This frosting is very similar to Swiss meringue, which is also cooked. The big difference is how they are cooked: Swiss meringue is cooked, then beaten off the heat while seven-minute frosting is beaten as it cooks on the heat. I love fluffy seven-minute frosting on fine-grained cakes like devil’s food cake, red velvet cake, and coconut cake. It also stars as the frosting and filling of our Fresh Strawberry Layer Cake. One thing to keep in mind is that seven-minute frosting is best enjoyed the day you make it, when it’s fluffy and soft. After about 4 hours, it starts to deflate and become sticky.
What If I Don’t Have a Hand Electric Mixer?
There are ways, yes, but they’re basically adaptations of Swiss meringue—so if you only have a stand mixer, we recommend making our Swiss Meringue recipe instead. It is possible to make this sans electricity, with handheld eggbeaters (that’s how this recipe originated), though it’s tricky, since it takes both hands to operate the beaters. You’d need to have a very stable double boiler and resilient arms (or someone in the kitchen helping you make the frosting). But, we haven’t tested the recipe using a handheld eggbeater.
Why Is It Called Seven-Minute Frosting?
It takes roughly seven minutes of cooking and constant beating for the frosting to transform. Seven minutes is not a magic number though—sometimes it takes more time, sometimes less. Use both a timer and our visual cues in the recipe and you’ll be in good shape.
Slow and Steady Makes for a Fluffy Frosting
After many experiments, I discovered heating the egg-and-sugar mixture too fast resulted in a frosting that was dense and sticky. For the lightest frosting with the biggest volume, make sure the water is simmering, not at a full boil, and keep the bowl 4 to 5 inches above the water. Don’t be in a rush—take pleasure in watching the process unfold.
Ways to Flavor Seven-Minute Frosting
Looking for ways to jazz up this fluffy cloud of sweetness? Here’s how:
Use brown sugar or maple sugar (not syrup) instead of granulated white sugar Fold 3 ounces melted and slightly cooled unsweetened chocolate to the finished frosting. You want the chocolate to be the same temperature as the frosting when you add it—otherwise, the chocolate will seize Fold 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon, orange, or lime zest into the finished frosting. If using orange zest, use orange juice instead of water Add 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract instead of vanilla extract Add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract instead of vanilla extract
Troubleshooting Seven-Minute Frosting
Learning frosting takes time. I’m here to help. Here are somethings that could go wrong and what to do about it.
Frosting is gritty: This happens when sugar at the rim of the bowl does not get dissolved. There’s nothing you can do to fix it. In the future, be sure all the sugar is dissolved—scrape the bowl down with a rubber spatula while whipping.Frosting is droopy instead of light and fluffy: The egg and sugar mixture got too hot, too fast. When this happens, your frosting will be tacky and viscous, like marshmallow fluff from a tub. At this point, there’s no fix—you can still use it, but it will be harder to spread, and won’t hold its shape very well. Next time, have your water at a hearty simmer, not a rapid boil. Your bowl also may have been too close to the water in the double boiler
Frosting in a Snapshot
How do you match this with cake? If frosting had a dating profile, this would be it.
Taste: Extremely sweet, marshmallow-likeTexture: Light and billowyPiping: Good for piping through a large star tip, but not good for fine detail work—it sets up too fastWorks best on: Layer cakes and cupcakesTime investment: Less than 10 minutes.Make-ahead: Use frosting immediately after making; cakes are best enjoyed the day they are decorated. This frosting cannot be frozen
Advantages of Seven-Minute Frosting
Quick to makeEasy to spreadLight and airyYou can torch it like meringue
Drawbacks of Seven-Minute Frosting
A handheld electric mixer is a mustCan’t freeze it Can’t make-aheadDifficult to cover, sticks to plastic wrap; not good for transporting
More Mouthwatering Frosting Recipes
Cream Cheese Frosting Vegan Chocolate Frosting Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
This recipe calls for partially cooked eggs. Because of the possibility of salmonella, we don’t recommend this recipe for the elderly, the very young, pregnant women, or those with weakened immune systems. Be sure to use clean, uncracked eggs. You can make this with pasteurized egg whites. You do not want the simmering water in the saucepot to touch the bottom of the bowl. You are using the steam to cook the frosting, not the water directly. The greatest danger with this frosting is cooking it over too high of heat. After 2-3 minutes, the mixture will be foamy, with finer bubbles. Around 4-5 minutes, it will have greatly increased in volume and will be fluffy, and white like soft clouds. Around 5-7 minutes, the beaters will leave very distinct trails in the frosting. It will be glossy, stiff, and sticky. If you lift the beaters from the bowl, they’ll form firm little peaks in the frosting. Keep beating and cooking until you see the peaks—it might take a little less or more than 7 minutes.
