Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe

Think of a Powdered Sugar Icing Recipe as the essential outfit in baking. It gives cakes, cookies, and quick breads an elegant finish and makes them taste even more delightful.

Glazed donuts, cinnamon rolls, and lemon yogurt cake all have one delightful thing in common: they are beautifully adorned with a glossy sugar icing.

To whip up this icing, I use a straightforward ratio of sugar to liquid. You can select any liquid you prefer—be it citrus juice, coffee, or liqueur—to infuse the icing with a flavor that enhances your dish.

Commonly referred to as confectioner’s sugar glaze or flat icing, this simple powdered sugar mixture forms a shiny, delicate layer that hardens upon drying. If you pour it with confidence and work swiftly, you’ll end up with a stunning icing that perfectly embraces every curve and edge of your dessert.

And speaking of curves, if you’ve got an heirloom bundt pan that’s begging to be used, dig it out of storage and bake a cake. There’s nothing prettier than a custom icing on a cake baked in an antique bundt pan. Don’t forget to take a picture and post it! I want to see it.

Making Powdered Sugar Icing for the biggest bake sale ever? To adjust the ingredients according to the number of people you’re serving, just click and slide the number next to “servings” on the recipe card below, and the recipe will automatically calculate everything for you—it’s really that simple.

What are the ingredients in a Powdered Sugar Icing?

Two ingredients. Two minutes!

Confectioner’s sugar: because this isn’t a cooked icing, using powdered sugar is important because it dissolves without heat. You can make your own confectioner’s sugar at home out of regular white sugar; I’ll show you how.

Liquid: this could be water, milk, vanilla, coffee, fruit juice, or liqueur.

How to make powdered sugar at home

1. Pour granulated sugar into a blender or food processor.
2. Blend the sugar until it is a fine, fluffy powdered sugar.
3. Use powdered sugar immediately or save it in the pantry for later.

How to make Powdered Sugar Icing

This is just the most basic ratio to make any flavor of sugar icing your heart desires. For my Lemon Blueberry Cake recipe, for example, I use water and vanilla to make a lightly vanilla-scented icing. If you love, love lemons, though, you could add just lemon juice for a tart lemon icing, instead. Zing!

Powdered sugar breaks down quite a bit, so this amount makes 1/2 – 3/4 cup icing, which should be enough for a standard cake.

• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons liquid

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar and the liquid until smooth.
2. Add more sugar or liquid, as necessary, to achieve desired consistency.
3. Use immediately.

What are some Powdered Sugar Icing flavors to try?

You better believe that this icing is versatile! Here are some ideas for different liquids to add to the powdered sugar, to flavor your sugar icing.

• Coffee powdered sugar icing: Add espresso or strong, freshly brewed coffee, maybe on Molasses Cookies.
• Apple powdered sugar icing: Apple cider, with a dash of ground cinnamon and nutmeg– might be nice on my Grandma’s Easy Spice Cake.
• Vanilla powdered sugar icing: Milk (or some water) and vanilla.
• Orange powdered sugar icing: Orange juice, with 1 tablespoon orange zest, on a basic pound cake.
• Lemon powdered sugar icing: Lemon juice, with 1 tablespoon lemon zest.
• Lime powdered sugar icing: Lime juice, with 1 tablespoon lime zest, poured over my 7UP Pound Cake.
• Almond powdered sugar icing: Milk and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract. Try it on Danish Kringle!
• Pineapple powdered sugar icing: Fresh pineapple juice.
• Cherry powdered sugar icing: Kirsch liqueur might take my Cherry Almond Biscotti from delicious to dreamy.
• Bourbon powdered sugar icing: Any old bourbon will do.

Does powdered sugar icing need to be refrigerated?

No, even if you use milk in your icing. The small quantity of milk in the frosting is kept stable by the high sugar content, allowing it to remain safe at room temperature for two to three days. However, cakes that have frosting made with eggs or egg whites, as well as those topped with whipped cream or any kind of filling, should always be stored in the refrigerator.

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