Icing Sugar - Soft/Hard Icing

Does anybody know which brand of icing sugar is the old fashioned one and the icing on the cake goes hard?

The modern icing sugar is a bit like what I remember American frosting to be (that was in the early 80s).

I've just starting baking again & the first cake I iced was just like it used to be. I threw out the icing sugar bag & didn't notice the brand. When I iced the next cake the icing didn't set &, of course, I couldn't remember the brand of the one that did.

I made ginger crunch the other day & the icing never really set, it was just gooey & sticky. I made the old style ginger crunch which really crunches when you bite into it but the icing certainly didn't crunch.

Anybody know which branch or how to tell?

Thanks.

I think I heard the answer to this on the Good Morning show today.[]

She was waffling on about hard and soft icing...

Seems the soft icing is because the icing sugar has been ground with cornflour mixed in with it.
You need to look for "Pure Icing Suguar" that does not have the cornflour mixed in with it

I'm sure that is what she said, or was it the other way around..........

For hard icing its pure icing sugar, egg white and water...the softer icings usually have cornflour and/or glycerine added

I just use the cheapest one at the supermarket. How do you make your icing?

How do I make my icing?

Any of the recipes in my Edmonds book. Favourite is the one for Christmas cake? has brandy (or wine) butter, water? & icing sugar. They've all worked beautifully in the past & have set properly.

It's definitely not about how I make it.

I'll take my glasses to the supermarket next time & check the ingredients. Cornflower!!! Yuk!

I hate that soft icing because it reminds me of mock cream! Yuk! Also, it's not a good look when you 'take a plate' and the icing on your famed ginger crunch won't set (tasted yum though!).

Thanks.

Can't help you because I don't know the answer, but how I make the icing seems to be what effects the setting.

However now that I have read this I might pay more attention to what is in the bag next time I have to buy some(which isn't all that often really).

Maybe you just had a dud bag of icing sugar. I don't bake often but haven't had that problem yet.

For years I thought it was me [] and then I heard that cornflour was added.
I have made the icing thicker over time. Putting it in the microwave to melt it to a consisitency to be spreadable [^], (sets like fudge if you boil it) .
So you get what you pay for. I might have to start checking out the
pure stuff too.

The most popular brand of sugar in New Zealand has added tapioca starch to its icing sugar. This is the one I used for the ginger crunch last week.

I shall go through the different brands in the super market(s) & see if the pure sugar one does the trick.

Will let you know.

PS - Quote from that well known brand:

"And our icing sugar is approved by the Coeliac Socity of NZ as Gluten Free. We use Tapioca Starch rather than a wheat based product to ensure our icing sugar is free flowing and doesn't form into hard lumps."

I couldn't care about the lumps because I sift it anyway. I'd prefer the darned stuff to set!

Me Too Toast,[}], hate it when in damp weather the icing liquifies, or doesn't set a all.[!]

Cleaned out the cupboard tonight & found yet another bag of half used icing sugar/tapioca starch & then I found an unopened bag of another brand. Yeah, I thought! But oh no, more icing sugar/tapioca starch. However, this one gives two recipes on the front; one for soft icing and one for Royal icing (hard) so that's a start. Only thing is it requires a beaten egg-white which is ok but really .....!

Anyway, next trip to the supermarket(s) I'll take my glasses & check out the ingredients.

Pam's brand icing sugar has starch in it too! Blah!