A fluffy frosting for cakes or cupcakes can be made with a wide variety of different ingredients, yet the base ingredients like butter and sugar usually remain the same. An electric beater is extremely helpful in beating air into frosting, helping to create a lighter frosting with more volume. Using peanut butter alongside the basic ingredients can make an interesting frosting for brownies or cupcakes, and using egg whites can result in a frosting that is light, airy and fluffy. Powdered sugar and melted chocolate, along with butter or shortening, can create a creamy, fluffy chocolate frosting.
Basic frosting ingredients like butter, shortening and powdered sugar are commonly used to make a light and airy fluffy frosting and are often beaten with an electric mixer. By beating these ingredients together constantly, air will move into the mixture to create a frosting that has a higher and fluffier volume. Additional ingredients, like peanut butter, can be added to create a more complex fluffy frosting suitable for brownies, cakes and cupcakes. Since peanut butter can be quite sticky while beating, it is important to incorporate another lighter fat like butter or shortening, which will also add needed moisture.
Typically, it is important to use double the amount of powdered sugar than butter or shortening, as powdered sugar is helpful for volume as well as sweetness. Regular granulated sugar is more useful in frostings that are cooked, as it is important for this sugar to be dissolved to help eliminate its grainy texture in the frosting. A cooked fluffy frosting using granulated sugar will often use one or two egg whites, beaten until the frosting is light and fluffy and doubled or tripled in volume. An egg white frosting is commonly referred to as a meringue frosting, which is light, fluffy and airy.
Marshmallow cream is an ingredient addition that can be helpful in creating a fluffy, thick frosting, suitable for cakes and cupcakes. Due to the thick texture of marshmallow cream, it is important to add a little moisture to the frosting during beating, like shortening or very soft butter. Powdered sugar is often added slowly during beating, yet it is needed in much lower amounts due to the sweetness and volume of the marshmallow cream. With this type of fluffy frosting, it is also important to use an electric beater on high speed for one to two minutes to incorporate more air into its thick texture.
