Easy and Extra Fluffy White Cloud Frosting
on Feb 01, 2012, Updated Apr 15, 2024
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My mom’s Easy and Extra Fluffy Frosting is a light, bright and not-too-sweet topping to douse on cupcakes and cakes of all varieties. This is a recipe that you will use over and over again. The perfect addition to top cupcakes and cakes of all kinds!
People often ask me what this icing tastes like because it’s slightly different from your typical icing. It has a light flavor and isn’t overly sweet. The texture is super puffy and fluffy; it will remind you of an extra-light marshmallow cream spread. It’s also crazy and unusual that this icing recipe is made without butter or powdered sugar. It’s so unique!
My mom would often make this icing recipe, and she’d top a chocolate sheet cake or chocolate cupcakes with it. My favorite part was that she’d let us do the honor of loading the cake up with sprinkles. It’s one of my favorite memories growing up!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Made without butter or powdered sugar
- So light and fluffy like a super-puffy marshmallow cream
- Great icing for any flavor of cake or dessert
Recipe Ingredients
- Egg whites – at room temperature
- Salt
- Sugar – regular granulated sugar
- Light corn syrup – for the beautiful glossy sheen
- Vanilla extract – this is the main flavor, so use the best quality you can
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Easy and Extra Fluffy Icing
- Beat egg whites and salt on high speed with a mixer until foamy.
- Slowly add the sugar, and beat the mixture until soft peaks form.
- Bring the corn syrup just to a boil over medium heat.
- Slowly pour the corn syrup into the egg mixture with mixer on high, beating until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
- Add the vanilla, mix once more, and frost a cake!
Recipe FAQs
The words frosting and icing are sometimes used interchangeably, but they differ in texture, appearance, and ingredients. Frosting is typically made with a cream cheese or butter base, while icing is usually made with egg whites and sugar. The difference in ingredients is why Icing has a lighter, thinner texture than frosting.
This icing is perfectly white because there is no butter in it! If your favorite vanilla buttercream icing has a yellow tint, you can use a very small drop of violet food coloring to counteract the yellowish tint.
Yes, this recipe doubles well. One batch is enough to frost 12 cupcakes, so doubling will frost 24 cupcakes.
Yes! This extra fluffy icing is the perfect topping for cupcakes. Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes or frost your cake right away because once the icing sets up, it’s hard to spread and doesn’t pipe well.
Expert Tips
- Use a stand mixer. Because you add a lot of the ingredients as you’re mixing, it’s way, way easier to use a stand mixer rather than a hand mixer.
- Make sure your bowl and utensils are clean. Egg whites do NOT handle grease well, and the consistency won’t end up great if there’s butter or oil on any of your materials.
- Slowly add the sugar and corn syrup. When it’s time to pour the sugar into the mixer bowl, do it very slowly to allow everything to incorporate well and form the best soft peaks. Same goes for when you add the hot corn syrup!
- Use it immediately. If you don’t, it sort of de-fluffs and loses its great shape and fullness. Also, add your sprinkles or other decorations right away because they stick best right after icing!
How to Store White Cloud Icing
Warning: This frosting must be used right away! Because this is SUCH a light frosting, it sort of loses its consistency over time if you don’t use it right away. I’d recommend icing whatever cake or cupcakes you’ve made, and then either eating or tossing leftovers if you have any. But it’s so good, you won’t want to toss it. Get out a spoon, friend!
What to Put White Cloud Icing On
This icing is a dreamy addition to so many things. Pile it high on chocolate cupcakes, like the pictures here, or really any cupcake that vanilla-flavored frosting tastes good on.
You can also put it on any other favorite cakes or favorite desserts, including homemade angel food cake, coconut cake, or even a cookie cake.
The one way I wouldn’t use this amazing icing is by putting it between the sections of layer cake. It’s too light of an icing to support the weight of layers.
More Icing & Frosting Recipes to Consider
Frosting Recipes
Caramel Cake Frosting
Frosting Recipes
Peanut Butter Frosting
Frosting Recipes
Chantilly Cream
Frosting Recipes
Cream Cheese Frosting
Extra Fluffy Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Use a stand mixer. It will change your life. You can make this using a hand mixer, but it just takes time. In a clean bowl (any grease on your bowl or utensils will ruin the icing — egg whites hate grease!), beat the egg whites and salt on high speed until foamy.
- With the mixer still running, slowly add the sugar. Beat mixture until soft peaks form. When pulling the mixer out of the white mixture, you should get a little point that bends over.
- Bring the corn syrup to a boil over medium heat in a small saucepan. When the corn syrup comes to a boil, remove from heat.
- Slowly pour the hot corn syrup into the egg mixture while your mixer is mixing on high. Beat the mixture until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Add the vanilla, and mix to combine.
- Use right away.
Video
Notes
- Use the frosting right away and eat any leftovers, as it doesn’t store well.
- You can leave a cake that has been iced with this icing uncovered, since any type of plastic wrap on it will be a mess.
- Add the sprinkles as soon as you are done spreading the icing. A thin crust will form, and the sprinkles won’t stick if you wait too long.
- This recipe doubles well.
- This is enough to frost 18 cupcakes or the outside of one layered cake. This is not a great icing to fill a layer cake. The cake kind of smashes it into nothing, and you don’t have a nice layer in the middle anymore.
Absolutely fantastic! The best icing I have ever had! Very easy to work with. Nice and Fluffy. Will definitely use on all of my cupcakes from now on. Had to get rid of the extra asap or I was going to eat it all!
Tip: The icing becomes flat and fills with air bubbles very quickly if it is not used right away (like within 5 to 10 mins). The good news is all you do is place it back on the mixer for 1 to 2 mins and it goes right back to its original state.
Thank you for this idea! I need to make 100 cupcakes so I’m in need of an inexpensive frosting and this looks great. I have a couple questions. First, will it hold food coloring? Second, you say to use right away. We will be frosting these in the morning but not serving them until night. Is that okay? Finally, how did you get the shape shown. Are they piped? Thank you!
Yep, add the food coloring to the corn syrup before you beat it in, works great. And I mean put it on the cupcakes right away, it’ll be ok if it’s put on the cupcakes in the morning and then they are eaten in the afternoon, just be sure to add any sprinkles or anything right when you frost them. Once they sit and little “crust” forms on the icing and they won’t stick after that. I just piped that on with a plain super chubby tip. I can’t remember what the number is.
Just made the frosting. It’s good! However I wasn’t sure how to spread it so it looks pretty like yours. Also, how long does it hold up? Like for taking cupcakes to a party.
I like in the dessert so it starts to almost dehydrate if I make it too far in advance and too much humidity makes it get sticky. So you can make it 12-24 hours ahead of time and frost the cupcakes right away but more than that is iffy.
Just made this. My husband’s boss asked me to make am angel food cake with an icing his grandmom used to make. He didn’t have a recipe just that it had egg whites, sugar and corn syrup. Wow! So light and not sweet at all which really surprised me. I think I liked it better before adding the vanilla though. The vanilla kind of overpowers the subtle taste. But outstanding! Thank you for sharing.
Is there something I can substitute for corn syrup?
Honey or brown rice syrup might work…
How many cups of icing does this make? Need to know asap, thank you!
About 6 cups total!
I just frosted Banana Tres Leches cake with this frosting!?Also added coconut extract along with the vanilla and light yellow food coloring, sprinkled with toasted coconut! Beautiful!
I have searched for this recipe for a very long time..I made it specific to the recipe and it turned out perfect..exactly like I remember it too..goes great with chocolate cake..
I made sure my syrup was boiling hot and used right away so my eggs cooked with heat..hope that’s true..
Perfection
I’m making this frosting right now and it refuses to make stiff peaks help please now?
When mine does that it’s because I had some trace amount of grease on my bowl or beaters, they just won’t beat right if there’s any kind of oil involved. How did it turn out???
Mine was not fluffy it looked great and tasted fine but I was hoping for a fluffy texture like your picture and I don’t know what I did wrong.
I bet you had a little grease on something, that will make it not get fluffy and it happens if you aren’t pretty careful. I’d try again! It’s so good!