This is an old family favorite because it is not as sweet tasting as other frostings and is very fluffy.
My mom has been making this for years, using light corn syrup in place of the creme of tarter (no diffrence in the taste at all). I like this one better. It's so easy once you find the trick...WHICH IS keep mixing but don't start timing your 7 minutes until after the water returns to boiling and run your mixer on high for the full 7 minutes. It's thick and creamy and tastes like marshmallow fluff. Perfect on chocolate cake or cup cakes. However you have to spread it on a completly cool cake while the frosting is still slightly warm, and DO NOT cover it it will stick to everything (as does fluff) and it does get a little grainy after it sets for a long period (6-8 hours) of time to best to make just a few hours before serving. Sounds like a lot of work but it's really not. AND IT'S WORTH WHAT LITTLE TIME IT DOES TAKE! YUMMY!!!!
Read MoreI followed the recipe to the T. The flavor was ok, but it was so runny. I stirred it for at least 15 mins and it wouldnt get stiff. Very disappointed
Read More My mom has been making this for years, using light corn syrup in place of the creme of tarter (no diffrence in the taste at all). I like this one better. It's so easy once you find the trick...WHICH IS keep mixing but don't start timing your 7 minutes until after the water returns to boiling and run your mixer on high for the full 7 minutes. It's thick and creamy and tastes like marshmallow fluff. Perfect on chocolate cake or cup cakes. However you have to spread it on a completly cool cake while the frosting is still slightly warm, and DO NOT cover it it will stick to everything (as does fluff) and it does get a little grainy after it sets for a long period (6-8 hours) of time to best to make just a few hours before serving. Sounds like a lot of work but it's really not. AND IT'S WORTH WHAT LITTLE TIME IT DOES TAKE! YUMMY!!!!
I love this frosting! I've used it for years, and it never fails to be a favorite among kids and adults, as well as a wonderful decoration on any cake or cupcake.
I use this recipe, but I add 8 small marshmallows when I pull it off the head, and beat until they melt and it's ready to spread. I've also used orange juice in place of water and orange extract in place of vanilla. It's great with my oraqnge cream cake. It's a wonderful marshmallow frosting!
I made it accrding to the recipe and it was terrific. A little less sweet than the 7 minute frosting I grew up with. I did have to beat it for more like 13 minutes. Just be sure to wait until it's thick and firm enough to spread.
This is a tried and true recipe I've used for years, and it's just like the frosting my mom made when I was little. I've noticed several of the reviews stated that theirs fell flat in spite of following the recipe exactly - perhaps I can give some insight? I've learned the hard way over many years that you cannot make this frosting on a rainy day, or even a very overcast day - the humidity in the air will prevent the egg whites from whipping up, no matter what you do. So, my advice is to check with Jim Cantore the day before you want to do this frosting. :) Otherwise, it is awesome! Perfect for a coconut cake!!!
This is the first recipe in all my life that actually IS 7 Minutes ONLY to beat. It is so fluffy and yummy, and not runny or granulated at all. Here is what I did: I had my cake cooled, the water boiling in the bottom of the double boiler, and mixer ready. Then, in the top of the bouble boiler (not over heat yet) I measured out the sugar and cream of tartar/light corn syrup, whichever you prefer.Then I separated the eggs in a small bowl. Placed the flavoring measured out, in a small measuring cup. Added the water and eggs to the sugar and set over boiling water. Immediately began mixing on high and within just one minute it was already getting that whiter look to it. After 7 minutes I removed from heat, added flavor and beat another minute. Immediately cover cake as once it cools for about 5 minutes it will rip up your cake- it gets a little thicker. Hopefully this helps the people who were having trouble with the recipe. My new go to for 7-minute.
I followed the recipe to the T. The flavor was ok, but it was so runny. I stirred it for at least 15 mins and it wouldnt get stiff. Very disappointed
Delicious! I used 2 tsp light corn syrup since I didn't have the cream of tartar and that worked well.
To anyone making this 7-minute frosting...the weather has a lot to do with this frosting...if it is a rainy or humid day it may not form stiff peaks. Whenever I have made this frosting on a rainy or humid day it doesn't set up well and is grainy. Hopefully this will help you. This still is my favorite kind of frosting. There are several different ways to make it, however, they are all very delightful.
I wasn't sure if two egg whites would give me enough frosting for a 9 x 13 cake. It gave me plenty--plus left overs. This was an easy, good frosting--which is not too sweet. The only thing I'd do differently is start with 1/2 tsp of vanilla first, as with a full teaspoon it tasted a bit to alcohol-y from the extract. This is not as sweet as other 7-minute frostings, which was a good pairing with my super sweet, rich strawberry cake. I'll definitely make this again. It's great as it doesn't require confectioner's sugar, which I usually don't have on hand.
Easy, but a little time consuming. I had to stand at my stove top for almost 15 minutes. Turned out very yummy! Kids loved it!
Absolutely perfect! I had made a fat-free coconut cake and wanted something fat free for the frosting. Everything else calls for butter, shortening or something fatty. This was perfect. I used 1/4 tsp coconut flavoring and 3/4 tsp of vanilla. Just the right amount of flavoring to go over my cake. Thanks for a great recipe. Like I told my husband, I haven't made 7 minutes frosting in about 25 years, and now I don't know why I didn't make it all these years!! Will use this recipe all the time now!
This is exactly like my Mom's! When i was a kid, I called it "marshmallow frosting". It's best on an angelfood or white cake. YUMMYLICIOUS!
I just made this today, for an angel food cake. I followed the recipe with only one change. I added an extra egg white with just a smidgen more tarter. This frosting came out simply silky smooth and with just the right amount of sweetness. This one is now my 'go to' frosting! For the grainy problem others mentioned in the reviews- just be sure the boiling water doesn't touch the bottom of your pan. I myself have had that issue until a wonderful friend told me what I was doing wrong.
Easy recipe, takes a bit of work standing and beating but makes a nice fluffy, tasty icing. I used three egg whites since my eggs seemed really small. Will make again thanks.
I made this on a very rainy day and, despite the weather, it turned out (mostly) fine. It took about 10 minutes to beat it into submission and once I realized it wasn't going to get any more stiff-peak-ish I forged ahead with it. It was a bit "relaxed" for frosting my cake but I'd run out of time and had to proceed with my slumpy frosting. It looked homey and was, in my opinion, tooth-achingly sweet. It was a pretty frosting, it worked for my cake, so I'm giving it a 3 star, but I won't make it again. The texture was just too granular for my liking and unfortunately, that was the consensus of the others eating the cake.
I just made this frosting to cover Olaf shaped rice krispie treats. It's white, fluffy and DELICIOUS! I did make it on a cool dry day - that probably helped. I made half of a batch and it was 2x more than I needed. That's ok though - the kids are eating it out of the bowl. Things I did: heat water to boiling First - then make sure it doesn't touch the bottom of the DB bowl. Mix all ingredients before putting the DB bowl over the boiling water. Left out the vanilla and used corn syrup instead of Cream of Tarter. And, beat the out of it with a hand mixer. Things I wish I would have done: turned the boil down to the lowest it would go. Taken the frosting off of the boiling water IMMEDIATELY - I waited about 30 sec after I was done mixing. The stove was off & the water wasn't boiling but the residual heat was still there. Frost IMMEDIATELY - I waited about 2 minutes to start frosting and with the extra 'cook time' it over did the bottom layer of frosting in the bowl and made it clumpy. Otherwise, it's amazing - not too sweet and super glossy and delicious.
I made this for a family friend and it turned out perfect. I used a stainless steal mixing bowl on a large pot of water as my double boiler. I also used powdered sugar instead of granulated. I used my electric mixer to mix for the 7 minutes. My husband loved it. Yummy!
The absolute best frosting ever! My mom LOVES this frosting, and instead of vanilla extract, I added coconut flavoring, to go with the coconut cupcakes, and it was AMAZING. Can't say enough good things about this recipe :)
I really liked the ease of this recipe. I added a small bit of marshmallow cream to the mix to be able to use it for two or three days and it held up well. After refrigerating the remainder of the frosting, I piped strawberry buttercream inside the chocolate cake and piped a star on the top. The combination was so tasty. I will definitely use this recipe again.
This recipe turned out great, AFTER I found out that you are supposed to use an electric mixer! I had given up on my runny mixture which i was beating with a whisk for over 15 minutes and desperately began searching for another white frosting recipe where i found one, similar to this , but it stated to use an ELECTRIC MIXER. I put mine back on the heat, even with the vanilla in it and beated it and it is perfect now, if i do say so myself ;)
It works PERFECTLY. I followed the advice of the reviewer who recommended mixing the dry ingredients together thoroughly first, then pouring in the water and egg whites together and making sure the water is boiling underneath for the full 7 minutes. It works like magic. It tastes like childhood.
I strongly agree that it takes more time to mix ,perhaps we should rename it as 14 minute icing and I think I have a solution to the grainy texture problem. I was told it was because I let the boiling water touch the bottom of my double boiler as I was mixing. I will be trying it again using less water and no rapid boil.
If yours is runny, your cream of tartar might be old! This recipe is SUPER and EASY! I know this frosting doesn't keep at room temperature and my fridge was full. Before bed I set up the whites and water in the fridge and all the dry stuff in a stainless bowl over a pot of water with the vanilla bottle and beaters out, just heated and beat it and spread it on my cake. 10 minutes after I turned on the heat, my cake was frosted. Everyone loved it. Perfect on the Black Magic cake! I was nervous because I've never seen a 7 minute recipe with water, but it was great!
It's yummy, but it seems to take more than seven minutes to get stiff peaks, even though I don't start timing until my water is boiling (in fact, I don't think I've achieved it, yet, and I've made this a couple of times already). I'm getting ready to make it again, and this time I'm going to increase my cream of tartar to a half teaspoon and see if that helps.
My first try wouldn't thicken, but the 2nd came out perfectly. Lesson learned: use fresh egg whites. Liquid egg whites from a carton will not work, or at least will take a whole lot longer than 7 minutes. I added some coconut extract along with the vanilla, and my coconut cake was a hit. This is definitely going into my cake arsenal.
I'm glad I made this first as practice for Easter. It didn't turn out as expected. I remember this frosting turning out well with a cookbook recipe version several times in the past. Decide to try the All Recipes one instead. It was a bit soft for an end product. I wanted it to stand up in peaks. In all fairness, that's what you see in the sample photo, a soft frosting. I beat it for 7 minutes over the double boiler and another 7 minutes off, trying to build volume and texture. When I make it again this week, I will add another egg white to the mix and hope that will tighten it up as well, especially since I want to top with coconut. I may just dig out the cookbook recipe which has never failed. Also, it frosted the top and sides of a cake. Adding between layers would have been skimpy. The flavor is great. Oh, and one more thing I've noticed in the past is the vanilla changes the color a bit. It's no longer perfectly white. You might want to skip that part.
I followed another cooks suggestion to used 2 tsp of light corn syrup because I didn't have cream of tartar, other than that I followed the recipe to a "T". It came out perfectly! My friends son can't have too much sugar or it makes him sick. This was just right not overly sweet and with coconut extract - Heavenly! Only thing 7 min. may not be enough time mine was more like a 15 min. frosting before I got the right consistency.
This is a great recipe. Haven't made it in years. I increased the recipe a little for a 3 layer cake and I used Maple flavoring instead of Vanilla. Yummie
Made this exactly as written. Awesome! My first time making 7 minute icing for my Dad, who has been eating it for many, many years. He actually told me it was as good as my Mom's! :) Thanks for such a great recipe!
yummy! i had no problem with this frosting getting thick enough. i beat it for the 7 minutes on the heat and about 1 more off of the heat. it worked great! it goes fantastic with chocolate cupcakes. i agree, it took me back to my childhood too!
I thought it would be more fluffy, but by the time it was spreadable it was more marshmallowy. Tasted fine, but it is still really sweet unlike what the recipe says about it being not as sweet.
I just made this recipe & it was great! I put it into a bowl & let my son & his friends decorate cupcakes with it. I don't have a regular beater so I followed the directions but after I cooked & stirred it (for 13 min) I poured it into my stand mixer & beat it on high for about 7 minutes. My son calls it "marshmallow frosting" & it's his favorite.
I made this recipe exactly as stated (although looking at it now, I did forget to add the salt). It came out perfectly. The one thing I don't think is clear is that you need to use an electric mixer inside of the double boiler. Don't beat it by hand.
After I made the frosting it looked fluffy and tasted fair; not great. I frosted the cake and it hardened and turned grainy looking. When I cut the cake the frosting just crumbled off in chunks. Not a good recipe for me.
I made it exactly as written, except I whipped the icing for about 16 minutes and it never became fluffy. The taste was ok, but the texture was all wrong. Will not make again.
Really good. I made it with the Dark Chocolate II Cake recipe which I made as cupcakes. It tasted a bit like Hostess Cupcakes except not dry. I did use a hand held mixer to mix. I'm not sure if I could have done it by hand.
This frosting was yummy and I loved that it was not too sweet. The reason I gave it 3 stars is that I had to place it in the fridge to maintain the firmness. I also had to mix longer than the required time for the peaks to form. For those who had issues with fluffiness, ensure that not even a speck of egg yoke is mixed in the egg white and that you start with a dry mixing bowl.
Frosting tasted delicious... but it took a lot longer to make, and did not get to be as stiff as I expected it to be. Easy enough to make though.
Just licked clean the bowl from a batch of this. I substituted Torani Passion Fruit syrup (available at any coffee shop) for the water in the recipe and added 1T citric acid powder (health food store) for a little tartness. It's light, fruity and simply terrific.
Awesome recipe! It reminded me of marshmallows. I cut back on the sugar and added splenda too. I used it on "Crazy Cake" a recipe from this site and they really tasted good together! I will continue to use this quick, easy and yummy frosting! Thanks!!
This was great! It was sweet but not to sweet, it was perfrct for froasting my cut out cookies. And I had some left over frosting.
First time I didn't follow the 7 minutes correctly, second time followed Lorrie's recommendation and it worked like a charm. Plenty of compliments and my new go to frosting recipe.
