it was rock hard!!  The corn syrup will solidify.  The second batch was much better.  This whips up so well on almost anything and is easy to spread.

Followed the instructions exactly except I used cherry juice instead of water.  It turned out perfect.  Delicious!

I've made this twice now and it turned out great.  I do use a candy thermometer though and clear vanilla extract.  I Love how white this frosting is.

This was great...not too sweet. Will definitley make this again.

This is a good one... it is so fluffy... and white, perfect for the flag cake.  It does seem to have the constancy of marshmallows.    I'm on day two, and it has not gotten hard like others have written, but I did refrigerate the left over cake and wrap with saran rap.  This would be GREAT inside to chocolate cookies like Moon-Pies!  I'm going to try that next!  

I cooked the icing at level 4 on my oven and it took at least 15 minutes to be ready.  I started to watch the clock after it started boiling.

Making this icing was a disaster.  I made it as part of the flag cake and the 1st round, the vanilla made it look very brown (so don't use too much vanilla).  The 2nd round, I beat and beat and beat the darn thing, but it ended up like melted whip cream.  I put it on the cake anyways and it was "ok."  Everyone loved the actual flag, but this icing really ticked me off.  At least my mom got a good laugh out of it! ;-)

This icing does take a little while, but it is soooo worth it! My husband has been asking me to try and find the icing that the local Mennonites use on their angel food cake--and this is it! Thanks so much for the recipe!!

After making this recipie the icing hardened right away and became to crusty and stiff to use.  I do have a feeling that the sugar may have boiled a little too long.  It tastes good, though; but, I can't spread it on a cake.

Loved the frosting and its ease to make! Thank you!

This recipe is fantastic, the flavour was delicious and my guests loved it!  However, I wasn't a fan of the powdery texture the added couple tablespoons of icing sugar gave it.  If I were to make it again (which I definitely will) I think I'd skip on the icing sugar - I think the thickness of the icing without it would be fine, and worth the smooth creamy texture I'm looking for.

Boiled icing is a form of sugar confection. Because you are making candy, precise temperature of the sugar is critical. 2 degrees too hot and you have an unspreadable dry foam; 2 degrees too cool and you have a slumping wet marshmallow. Further, altitude dramatically affects the correct temperature that you need. The only way to get this recipe precisely right is to experiment. A perfect boiled icing will not have too much shine/gloss (sugar temp too low, which will result in slumping), nor be too matte (sugar temp too high, which will result in the icing setting up in your mixing bowl and be very difficult to frost). With patience, and when you get it right, this is a phenomenal feather to have in your baking cap, so practice and get your right recipe, and a very good quality candy thermometer (infrared non contact if you can afford it!)

This was exactly the recipe that I was looking for!  I love this icing.  Thanks!

I made this recipe tonight for my son's birthday cupcakes.  Cons:  I do think the recipe's directions need some clarification.  238 is soft-ball stage and is too hot; I ruined the first batch by following this.  I believe maybe they meant to say the icing forms a soft thread in cold water, which is thread stage,about 10 degrees cooler.  Also, fyi, this is not a decorating icing; it's a marshmallow-style icing.  

Pros:  I really like the flavor of this icing, and for a marshmallow style icing it has a nice consistency.  Making it into chocolate with melted chips is wonderful.

Hints: Chill bowl and beater before beating egg whites.  This cuts down immensely on time apparently 'cause it didn't take me long at all 'til it was done.  Beat 'til knife makes a clean path in the icing.  Also, if you're going to make it into chocolate icing, try melting about 1/3 c. chips and adding with the syrup or maybe putting them in the syrup after removed from heat; they'll melt fast. Add later and it will ruin the structure (as I did; oops :), tho the flavor will still be excellent and consistency still spreadable :)

REALLY great recipe! worked perfect,wasn't hard to make and it  tasted sooo yummy!!

great recipe! had to add more powdered sugar to make more stiff although i dont think i cooked the sugary mix long enough.

I made this exactly as the recipe said and it turned out great, everyone loved it.

I used this recipe to swirl on the top of my son's birthday party cup cakes. Everyone loved them.

my version is, 3 egg whites instead of 2 and 1/2 Tbsp corn syrup, pinch of cream of tartar instead of salt.  i don't add extra confectioner's or icing sugar anymore since this will make the icing hard.  i just make sure that the egg whites are at room temperature, my bowl is free from grease and dry.  i sometimes omit the corn syrup but i make sure that the sugar syrup is really cooked right.

VERY GOOD RECIPE, JUST WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR....

I have this recipe from my grandmother (I am 69) I use to make this all of the time and use on angel food birthday cakes!  Wonderful to see people using it now, brings back fond memories.

I don't know what i did wrong, but the icing came out terrible. It had the consistency of melted marshmallows.

i found this very hard to make. when i added the suger concoction to the eggs it hardened and i had to throw the whole thing out. i would not recomend this recipie

I've made this three times now. When it wasn't fluffy the first time, I figured it was because of my inexperience and I assumed I'd made a mistake. But then I made it again, and it turned out now different, although I did a couple things differently. Finally, I had someone else with more experience assist me, with the same result. It was not even slightly fluffy and even after 3+ tbsp. of icing sugar it was too thin to ice the sides of the cake. We concluded that this just isn't a good recipe.

This was awesome!! Remember having it as a child! I did add the 1/8 tsp. of cream of tartar and just a pinch of salt, used the candy thermometer to get up to 242 degrees and it was perfect, didn't have to add any powdered sugar. Thanks for the recipe!!!

thank you so much!!! this is the best gluten and dairy free icing recipe i've found!!!  it made our family very HAPPY!!! :-)

This worked really well. I didn't  need the icing sugar but added one table spoon just to add some more sweetness. It was quick, easy and delisious!

It came hard and crusty impossible to spread

This is the frosting that I loved, when my Grandmother hosted birthdays.  So Yummy with chocolate cake.
I made no changes, but did add a little confectioners sugar

Thank you for bringing this recipe to this current generation. I made this in the 1960s with my Mom and she made it all her life until she passed at 95. She used it on sugar cookies. I thought I had lost it, so thank you for sharing it here.

fluffy boiled icing

Servings: 2

Cost: $12.57 /serving

Author : Allrecipes Member

Ingredients

Instructions

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