Bakery Shop Icing

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Butter or margarine (brick)
- 6 tbsp shortening
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tsp clear vanilla
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup warm milk

How to use Food Coloring

Either liquid or paste colors can be used to tint frostings.

Liquids are widely available and come in basic colors. Follow the charts printed on food color boxes to create other shades or use your own combinations. Brilliant, intense colors cannot always be obtained with liquid colors because the quantity required thins small amounts of frosting too much.

Paste colors are available in specialty stores and through some mail order catalogs. They come in a wide range of colors and produce either pastels or intense hues. You may want to start with a selection of basic colors and gradually build up your collection to include several shades of the same color. Paste colors can also be blended to produce additional colors.

Always start adding small amounts of color to your frosting. Increase the amount until the intensity is close to what you want. Frosting colors will deepen on standing, so be conservative and color the entire amount you will need. It is almost impossible to duplicate a color in a second batch of frosting.

Directions :

Sugar, shortening, cream butter, and vanilla. Stir cornstarch into milk and beating all the while, add gradually to sugar mixture . Beat at medium speed 5-7 mins until icing is creamy smooth. Beat at low speed until blended.

Note : It may look funny when you stop blending, wait 20 mins and beat again! The cornstarch may need time to thicken!

This is a nice icing for simpler work. It is very smooth and spread able. It remains soft and is easily piped for shells, drop strings, cornelli lace and many work for simple flowers and drop flowers.. (personal note; my instructor at cake decorating class will use ONLY this icing)