The Key To Making Canned Frosting Better Without Adding Ingredients

Pre-prepared foods undoubtedly make your time in the kitchen easier, but they often come at the cost of a better taste and texture. You can always transform bland store-bought snacks by adding an ingredient or two: Canned tuna can be elevated with fresh herbs, and it just takes one simple change to make instant coffee taste café-made. Other times, though, all you need is a bit of elbow grease, like with canned frosting. For an instant textural improvement, just whip it up.

Frosting from a can is frequently quite dense, making it difficult to spread over cake without damaging the delicate exterior. And when you're unable to spread it evenly, this thick texture can completely throw off the cake-to-frosting ratio. You might wind up with unpleasantly gooey bites where the leaden, sticky sweetness of the topping overwhelms the cake's soft texture.

To avoid these issues, simply whip the frosting until it has a light, airy texture. You can do this by hand or use a mixer: The appliance route will net you a bowl of fluffy and silky frosting in a couple of minutes, while whipping it with a whisk will be a bit more strenuous — but the results will be worth it!

Look at a homemade frosting recipe, and you'll likely find a step that calls for whipping it. Vigorously beating the ingredients allows the fat in the frosting to capture air bubbles, creating a light texture. This combo of fat and air also gives frosting its structure — ever notice how the canned stuff is runny and tends to gloop everywhere? Whipping helps it hold its shape, and makes it much easier to spread a thin, smooth layer onto baked goods, giving your treats a professional finish.

After thoroughly whipping your canned frosting, you'll also notice that it has increased in volume, thanks to the air bubbles. Aside from the textural improvement, this hack is perfect for stretching out a single can and getting more for your dollar when you have a lot of cupcakes to decorate. Since you already have the stand mixer out (or maybe your arm isn't tired yet), whipping the frosting is also a good time to get creative. 

Try mixing two complementary frostings together, like lemon and vanilla or strawberry and cream cheese. If you're so inclined, you can add other flavor boosters like extracts, a dash of cinnamon or cocoa, or even a splash of Baileys. Any of these delicious additions that can make store-bought frosting taste more unique and homemade. What's more, you can use an ingredient swap to improve a boxed cake mix to pair with your frosting. A delicious layer cake has never been easier.