Seven-minute frosting is the stuff of legend, at least for those of us of a certain generation—the pillowy white cloud of frosting our grandmothers spread over and between layers of cake. Every bite was a shock of marshmallow sweetness, little more than sugar and air, with nothing but a whisper of vanilla for flavor.
The simplicity of its ingredients, along with the speed of its preparation, made seven-minute frosting a common companion to cakes with a more complicated profile, such as gingerbread, coconut layer cake or devil’s food.
Like any of those old recipes that evolved in the American kitchen, definitions remain conceptual rather than rule-bound, based on intuition rather than training. But the truth of the matter is that seven-minute frosting is a Swiss meringue in disguise; that is, a combination of egg whites and sugar cooked over a water bath and whipped into a glossy meringue.
The ratio of ingredients in any Swiss meringue will vary from baker to baker, and purpose to purpose, as the amount of sugar affects not only sweetness but stability and volume. The amount of sugar and egg whites I’ll use for Swiss buttercream differs from the ratios I lean on for pie, and that same variation is found within the microcosm of seven-minute frosting as well.
Classic recipes call for sugar and egg whites in proportions ranging from 2:1 all the way to 5:1 by weight, and it’s these high-sugar recipes that are the norm. Yet the meringue itself becomes increasingly fluffy and light as the amount of sugar falls, but this lightness comes at the cost of stability, as it’s sugar that keeps the moisture of the egg whites in check, and the meringue aloft.
Old-Fashioned 7-Minute Frosting Recipe
Active: 12 mins
Total: 20 mins
Serves: 40 servings
Makes: 5 cups
Ingredients:
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6 ounces egg whites (2/3 cup; 170g), from 5 to 6 large eggs
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12 1/4 ounces plain or toasted sugar (about 1 3/4 cups; 340g) (see notes)
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3/4 teaspoon (3g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or more to taste; for table salt, use about half as much by volume or the same weight
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1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
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1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract, or more to taste
Instructions:
For a Stand Mixer With a Bowl-Lift Design: Tear off a long strip of foil and crumple it into a thick ring. Place it in the bottom of a 3-quart saucier, or similarly large, wide pot, and fill with roughly 1 1/2 inches water. Place over high heat until bubbling-hot, then adjust the temperature to maintain a gentle simmer.
In a stainless steel stand mixer bowl, combine egg whites, toasted sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. Set over the steaming water so that the bowl is resting on the foil ring and touching neither the water nor the pot itself. Cook, stirring and scraping constantly with a flexible spatula, until egg whites register 175°F (79°C) on a digital thermometer; this should take no longer than 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer bowl to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
For a Stand Mixer With a Tilt-Head Design: Fill a large pot with a few inches of water. Place over high heat until bubbling-hot. In a large glass or ceramic bowl, combine egg whites, toasted sugar, salt, and cream of tartar. Set bowl over the steaming water, then cook, stirring and scraping constantly with a flexible spatula, until egg whites register 175°F (79°C) on a digital thermometer; this should take no longer than 12 minutes. Scrape mixture into the stand mixer bowl and fit stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
Add vanilla extract, and whip the meringue on high speed until glossy, stiff, and cool to the touch. Along the way, pause mixing to taste the meringue, adjusting salt and vanilla as needed; if using an extract of another flavor, fold it in with a flexible spatula at the very end, as the oil content of flavors like citrus, almond, or mint may otherwise deflate the meringue.
Use immediately as a frosting for cake, and serve as soon as possible; at cool room temperature, the frosting will hold for about 24 hours, as the cake will slowly absorb the meringue over time. If desired, after frosting a cake, the exterior layer of meringue can be toasted like a marshmallow using a culinary blowtorch.
Troubleshooting: While the approximate cooking times for the water bath are estimations at best, and will naturally vary from kitchen to kitchen, substantially missing the mark indicates heats that are vastly too high or low. When the meringue cooks much too fast, it is prone to scrambling, regardless of how thoroughly the bowl is scraped, resulting in a lumpy texture and eggy flavor. When the meringue is cooked too slowly, excess evaporation will dry the meringue, making it grainy and dense. In either event, adjusting the heat as needed will resolve the issue.
Notes:
Though technically optional, using quick-toasted sugar will dramatically tame the sweetness of this frosting, while also adding subtle depth of flavor. Or, for a bolder (and entirely different) flavor, try using a light brown sugar (which will produce sea foam frosting) or raw sugar instead; for more information, see our guide to raw sugars.