Finding the frosting to fit the occasion

It's as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning: A child at a birthday party quietly walks up to the dessert table and drags a finger through the creamy fudge icing, glancing around quickly to see if anyone's watching.

And sometimes it not just the kids doing the sneaking. Not many people can resist a silky ganache, a billowy white icing or a tangy whipped cream cheese topping.

Each of these icing styles has a place and a purpose.

"The first thing to think about is the sweetness; you can adjust the cake or the frosting," says Jack Bishop, editorial director for America's Test Kitchen, who oversaw production of the team's weighty "Family Baking Book" (2008, $34.95).

"Think about the cake; you don't want a real sweet cake with a real sweet frosting. If you have a cake with tons of butter, do you really want a buttery buttercream?"

Texture matters as well. "A cake with a velvety crumb will work with a ganache; cake with a spongy texture can work with a more ethereal frosting, like a seven-minute frosting. ... if you have a light spongecake, you don't want a dense frosting that will tear the cake."

In "The Art and Soul of Baking," Cindy Mushet says serving temperature should be considered as well.

"Butter cakes are best served at room temperature - their texture gets hard and dry in the refrigerator - so they should be paired with frostings that are also at their best at room temperature, such as buttercream or ganache.

"If you want to pair a butter cake with whipped cream, it's best to assemble it at the last moment and serve it while the whipped cream is still cold and the butter cake is soft and tender," Mushet says.

With that advice in mind, we've put together this primer.

Buttercream

Main ingredients: Butter and powdered sugar; shortening optional. Using high-quality ingredients and real butter is the most important procedure when making simple buttercream, says Judy Wechman of Cakes Plus in Naperville.

"Using real butter adds richness and depth of flavor. It does result in higher cholesterol, but you don't end up with a waxy aftertaste as if you had just used shortening," Wechman says.

Description: Smooth, pure white mixture of creamed butter and sugar used for cake assembly.

Variations: International adaptations include French and Italian buttercreams, which require cooking egg whites or yolks and adding a simple syrup. Buttercream easily adapts to coloring, melted chocolate and flavoring with liqueurs and extracts such as coconut, citrus and almond.

Best for: Frosting party cakes, cupcakes, cookies, wedding cakes, piping icing for decorating (making icing roses and writing) and filling layered cakes.

Chocolate frosting

Main ingredients: Chocolate, cream, sugar, butter

Description: Classic, creamy chocolate taste

Variations: You can alter the sweetness level by selecting bittersweet, semisweet or milk chocolate. "Use high-quality chocolate so you can really appreciate the frosting," Bishop says.

Best for: "Chocolate frosting is good on anything," he adds. "With a classic yellow sheet cake or cupcakes and creamy silky chocolate frosting ... it's a rich cake with a rich frosting, but it works together for me."

Cream cheese

Main ingredients: Cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract

Description: A classic, flavored icing from cream cheese and sugar

Variations: By adding cocoa powder, it can be transformed into a chocolate cream cheese or by adding it to simple buttercream, cream cheese buttercream.

"By adding the buttercream, you stabilize the cream cheese. You might still see chunks of cream cheese, but that's part of its charm," Wechman adds, of a homemade cream cheese icing. Coconut shavings, slivered almonds, toasted nuts and ginger may also dress up this tangy icing.

Best for: Frosting and filling spicier layered cakes and loaves such as carrot, pumpkin, banana and red velvet.

Fondant

Main ingredients: Sugar, water, corn syrup. Easier to purchase than to make from scratch.

Description: Pliable frosting used for covering cakes seamlessly and for making flat and 3D decorations.

"Fondant has always been popular in Europe, but American palates are more used to a sweet buttercream. Fondant has more of a marshmallow flavor," says Nancy Siler, vice president of consumer affairs for Woodridge-based Wilton Industries.

Variations: Adapts well to a variety of flavors and colors. Cooked fondant can be poured over petits fours.

Best for: Smooth finishes on a cake and for making whimsical garnishes.

"It's easier to make fondant embellishments versus a bag and tip," Siler says. "Every child has played with modeling clay."

Frost cake first with buttercream, to "glue" the fondant to the cake and to add a layer of flavor. Work quickly, she adds, because fondant can dry out. If it does start to dry, work a small amount of shortening into it. Store fondant-topped cakes at room temperature.

Ganache

Main ingredients: High-quality chocolate and heavy cream

Description: A warm legato of melted chocolate used as cake glaze or for candy making.

Variations: Bittersweet, semisweet or dark chocolate may be used to make this decadent glaze. You can add multiple flavors to ganache with liqueurs and go a step further with orange zest.

Best for: Pouring over Bundt cakes, layered cakes and pastries. Cooled ganache can be rolled into truffle spheres and covered in pecans, cocoa powder or coconut shavings or whipped for chocolate icing and filling for cakes.

Simple Buttercream

Seven-minute frosting

Main ingredients: Sugar and egg whites

Description: a sweet, glossy, billowy topping

Best for: Light sponge cakes and layer cakes. "This is the perfect pairing with our Lemon Curd Layer Cake," Bishop says, referring to another recipe in the book. "It's almost like Lemon Meringue Pie in cake form."

Cream Cheese Frosting

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

¾ stick (3 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

3 cups (9¾ ounces) unsifted confectioners' sugar

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place the cream cheese, butter and lemon zest in the bowl of the stand mixer and blend on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. You can also use a hand mixer and a medium bowl, although you may need to beat the mixture a little longer to achieve the same results. Scrape down the bowl with the spatula and beat again for 15 seconds.

Use the fine-mesh strainer to sift in the confectioners' sugar and blend on low for 15 seconds, then scrape down the bowl. Add the vanilla, turn the speed to medium and beat for 1 minute. Use immediately or refrigerate until needed.

Makes about 3 cups (1 pounds), enough for a 2-layer, 9-inch cake or 16 cupcakes.

Cook's notes: Cream cheese frosting can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept refrigerated in an airtight container. If it's too stiff to spread easily, allow it to warm at room temperature for 30 minutes, stir well and then use as desired.

"The Art and Soul of Baking" by Cindy Mushet (2008 Andrews McMeel Publishing, $40)

Chocolate Ganache

1 pound bittersweet chocolate

1 pint heavy cream

1 ounce almond or coffee liqueur

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a large metal bowl.

Bring the cream just to a boil, then immediately pour it over the chocolate, stirring with a rubber spatula to blend. Stir gently until all the chocolate has melted.

Stir in the liqueur.

Allow to cool, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula until the desired consistency is achieved.

"On Baking" by Sarah R. Labensky, Eddy Van Damme, Priscilla Martel and Klaus Tenbergen (2005 Pearson Custom Publishing)

Seven-minute frosting

1 cups (10 ounces) sugar

2 large egg whites

6 tablespoons cold water

1½ tablespoons light corn syrup

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the sugar, egg whites, water, corn syrup, cream of tartar and salt in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Set the bowl over a large saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.

Heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until it registers about 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 5-10 minutes.

Remove bowl from heat and whip with an electric mixer on medium speed until it forms soft peaks. Add the vanilla, increase speed to medium-high and continue to whip until the mixture has cooled to room temperature and formed stiff, glossy peaks, 5-7 minutes. Use immediately.

Makes 5 cups, enough for a 2- or 3-layer cake.

"America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book" (2008 America's Test Kitchen, $34.95)

Chocolate Frosting

10 ounces chocolate, chopped fine

1 cup heavy cream

¼ cup light corn syrup

¼ teaspoon salt

1⅓ cups (5 ounces) confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2¼ sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Place the chocolate in a food processor. Bring the cream, corn syrup and salt to a boil in a liquid measuring cup in the microwave. Stir the mixture to combine.

Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and process until the mixture is smooth; about 1 minute.

Add the sugar and vanilla and continue to process until combined, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, add the softened butter, one piece at a time, through the feed tube. Continue to process until the frosting is smooth and no butter chunks remain, about 2 minutes.

Transfer frosting to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until thick and spreadable, 1 to 1 hours.

Makes about 2 cups; enough for a sheet cake or two-layer cake.

Cook's note: Frosting can be made and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Let the frosting stand at room temperature, then whip with an electric mixer on medium until smooth, 2-5 minutes.

"America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book" (2008 America's Test Kitchen, $34.95)

Baking Boot Camp

6:30 p.m. Oct. 29Sur La Table, 55 S. Main St., Naperville(630) 428-1055$69

Join Cindy Mushet as she shares tips, tricks and friendly advice from her new book, "The Art and Soul of Baking."During her demonstration she'll explain many important baking techniques, why they work, how to avoid problems and how to fix things when they do flop. If you miss Mushet in Naperville, she'll repeat the demo at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 30 at Sur La Table, 52-54 E. Walton St., Chicago. (312) 337-8544.

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