Frosting vs. Icing

Definition: Frosting vs. Icing

January 8, 2007

Frosting: A sweet glaze often made with sugar, butter, water and egg whites or milk, often flavored and cooked (although it can be uncooked). It's used to cover or decorate baked goods, such as cakes or cookies and can range from thick to thin.

Icing: see Frosting. Yep that's right, the words are interchangeable. Often frosting is actually a type of icing, but it depends on where you're from.

Frosting and icing seem to be words that vary by region. So how about you, what do you call it?

21 Comments

2 years 24 weeks

My great-grandmother used both terms. Born and raised in the South. She made cakes for churches and tea rooms. She used both terms: "frosting" for the light, fluffier (more air) spreads and "icing" for the denser (less air) spreads.

2 years 31 weeks

Frosting is the soft fluffy stuff you spread on baked cakes and cupcakes. Yummy! Icing is the runny stuff you glaze over a donut or even some cakes. Icing can turn into a hard glazing also.

3 years 2 days

i have always said frosting is the white and rainbow stuff u get in a can and put on a homemade cake and icing is the blue and red stuff u get on a store made cake i never eat icing but i always eat frosting there is a difference i have tased it!

3 years 30 weeks

Icing is something they penalize you for in hockey.

meatloafmamma 4 years 38 weeks

Ever hear of "icing on the cake?"

lanilovespeaches 5 years 42 weeks

i usually say frosting and icing, depends i think

Mme Hart 6 years 19 weeks

Yep, gateau is right...fat has many words. On the nutritional information on a box (like pasta) it's listed as Lipides, otherwise it is gras when it is masculine and grasse when it is feminine. I'm beginning to see why French is confusing LOL! Mind you, English has two words for the topping on a cake ;) Canadians tend to say icing and Americans say frosting, from what I can summise.

smeehle 6 years 19 weeks

Frosting is the stuff on a cake. Icing is a harder glaze, like royal icing.

dancemiadance 6 years 19 weeks

icing is the harder stuff on gingerbread men. frosting is the yummy stuff you eat straight out of the container with a spoon :)

riotgeek 6 years 19 weeks

In my neck of the woods frosting has butter in it. Icing doesn't.

Marci 6 years 19 weeks

I say both. And I didn't know that until I saw this question.

mrs_smith 6 years 19 weeks

I always say frosting- icing makes me think of a thinner glaze, like on cinnamon rolls.

ForgetMeNot 6 years 19 weeks

I'm Canadian and I always call it icing, but my American husband always calls it frosting!

3Sweeties 6 years 19 weeks

For the gateau? haha- did I remember the right word? What it the word for fat? For some reason I think they were similar sounding words.

Mme Hart 6 years 19 weeks

It's either le glacage or le glacé de sucre!

3Sweeties 6 years 19 weeks

Too bad we can't edit previous posts!

3Sweeties 6 years 19 weeks

Mme- what is the word in French?

3Sweeties 6 years 19 weeks

oops! I meant to say Frosting" is the birthday cake stuff! haha

Mme Hart 6 years 19 weeks

In English, I say icing...lol

arianell 6 years 19 weeks

For me, frosting is the fluffy stuff on a birthday cake, and icing is the sugary stuff on a cinnamon roll.

3Sweeties 6 years 19 weeks

I say frosting. I guess, when I think about the two, I think of icing more as a thinner glaze, ie powdered sugar mixed with lemon juice to drizzle over lemon bread. And I think of icing more as a butter based, thicker, fluffy birthday cake topping.

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21 Comments

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