This perfect vanilla icing is a baking staple! Pourable with wonderful vanilla flavor, this icing is fantastic on cinnamon rolls, scones, muffins, cakes, and more. Use quality vanilla for outstanding flavor and heavy cream for a thicker consistency.
Vanilla icing is the grand finale, the crowning glory, the pièce de résistance on thousands of different recipes including scones, cinnamon rolls, crumb cake, muffins, and so many more. It’s so simple, yet often overlooked. Don’t underestimate the power of a really good icing!
I have so many recipes that use this topping, so I decided it’s time to create a separate post. Vanilla icing, in all its dazzling drippy glory, deserves the spotlight today.
Vanilla Icing Vs Vanilla Buttercream
Let’s get one thing straight. What’s the difference between icing and buttercream? Like vanilla buttercream, vanilla icing is made with confectioners’ sugar, milk or cream, and vanilla extract. The differences are the ratio of ingredients and absence of butter. The terms icing and buttercream are often used interchangeably, but icing is typically light and liquid. Vanilla buttercream, on the other hand, is heavy and solid.
Does this vanilla icing set? Vanilla icing eventually sets as it dries. It doesn’t harden like royal icing, but if applied lightly, you can stack your iced baked goods on top of each other. Another way to guarantee this icing sets: whisking constantly, warm the vanilla icing ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Warming the icing before drizzling over baked goods promises it will set faster.
Vanilla Icing Ingredients
You only need 3 ingredients. Could this BE any easier?!
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Sifting the confectioners sugar after measuring is always helpful because it breaks up any lumps.
- Milk or Heavy Cream: Use whichever you have on hand. Milk produces a thinner consistency and heavy cream produces a creamier consistency. Alternatively, you can use half-and-half. For lemon or orange icing, replace with fresh lemon or orange juice.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract masks the sometimes chalky flavor of confectioners’ sugar. I usually use McCormick brand vanilla extract or homemade vanilla extract. Always optional and delicious: seeds scraped from 1/4 of a vanilla bean.
Whisk these ingredients together. A fork or mini whisk is helpful since the mixture is so small. Give it a taste, then add a pinch of salt if desired. (I usually add a small pinch.)
Control the Consistency
Stick with 2-3 Tablespoons of milk/cream and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract per 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar. This ratio of ingredients produces a wonderfully flavored and drizzle-able icing. But you have total control over the thickness!
For thinner vanilla icing: Use milk instead of heavy cream. Add more cream/milk or less confectioners’ sugar.
For thicker vanilla icing: Use heavy cream instead of milk. Add more confectioners’ sugar or less cream/milk. I prefer thicker icing for iced oatmeal cookies and sprinkle scones.
Uses for Vanilla Icing
There are literally hundreds of uses for this topping!
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies (pictured above)
- Raspberry Danish Bread (pictured above)
- Scones
- Coffee Cake or Sour Cream Crumb Cake
- Raspberry Streusel Bars
- Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread or Glazed Strawberry Bread
- No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
- Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake
- Apple Crumb Cake
- Cinnamon Rolls, Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake, and Cinnamon Roll Wreath
- Raspberry Sweet Rolls or Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins (pictured below)
Drizzle on blueberry muffins, birthday cake pancakes, or star bread, pour over pound cake, or use as a topping for baked donuts, French toast, eclairs, croissants, sweet potato fries, and so much more.
Perfect Vanilla Icing
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: American
Description
Vanilla icing is a baking staple! This recipe is perfect for cinnamon rolls, scones, muffins, cakes, and more.
Ingredients
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted (sift after measuring)*
- 2–3 Tablespoons milk or heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: pinch of salt
Instructions
- Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, 2 Tablespoons milk or heavy cream, and vanilla extract together. Add another Tablespoon of milk or heavy cream to thin out if necessary. For thicker icing, add a little more confectioners’ sugar.
- Taste, then add a pinch of salt if desired.
- If not using right away, cover and store icing in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Notes
- This amount of icing is perfect for 1 batch of cinnamon rolls, scones, muffins, 1 cake etc. For a larger batch, recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Mini Whisk
- Confectioners’ Sugar: I use and recommend Domino brand confectioners’ sugar.
- Heavy cream yields a thicker, creamier icing. Milk yields a thinner icing. Half-and-half can also be used.
- Flavor: Feel free to add more vanilla extract or even the seeds scraped from 1/4 of a vanilla bean. For lemon or orange icing, replace the milk with fresh lemon or orange juice.
1 cup confectioners sugar would be about 130g, right? I always feel safer using a scale rather that measuring cups
Hi Adiba, about 120 g!
Hi Sally, this will sound like a dumb question but I’m going to ask anyway. How do you drizzle the icing? When I used a spoon, I couldn’t get the nice looking streams of icing going across the muffins. Thanks!
Hi DJ, we usually use a spoon or a whisk. It can take some practice!
Thanks, Sally!
Great as usual.
Thanks, worked great. My Grandma used to make cookies with Graham crackers and icing. I had an idea when chocolate Graham’s came out to switch to mint extract. Kids and now the grandkids love them.I usually make things to taste rather than recipes but was a bit nervous about using too much extract and this worked great! Just added a drop or two more since that’s how the kids always liked it.
This was pretty simple and so easy. Have to admit I did stir a tablespoon or two of butter in at the end . It was pretty good.
Could you use Vanilla Paste in place of Vanilla Extract?
Absolutely! Same amount. The icing may not be as white in color, but certainly still delicious!
Can I replace the milk with non dairy milk? Does it work the same?
Hi Val, you can definitely make that swap. The icing may be a bit thinner with non-dairy milk, but you can add some additional confectioners’ sugar to help thicken it more if needed.
Hi. Can I use fat free milk instead of whole milk?
Hi Michelle, that will work in a pinch, the icing may be just a bit thinner.
Doubled the recipe over vanilla cake. Perfect for when I have no time for Wiltin’s buttercream frosting!
I am not much of a baker, but so very much wanted to bake scones for a family in grief. I made cranberry orange scones with a glaze of orange icing. These turned out so amazing that my husband and I plan to keep some in the freezer for special mornings. Thank you.
My family loved these!
Can this be made like a day ahead?
Hi Georgoa, yes, you can store the prepared icing in the refrigerator for up to two days. You may need to add a splash of milk or heavy cream and give it a good mix before using again.
Thank you perfect
Is it better for this to be on the thicker side or thinner side for cinnamon rolls?
Hi Jenny, the warmth of cinnamon rolls will thin out any icing, so it might be helpful to keep it thicker.
Make these blueberry scones all the time delicios
This is a lot of work washing up afterwards but well worth the effort. I used a shredder attachment for my KitchenAid mixer to grate the butter. The blueberries I bought were too big and juices come out as I am mixing. Next time I have to look for tiny berries. This is crunchy outside and super moist inside. The best scones I’ve made so far. Thanks for the great instructions.
The above comment was meant for blueberry scones. Not the icing. Sorry for the confusion. Here is the rating for icing. Icing was too watery even after I doubled the sugar.
Can you prep this the night before making cinnamon rolls? If so, how do you store it?
Hi Olivia, you can store it overnight in the refrigerator. You’ll want to give it a few whisks (and maybe a splash of milk/heavy cream) to help bring it back to drizzling consistency.
I love homemade cinnamon rolls, how do you make the dough for cinnamon rolls? I didn’t want to use biscuits, like some do. I would appreciate the answer as at anytime you can reply back. Thank you, Deedee Knott
Hi Deedee, here is our recipe for easy homemade cinnamon rolls. Happy baking!
I can’t tell you how much I love your blog!!! Always my go to when wanting to bake something sweet!! These cookies are AMAZING!!!!! Came out perfect and I know this batch won’t last long. Thank you for all you do!!!!
The recipe was easy to follow and the end result was 8 AMAZING SCONES!! Thank you, as I made them with my daughter.
Every time I make this recipe it turns out a tan color, rather than the white color shown in your recipes.
What am I doing wrong?
Hi Peggy, sometimes certain brands of confectioners’ sugar look more/less white than others. Depending on if you use whole milk vs. another type of non-dairy milk, that can also impact color. You can also try adding a tiny drop (VERY tiny!) of purple food coloring — it actually helps brighten up the icing.
I didn’t read the directions in full before I started making this so when it came to the chopped apples I ended up mixing them in with the batter. I was worried the cake wouldn’t set up right, but it came out perfectly. I made a basic icing to drizzle on top cause I like a little ooey gooey. It is so delicious!
Hi. Can I sub lactose free cream?what would be the ratio?
Hi Rae, we haven’t personally tried it but we can’t see why not. Start with 2 tablespoons and then increase if needed to get your desired icing texture. If it’s too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar. Enjoy!
What and how much would I need to make this chocolate?
Hi Sandy! We haven’t tried making a chocolate variation of this vanilla icing, but substituting cocoa powder for some confectioners’ sugar is a great starting point. We’re unsure of the exact amount, but maybe start with subbing 3 Tablespoons of it with unsweetened cocoa powder.
I tried your suggestion using cocoa powder to make it chocolate and it worked. Yum! Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe several times now using currants and then blueberries with vanilla icing. The first time was for a ladies’ tea at our church. EVERYONE has loved them!!! Now that fall is upon us (Maryland), I want to try the pumpkin scones! Your recipes and instructions have been easy to follow . . . . . video helps too! Thank you for putting this all together!
What would be the Gram conversions of this recipe?
Hi Olivia, 1 cup confectioners’ sugar weighs 120g.
Would this icing be okay to use after freezing for a couple of weeks?
It may separate a bit after thawing, but you can a little more confectioners’ sugar to thicken/bring it all together if needed.