The Simple Frosting Hack That Gives A Perfect Balance Of Flavor
When you bake a cake or batch of cupcakes, chances are you put the majority of your effort into the batter and the baking process. If you do so much as forget to aerate the flour or use baking soda instead of baking powder, you could very well end up with a dessert that doesn't resemble what you intended (per Quebrada Baking Company). But while the baking stage is a crucial part of the cake-making process, you don't want to neglect the frosting either. If your frosting has a grainy consistency or doesn't taste right, it won't matter how perfectly baked your cake is, because subpar frosting can easily overpower it.
One of the most common issues people face with frosting is the balance of sweetness. Since its main component is powdered sugar, BakingHow notes, frosting can quickly get too sweet if you're not careful. And if you resort to store-bought frosting instead, you're pretty much guaranteed a mouthful of sugar. To reduce the sweetness of your frosting, you can do things like add more fat or mask it with chocolate. But while these tips can be handy, there's one hack that's much more effective and just as simple.
Salt is just as important as sugar in frosting
There's no denying sugar is an essential ingredient in frosting, after all, it provides both structure and flavor. But when there's too much sugar in the frosting, it can make a dessert hard to enjoy. To prevent this from happening, Cake Decorist recommends using salted instead of unsalted butter. The little bit of extra salt will make a noticeable difference in terms of sweetness.
If you're working with a frosting that doesn't call for butter, like cream cheese or whipped cream frosting, rest assured you can still use salt to your advantage. Per Cooking With Carlee's suggestion, simply prepare your frosting as you normally would, then mix in a pinch of salt at a time. Taste as you go, and keep adding salt until the sweetness has been toned down to your liking.
The same hack also works with store-bought frosting, according to Southern Living. Ready Set Yum concurs and posits that a half teaspoon is all you need — just stir the frosting, add the salt, stir once again, and let it sit in the fridge. After 30 minutes to an hour, your frosting will taste sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.
Why does salt make frosting taste better?
If you've ever had salted caramel or chocolate-covered pretzels, you know that there's something magical that happens when you combine sweet and salty flavors, and frosting is no exception. According to pastry chef Malika Ameen (via Eater), the reason the two work so well together is that they activate opposite flavor receptors. This results in a more satisfying, balanced perception of flavor. Any balance of sweet and salty can be tasty, but when it comes to frosting it should still be on the sweeter side, which is precisely why Cooking With Carlee recommends adding a pinch of salt at a time.
No one wants a salty frosting, so if you're worried about going too overboard with it, Baking Kneads suggests using a combination of both salt and lemon juice. Lemon juice, being an acid, works similarly to how salt does, by neutralizing the sweetness of sugar. For best results, the outlet says, stick with an eighth teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of lemon juice per four cups of powdered sugar. The frosting you end up with will have a much more balanced flavor than if you were to use sugar alone.