Traditional frosting recipes can be made low-fat by substituting high-fat ingredients with low-fat alternatives and using thickening agents. Butter and sugar can be replaced with extracts and sugar-free alternatives. Milk can be substituted with water.
Traditional frosting recipes can be adapted into low-fat versions by determining the amount of calories each ingredient contains and removing or substituting those that provide the most fat. Some ingredients can be swapped easily for low-fat alternatives using a simple substitution of the commonly sold version for its sugar-free or fat-free counterpart. Other ingredients, which may not provide such quick fixes, can be creatively substituted by using a different type of food in addition to a low-calorie thickener or slimming agent, if needed.
Cake frosting is typically made from a blend of sugar, milk, butter, and vanilla extract. Additional ingredients can be added to this combination to alter the taste, such as cinnamon, cream cheese, or pumpkin puree, among other choices. This sweet topping found on many beloved desserts can add between 250 and 350 calories to the cake or cookie, before calculating the calorie intake of the dessert food itself. By choosing a low-fat glaze instead of a traditional dessert topping, diners can cut their calorie intake in half.
The first step in creating a low-fat frosting is determining the source of the calories in the frosting recipe. A standard cream cheese frosting recipe may call for the use of milk, powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla extract, butter, and milk. The calories in cream cheese are almost entirely fat and can be significantly reduced by using a low-fat or fat-free type. These alternatives provide a similar flavor with an eighth to two-thirds reduction in calorie intake.
Pastry sugar can also be replaced with low-fat sugar-free alternatives. Artificial sweetener packages and manufacturer websites often provide recipes for people who use their products regularly. Artificial ingredients tend to cook or mix differently from the ingredient it’s replacing, like sugar. When making a low-fat frosting using this type of sweetener, gelatin powder or cornstarch are often needed as added ingredients to the standard recipe. These products simply thicken the texture of the frosting and make it spreadable, similar to traditional, stiff cake maker frosting.
The second step in making delicious low-fat frosting is to cut out unnecessary sources of calories. Buttercream can add a lot of flavor to the frosting, although it can increase the amount of calories in the dessert recipe by anywhere between 800 and 1600 calories total. This ingredient is easily removed and can be replaced by a sweetened extract, such as additional vanilla, rum or lemon. Similarly, milk is often added to the icing to reduce its texture and make the mixture easier to mix and spread. The consistency of the glaze can be changed instead by using small amounts of water mixed evenly into the mixing bowl.
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