7-Minute Frosting (Foolproof Recipe)

Name: 7-Minute Frosting
Cook time: 7 min
Total time: 7 min
Ingredients: 1 cup sugar; ¼ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon cream of tartar (*do not substitute); 2 Egg whites; 3 tablespoons water; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

This foolproof 7-Minute Frosting is a classic for a reason. It’s light, fluffy, easy to spread, and the perfect topping for just about any cake. Old-fashioned and never out of style, its smooth, marshmallow-like texture is sure to make you, your family, and your friends smile!

7-minute frosting covering a whisk and cake.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

Recipe Name: 7-Minute Frosting
Ready In: 7 minutes
Serves: 4
Calories: 278 cal
Main Ingredients: 1 cup sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, 2 Egg whites, 3 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Why You'll Love It: This failproof 7-minute frosting recipe is a light, smooth, and fluffy cake topping like marshmallow cream that melts in your mouth.

Light and Fluffy 7-Minute Frosting

If you’ve never had this old-fashioned frosting, you’ve been missing out! This recipe has been a timeless favorite since the early 1900s, and it’s easy to see why. It’s fluffy, glossy, and light-tasting icing reminiscent of meringue… only better and spreadable!

Growing up, I had it atop my grandmama’s coconut cake and my Aunt Sue’s famous pound cake, and boy, oh boy, it was always a treat!

There are many reasons to love this recipe, but most importantly, it’s quick to make, easy to spread, and doesn’t include a double boiler like so many others. It comes out perfect every time, so if you’re a beginner baker looking for a foolproof frosting recipe, you’re in the right place!

I’d recommend watching our quick video tutorial before you start your recipe so that you can get a nice visual!

Reader Rating

“Love love this recipe! My grandmother made this same recipe long time ago and it’s a family favorite!” – Julia

Recipe Ingredients

Sugar
2 eggs (for the whites only)
Cream of tartar (don’t substitute!)
Salt
Vanilla

Want to Jazz Up Your Frosting? Try These Ideas

Use brown sugar instead of white sugar.
Fold about 3 ounces of melted chocolate chips into the finished frosting. You want both products to be at the same temperature.
Use a different extract flavor instead of vanilla, such as peppermint or almond.
You can also torch the frosting like you would with this coffee pie with meringue.

How to Make 7 Minute Frosting

1. Add Ingredients to a Pot

Start by adding your sugar to a thick-bottomed sauce pot.

Pro tip: You’ll want to use a good stainless steel pot for this. Definitely not one with a nonstick coating, because we are going to beat it for several minutes and all that mess would flake off and get in your icing – so don’t do that!

Next, add the salt, then the cream of tartar and the egg whites.

Pro tip: When separating your eggs, do it in a separate bowl first. The icing won’t turn out if even a little bit of yolk gets mixed in with the whites. This way, if a yolk breaks, you won’t have to waste all your ingredients.

Finally, add the water. We don’t add the vanilla extract until the end.

2. Heat & Beat

Place this mixture over medium-low heat (about a 4 on my stove) and then turn the electric mixer on.

Beat this constantly for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until sugar dissolves and stiff peaks form.

Place over medium-low heat and beat for 5 to 7 minutes.

A word of caution

Right now, you might be thinking, “Okay, this is crazy. This is never going to form stiff peaks. I’m sure this is as good as it will get. I might as well give up and just ice the cake.”

Don’t! This is one of those recipes that must be followed to the letter. If you go rogue, you get rogue results. Maybe they’ll be good, maybe they’ll be bad, but they won’t be on me. Stick with it, I promise it’ll work.

Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Look! We have stiffness! You can see how the frosting reaches and maintains the trail left by the beaters rather than sliding back into a glop. This is what we want.

3. Fold in the Vanilla

Now add in your vanilla extract and fold it in. Maintain that perfect trail left by the beaters and keep any icing from sliding back down to smooth. Remove this from the heat and have a little taste of it – pure marshmallow heaven.

Ice your cake with this 7-minute frosting, and you’re good to go.

Icing sheet cake with 7-minute frosting.

Oh my goodness, how light and fluffy does that look?

If you’re looking for other foolproof frosting recipes, check out my creamy chocolate frosting or royal icing recipe.

Does this frosting need to be refrigerated?

No, you don’t need to refrigerate this frosting! I’ve found that a cake frosted with this recipe will be perfectly fine covered on the counter for up to two days. After that, the frosting will start to melt into the cake. I suggest making and frosting the cake the day you are going to serve it for the best results.

7-Minute Frosting FAQs

What’s the difference between this frosting and Swiss meringue?

The main difference between these frostings is that Swiss meringue buttercream is cooked, then mixed off the heat. Meanwhile, this frosting is mixed as it cooks on the stovetop.

Why do I have to make a simple syrup?

If you just toss that granulated sugar into your egg whites, it won’t dissolve properly. You’ll end up with a gritty frosting, and nobody wants that! By taking a minute to make a simple syrup first, you ensure that sugar melts down nice and smooth, giving you that silky, fluffy frosting we’re aiming for. It’s a small step that makes a world of difference.

Why are there sugar crystals in my frosting?

It’s normal for this 7-minute frosting to have tiny sugar crystals mixed amid the fluffy velvet cream. This is part of the frosting’s texture, so don’t worry, you haven’t done anything wrong! The crystals add to its unique, fluffy, velvet-cream consistency. Just close your eyes and enjoy the smoothness of this marshmallow fluff-like icing as it melts in your mouth.

Here Are More Delectable Cakes with Frosting