As any novice cake baker can tell you, frosting a cake isn’t as easy as it looks. While following a recipe may lead you to think that you’re going to make a smooth, bakery-quality cake, the actual process of icing the cake often leaves an inexperienced baker with a lumpy treat that doesn’t seem to ever smooth out.
Although these bakers may blame themselves for their misshapen cakes, they really shouldn’t, as TikTok user Dallas (@dallasknows) recently revealed in a video with over 7.2 million views.
According to Dallas, the reason why home bakers may find frosting so difficult is that they haven’t adequately prepared their frosting.
“Just a reminder that when you ice a cake you’re supposed to whip the frosting first,” Dallas writes in the text overlaying the video. In the caption, she adds, “It literally makes double!”
According to Sara Tane for AllRecipes, “canned frosting has a tendency to be on the denser side,” whereas the homemade alternative has a “light, airy, creamy texture.” Whipping your store-bought frosting aerates the frosting, giving it a fluffier consistency.
In the comments section of the video, several users noted that one can now buy whipped frosting at many grocery stores, saving bakers time and effort.
“Or you can buy the whipped icing instead of the creamy icing,” shared a user.
“That explained why they started selling whipped frosting and why I always preferred using that,” echoed another.
However, Dallas still recommends whipping the frosting yourself.
“The store-bought whipped frosting has additional preservatives to keep it light and not allow it to fall flat on the shelf,” she wrote in response to a comment about the flavor of store-bought whipped frosting. “Not a fan of that either.”
@dallasknows It literally makes double! #cake #birthday #baking #bakeoff #chocolatecake #recipe #chocolatelover ♬ Bops Goin Brazy – Tyga
That said, no matter how tasty whipped frosting may be, others claimed that doing this simply wasn’t worth the effort.
“If I am buying store-bought frosting there is a reason,” stated a commenter. “Putting in a bowl and whipping it ain’t gonna happen.”
“Some of us just warm it up in the microwave and pour it over the cake,” offered a second.
“I just eat it out of the can,” admitted a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Dallas via TikTok direct message.
Update 8:33am CT Oct. 18: In a TikTok DM exchange with the Daily Dot, Dallas said that she first learned the tip from a friend.
“One of my best friends owns a cookie business here outside Toronto and we are always sending each other baking tips we come across,” she explained. “I’ve known about this one for years now and it’s such a game changer!”
Doing this has numerous benefits, she said.
“When you whip the frosting yourself, the color seems to lighten a bit and the volume almost doubles, similar to how it would if you were making whipped cream from scratch,” she detailed. “This not only gives a thicker layer of frosting (how could you not want that?) but always saves me from having to buy two tubs just to add a layer in the middle.”
“The flavor is not affected at all,” she continued. “I do find that I am not a fan of the store bought ‘already whipped’ frosting – the flavor just feels off to me, I’d assume because there are some additional preservatives to keep the whipped texture from falling flat on the shelf.”
As for going viral, Dallas stated that the video’s large viewership came as a surprise.
“I think there are certain videos where as soon as I post them, I know they’re going to gain some sort of traction. This was definitely not one of them,” she laughed. “The response has been a complete surprise, and it has just been pretty interesting how a video about cake can stir such opposing emotions in people!”