In this small quaint town, there are few people that you don’t run into on a daily basis. It’s been a culture shock, a climate shock, and definitely a culinary shock since moving to this northern Canadian burg. And while there are moments where I long for my urban desert home, there are also moments of sweet and utter bliss. One of those moments happened when I met Pat.
Pat is a sweet old lady who lives just a few houses down from me. She’s a fun witted grandma with a few stories to tell. She belongs to the same Church as I do, and when you have less than 30 members in your area, you get to know them really well. Pat’s husband passed away last July, and all of her children and grandchildren have long since moved away. She’s been having trouble getting around on her own these days, so she’s moving closer to her family. We have been assisting Pat in packing up her house and finding little treasures along the way.
We stumbled across an old trunk that was filled with love letters, hand-made baby blankets and booties, knick-knacks, and a plethora of hand written recipes. My heart began to beat faster as I ran my fingers through them, and I could see Pat become excited when I asked her about them. She hasn’t cooked much since her husband passed, and it was something she loved to do. She graciously gave me a stack of intriguing recipes and I couldn’t wait to dig in.
The first one that really caught my eye was this Fluffy Brown Sugar Icing.
What I love about old recipes is the way they are written.
Pat wrote: “drops like a hair from spoon” as to know when the brown sugar mixture is ready. It was interesting, and I had to see what she meant.
Plus… hello… FLUFFY BROWN SUGAR ICING!! How could you not want to know what that tastes like?!
Sure enough, the mixture of brown sugar, water and corn syrup becomes thick like a rich caramel and when dropped from a spoon makes tiny (even smaller than pictured) strands that resemble hair.
Then you: “Pour hot syrup in a thin stream into egg whites, beating constantly.”
I thought for sure this wouldn’t work. Maybe I am just really novice when it comes to egg whites, but I assumed pouring a hot liquid into them would almost immediately deflate them.
But no, it didn’t.
In fact, it held it’s shape and gained a glossy shine.
It was amazing, and the taste is stellar. It’s like a fluffy caramel marshmallow frosting.
I dipped many things into that Fluffy Brown Sugar Icing. Chocolate covered graham crackers, pretzels, and peaches. The peaches won in my book. My husband just rolled his eyes said, “Oh, now peaches need frosting?!”
But seriously, this icing would be amazing when paired with just about anything… even a spoon.
Thanks for letting me introduce you to Pat. I have several more recipes that I can’t wait to share with you!
UPDATE: Here are some more of Pat’s Recipes: Cherry Nut Bread and Very Nice Chocolate Frosting
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Fluffy Brown Sugar Icing {Pat’s Recipes}
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 4 egg whites
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Mix brown sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil. (Be careful, as it will rise, so make sure the sides of your pan are taller). Let it boil at medium to medium high until the syrup drops like a hair from spoon (approximately 10 minutes). Remove from burner and set aside.
- Meanwhile, beat egg whites until stiff.
- SLOWLY pour the hot syrup in a THIN stream into egg whites, beating constantly. Beat until icing holds peaks, then blend in vanilla.
- Let cool to room temp, then store covered in the fridge until ready to use.
As you can see my name is Pat, I was named after my mother, Pat. This was her signature icing when I was a child. She would frost a spice cake with it and take it to neighbor’s homes when there was an event in the family. I always loved this frosting!
Pat
This looks amazing and what a heartfelt story to go with it. I was wondering how this would hold up piped high on top of cupcakes in warmer weather. Could they be left setting out for a good part of the day and remain intact?
Thanks
I can totally see myself devouring peaches and strawberries dipped in this icing! Need to make that a reality–and soon!
so sweet of you to help your neighbor – we have an elderly neighbor whom i have come to adore and we help her where we can too. my question is did she say if there was any specific cake or dessert she used this icing on? it just seems to me with so many of these old recipes that there were specific pairings. just curious! please thank her for her generosity in sharing with you and, hence, all of us!
Thanks Jeannine! Pat said she would use this on a chocolate cake, but I think it would be delicious on a spice cake as well. 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
This frosting looks so good… unfortunately I screwed it up SO bad 🙁 I overcooked the brown sugar mixture… it wasn’t a pretty sight! I’m not sure if I have it in me to try it again. Maybe someday 🙁
thank u so much for posting. i had a similar recipe from grandma years ago, but over the years of moving it got lost.how many times did i wish i had the recipe .i used to eat it with a spoon sometimes as well lol.this recipe is even better,and i think its the story behind it.love old stories and old recipes. they are still the best in my book .every time i make it i remember the story behind it.
thanks again for sharing.
Has anyone tried freezing this frosting? My son has a milk intolerance so I like to keep frosted cupcakes in the freezer to pull out when we go to birthday parties so he gets some cake too 🙂 Can’t wait to try out this recipe!!
I’ve never tried freezing this frosting, so I can’t help you with that one. Sorry!
Is there a way to sub the corn syrup?
I loved the light creamy texture and the delicious flavor. I refrigerated my cake and the extra frosting. Unfortunately, my frosting separated and melted off my cake. Although the extra frosting whipped back up it was not the same. Any suggestions on fixing this? How do you store cakes and extra frosting?
Hi Theda, unfortunately, the frosting does not stay together for more than 2 days (in my experience) in the refrigerator. I’ve never tried freezing it, so I’m not sure how well it would hold up in there. I’m glad you enjoyed the icing though! 🙂
This is whats considered an Italian Meringue. Unless you bring your sugar to hardball, this will only bring your egg whites up to about 125deg and should NOT be considered safe for immune compromised or elderly people. Use pasturized egg whites to be safe.
thanks so much! i was looking for a great frosting for my sisters wedding cake that was dairy free and not too greasy. she hates buttercream and this looks perfect. do you think i could add a little lemon flavoring because she wants a strawberry lemonade cake. any advice would be great!
I have made this frosting several times, it is nothing short of amazing. However, because of the brown sugar it has a caramel taste to it. I personally don’t think the caramel and lemon flavors would blend well. If you make it with white sugar (the standard seven minute frosting), you could certainly add the lemon. I hope this helps some.
Hi! I tried reading through all the comments, but I didn’t see a post like this. Mine is so hard! Like caramel flavored rock candy. It tastes really good, but I can’t use it as icing. LOL Any tips for me?
Nevermind, I think I figured it out! I don’t think I beat my eggs enough. :-/
Hii. Thank u so much x that recipe. Im also member of the church in Panama (centro America) and its wonderful. God bless u and pat.
Tell Pat THANKS for us…love the non-dairyness of this pretty frosting!
Lost me at eggs…I was getting soo excited. Maybe I’ll try it with something else to substitute the eggs.
Does this icing hold up well for piping? I’m making a carrot cake for an Easter birthday, and was thinking that this might work well flavor-wise. Have you tried piping on a cake with it?
Hi Peggy! I piped the frosting into that jar in the picture, and it held well while it was in there. The frosting will only hold for a day, maybe two if it’s refrigerated, so I wouldn’t frost it too early. Enjoy!
I made this frosting today for bananna cupcakes. Took me 3 batches to get it close. The first batch, i lost when the egg whites deflated after adding the sugar syrup. Any idea what may have caused my eggs whites to flop? Could my syrup not have been cooked enough or added to quickly? Batch 2 the sugar syrup was ready before the eggs whites and burned. Batch 3 worked with some caramel crunchies in the frosting. Very nice light texture and not overly sweet. Any advice would be appreciated.
Good Lord, a complete fail for me. Everything was going great….then I smelled the burning. Filled the house with that burnt sugar smell. Maybe I will try again some day as it looks really great! And it seems that others have had great success. Thanks for posting the recipe.
I’m sorry Brenda, keep an eye on that sugar and don’t let it go too long, then everything should be great!
I bought a candy thermometer! I’m going to have another try tonight!
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This was beyond incredible. I was worried about bits and pieces. I had some of the syrup slinging onto the side of my mixing bowl and becoming hard as a rock. So I thought, well, what the heck. If it’s already ruined, it won’t hurt to keep mixing it. It was AMAZING! I did end up with some gunk on the beater and in the very bottom of the mixing bowl, but the vast majority of it is unbelievable. I posted on FB that I’m sure the streets of heaven must be paved with this stuff, it’s THAT good!!!
Thank you SO much. Love your blog!!!
Just made this for the first time. (It’s not even on the cake yet! lol). I wish I’d read the comments first and used my thermometer for the syrup. Also, I’m thinking a stand mixer is a MUST for this recipe. I couldn’t work the mixer, hold the bowl AND pour the syrup in a thin stream. I enlisted the help of my teenage son to whip the egg whites while I poured in the syrup, but, since I’d interrupted a game of Flappy Bird he wasn’t very helpful. I ended up with some hard candied syrup lumps on the beaters and a few in the bowl. Still tastes AMAZING though!!!
I will make it and add softened butter to make an icing. Do you think it will stay as fluffy?
Can’t wait to try this recipe. I love this story, it’s beautiful. Thanks for sharing Pat with us!
Hi i am kavin, its my first time to commenting anywhere, when i read this paragraph
i thought i could also make comment due to this brilliant article.
how long did it take you to get stiff peaks? it’s taking me longer than I expected… 🙁
It can several minutes for the egg whites to get stiff, just keep the beaters moving at a high speed to incorporate some air into them.
did you beat the egg whites while pouring in the sugar in the highest speed?
Thanks! Will try this later!
Yes, keep the egg whites beating while you stream in the sugar! 🙂
Would one be able to add food coring to this? Or would that make the frosting unstable?
Is it necessary to use the Corn Syrup? Does it serve a particular purpose for stability or something? I would prefer to avoid it if I can. Has anyone managed to do the recipe without it?
If you add some room temp butter, when the eggs have cooled in the mixer, you will have made a Swiss Meringue. Yummier!
Thanks for the great tip! 🙂
I took the ten minutes too literally the first time and burnt my first batch. The second time I followed the comment that said to get to 221F and that only took a few minutes and it turned out perfect.
The 10 minutes is just an approximation because everyone’s stove will take a different amount of time. I’m glad that you got it to work out though! 🙂
I love this easy recipe and your story 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing..
Looks good and thinking of using this for valentines day. Can you substitute the corn syrup for agave nectar?
I have not attempted this with agave nectar, but I have had others comment saying that pure maple syrup worked for them.
I absolutely can’t wait to try this. Tried to make marshmallows for the first time today…what a mess! Lol…Gotta go to work , but tomorrow its on like Donkey Kong!!!! Thanks for this recipe!!!!
Holy Deliciousness!!! This Is Amazing!! Glossy And Beautiful!
This turned out so yummy! I got a huge mess of caramelized sugar around the edge of my bowl where the beaters flung the syrup without incorporating it but most of it made it into the egg whites and the result is so tasty and smooth – like brown sugar marshmallow fluff. Thanks Shawn (and Pat)!!
BTW it only took me about 4 minutes to reach 245 degrees – right between soft and hard ball, and higher than ‘thread’ which is ~230 🙂
This is very similar to making divinity, only using white sugar. I have made it for years, and for the ones having problems with it not holding up they may need to cook it a little longer and beat it longer. I love brown sugar everything and I am so wanting to try this recipe very soon. I just might need to try it on a spice cake, I think it would be delicious.!
I’ve made frosting like this before, it’s by far my favorite kind.
My real question is, what attachment are you using on your mixer? It looks totally different than any I’ve seen before.
Hi Joe, It’s just the regular ‘ol whisk attachment. 🙂
Mine is stainless all the way up, I almost thought yours was granite or something (that’s obviously a terrible material for a mixer attachment).,