Julie Clark
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Powdered Sugar Glaze Icing Recipe
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The ultimate powdered sugar glaze icing recipe that takes just 5 minutes and 3 ingredients. A simple drizzle icing perfect for cakes, cookies, and pastries.
Searching for the perfect finishing touch for your baked goods? Look no further than our powdered sugar glaze icing recipe that’s quick, easy, and sure to impress. This simple glaze icing can be whipped up in a mere 5 minutes, using just 3 essential ingredients.
The beauty of this drizzle icing is in its versatility. Not only will we guide you on how to make glaze icing with ease, but we’ll also explore variations to ensure your desserts and coffee cakes stand out.
About this Powdered Sugar Glaze Icing Recipe:
- Flavor: The flavor is up to you! Add vanilla extract for a traditional flavor, but we’ll share more flavor ideas below.
- Texture: It’s smooth, silky, and will melt in your mouth. It’s perfectly drizzle-able.
- Method: 5 minutes. A small bowl. And a whisk. That’s all you need.
What is a powdered sugar glaze?
One thing I’ve had readers ask me about is the elusive “powdered sugar frosting” recipe that many old-fashioned recipes call for. Old cookbooks just assume that you know exactly how to make this icing that uses powdered sugar and is often drizzled over cakes, quick breads and cookies.
This easy glaze icing recipe will give you a simple solution to the desserts that need a little drizzle icing on top.
What is glaze icing made of?
Powdered sugar glaze has in its very basic form 3 ingredients:
- powdered sugar
- heavy cream
- pure vanilla extract
Although you can use different ingredients for the cream and flavoring, powdered sugar is the only constant in every variation.
How to Make Glaze Icing
- Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Sifting helps ensure there are no clumps of powdered sugar to make your glaze lumpy.
- Add the heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until you reach the consistency you’d like your icing or drizzle to be, whisking in between each addition.
- Add vanilla extract (or your favorite flavor) and whisk well.
To make the glaze a thicker consistency to spread like a frosting on bread, add less cream.
If you want a light drizzle that easily pours off the spoon, you’ll add more cream.
a note about the liquid in the recipe
If you use milk, juice or any liquid that is thinner than heavy cream, you’ll need fewer tablespoons. The higher the fat content of the milk you use, the more tablespoons you’ll need because the milk is thicker. Remember to add the liquid one tablespoon at at time until you reach the desired consistency.
Powdered Sugar Glaze Flavors
Once you have the basic powdered sugar and cream recipe down, the fun part comes! Here are some ideas about flavors you can add:
- Vanilla extract. Make vanilla extract at home for extra special vanilla flavor in your vanilla glaze.
- Coconut extract. Try this on coconut oatmeal cookies or carrot cake bread.
- Almond extract. Mouthwatering on cherry bars, or apple pie bars.
Add a half teaspoon a time until it tastes like what you want it to.
Add Melted Butter to Glaze
Depending on the recipe, I add a tablespoon of melted salted butter to my powdered sugar glaze. The salted butter cuts the sweetness of the glaze and adds a richness to the baked good.
Adding butter as an ingredient is great when you are making:
Recipe Variations
- For citrus glaze, substitute lemon juice or orange juice in place of the cream. You can see how I did this in this lemon pound cake and on these sugar cookies.
- Love cream cheese? Soften it and add it to your glaze for drizzling on carrot cake bread.
- What about apple flavor? Use apple cider in place of the cream as we did on these apple butter muffins.
- Crazy for peanut butter? Try adding peanut butter and drizzle it over a chocolate cake.
- Add color! Gel food coloring works well. You’ll need just a little bit to get the color you’d like.
What to Drizzle Glaze Icing On
Try this powdered sugar icing on one of these!
- amish donuts
- Shirley Temple bundt cake
- classic pound cake
- soft pumpkin cookies
- blueberry muffins
- banana bread
Other Icing Recipes
You may also love our cut out cookies and cream cheese sugar cookies.
Powdered Sugar Glaze Icing Recipe
The ultimate powdered sugar glaze icing recipe that takes just 5 minutes and 3 ingredients. A simple glaze icing perfect to drizzle over cakes, cookies, and pastries.
Servings 8
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 195 grams
- 3-5 tablespoons heavy cream*
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Sift the powdered sugar into a medium-size bowl. 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- Add the heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until you reach the consistency you'd like your icing or drizzle to be, whisking in between each addition. 3-5 tablespoons heavy cream*
- Add vanilla extract (or your favorite flavor). ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whisk well and immediately drizzle or spread over cookies, cakes or breads.
Notes
- Powdered sugar is sometimes called icing sugar or confectioner’s sugar.
- Use a non-dairy milk if you’d like.
- Instead of cream you can use milk, half and half or even lemon juice or apple cider. Whatever liquid you choose, just add it slowly to the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until the glaze is at the right consistency.
Nutrition
Calories: 106kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 2mg | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 85IU | Calcium: 4mg
Thanks for sharing! I must have looked at fifteen recipes for ps glaze this morning, but your tip about melted butter is what put me on the right path – – I browned my butter! Browned butter, powdered sugar, a touch of vanilla and some half and half to smooth it all out. It is delish!
Great recipe, I made it for a pound cake. The glaze had a swee, rich vanilla flavor!
How would I go about wrapping a cake with this icing to keep it fresh? If I use plastic wrap the icing sticks to it and comes off when I unwrap it. I would love a way to keep the cake (it has cream cheese filling) fresh without messing up the icing.
Good morning ma’am,
How would you make a glaze for banana bread? Thank you in advance.
Thank you for sharing, I added this to my almond raspberry puff pastry rolls (with a little almond extract) & took a delicious treat to the next level
My favorite for my prune Cake is to make a butter, powdered sugar, vanilla frosting and the liquid I use is
Instant coffee. So tasty
Why does my glaze always taste like straight powder sugar no matter the flavoring I use. Does it need fat like heavy cream?
I am making a sour cream bundt cake how would I make the strawberry glaze?
would this be a good glaze for Apple Bread Pudding or do you have another suggestion?
I am trying to make my grandmothers strawberry bunt cake with strawberry glaze. The problem I am having is the glaze is suppose to harden before it soaks into the cake but I can’t make that happen. Please help.
I’m makeing a pinapple angle food cake. And i want to use a simple glaze. I was thinking of using the lemon juice with it instead of heavy cream. Or maybe French vanilla coffee creamer? I’m really not trying to go to the store for a single ingredient lol.
Heavy cream makes the flavor for me. Sooo yummy. I’ll never use anything else.
I have never used anything but water before, I guess that’s why I’m Googling how to make a glaze icing. LIL
I am going to make this for my lemon curd crumb cake right now ❣️
Thank you So Much ????
Hi, I have been trying to make glaze but everytime i try it is end up being crunchy. I use powered sugar and even hot milk then i try to mix it with hand mixer it was better but it has a crunch still. What should i do to make smooth glaze? Maybe i should melt the glaze over double boiler maybe it will melt the sugar crystal. In every recipe it seems too easy to make but i have never achieved that. (I think every powder sugar is same since i am in the different country. It doesn’t matter… Read more »
Does cream based glaze need to be refrigerated when it’s on the product?