Powdered Sugar Glaze Icing Recipe

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The ultimate powdered sugar glaze icing recipe that takes just 5 minutes and 3 ingredients. A simple drizzle icing perfect for cakes, cookies, and pastries.

spoon drizzling glaze over quick bread

Searching for the perfect finishing touch for your baked goods? Look no further than our powdered sugar glaze icing recipe that’s quick, easy, and sure to impress. This simple glaze icing can be whipped up in a mere 5 minutes, using just 3 essential ingredients.

The beauty of this drizzle icing is in its versatility. Not only will we guide you on how to make glaze icing with ease, but we’ll also explore variations to ensure your desserts and coffee cakes stand out.

About this Powdered Sugar Glaze Icing Recipe:

  • Flavor: The flavor is up to you! Add vanilla extract for a traditional flavor, but we’ll share more flavor ideas below.
  • Texture: It’s smooth, silky, and will melt in your mouth. It’s perfectly drizzle-able.
  • Method: 5 minutes. A small bowl. And a whisk. That’s all you need.

What is a powdered sugar glaze?

One thing I’ve had readers ask me about is the elusive “powdered sugar frosting” recipe that many old-fashioned recipes call for. Old cookbooks just assume that you know exactly how to make this icing that uses powdered sugar and is often drizzled over cakes, quick breads and cookies.

This easy glaze icing recipe will give you a simple solution to the desserts that need a little drizzle icing on top.

What is glaze icing made of?

Powdered sugar glaze has in its very basic form 3 ingredients:

  • powdered sugar
  • heavy cream
  • pure vanilla extract

Although you can use different ingredients for the cream and flavoring, powdered sugar is the only constant in every variation.

How to Make Glaze Icing

  • Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Sifting helps ensure there are no clumps of powdered sugar to make your glaze lumpy.
  • Add the heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until you reach the consistency you’d like your icing or drizzle to be, whisking in between each addition.
  • Add vanilla extract (or your favorite flavor) and whisk well.

To make the glaze a thicker consistency to spread like a frosting on bread, add less cream.

If you want a light drizzle that easily pours off the spoon, you’ll add more cream.

a note about the liquid in the recipe

If you use milk, juice or any liquid that is thinner than heavy cream, you’ll need fewer tablespoons. The higher the fat content of the milk you use, the more tablespoons you’ll need because the milk is thicker. Remember to add the liquid one tablespoon at at time until you reach the desired consistency.

glaze icing pouring over bread

Powdered Sugar Glaze Flavors

Once you have the basic powdered sugar and cream recipe down, the fun part comes! Here are some ideas about flavors you can add:

Add a half teaspoon a time until it tastes like what you want it to.

Add Melted Butter to Glaze

Depending on the recipe, I add a tablespoon of melted salted butter to my powdered sugar glaze. The salted butter cuts the sweetness of the glaze and adds a richness to the baked good.

Adding butter as an ingredient is great when you are making:

glaze icing dripping off of pistachio bread

Recipe Variations

  • For citrus glaze, substitute lemon juice or orange juice in place of the cream. You can see how I did this in this lemon pound cake and on these sugar cookies.
  • Love cream cheese? Soften it and add it to your glaze for drizzling on carrot cake bread.
  • What about apple flavor? Use apple cider in place of the cream as we did on these apple butter muffins.
  • Crazy for peanut butter? Try adding peanut butter and drizzle it over a chocolate cake.
  • Add color! Gel food coloring works well. You’ll need just a little bit to get the color you’d like.
spoon drizzling glaze over bread
spoon drizzling glaze over bread

Powdered Sugar Glaze Icing Recipe

4.65 from 143 votes
The ultimate powdered sugar glaze icing recipe that takes just 5 minutes and 3 ingredients. A simple glaze icing perfect to drizzle over cakes, cookies, and pastries.
Servings 8
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

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Ingredients
 

Instructions
 

  • Sift the powdered sugar into a medium-size bowl. 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • Add the heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until you reach the consistency you'd like your icing or drizzle to be, whisking in between each addition. 3-5 tablespoons heavy cream*
  • Add vanilla extract (or your favorite flavor). ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Whisk well and immediately drizzle or spread over cookies, cakes or breads.

Notes

  • Powdered sugar is sometimes called icing sugar or confectioner’s sugar.
  • Use a non-dairy milk if you’d like.
  • Instead of cream you can use milk, half and half or even lemon juice or apple cider. Whatever liquid you choose, just add it slowly to the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until the glaze is at the right consistency.

Nutrition

Calories: 106kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 2mg | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 85IU | Calcium: 4mg
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Calories 106
Keyword easy glaze recipe, glaze icing recipe, how to make glaze, powdered sugar glaze
About JulieJulie Clark

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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4.65 from 143 votes (121 ratings without comment)
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Cindy
2 years ago

Will it keep in the refrigerator or freezer?

Kiya
2 years ago

5 stars
I made banana bread for the first time during the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep. I was so excited to have it for breakfast the next morning….but when I woke up, I realized I forgot the sugar!!! A sad surprise. “How can I fix this?” I thought. I’m new to baking but a veteran in cooking so I do know a thing or two. My mind thought of “sugar glaze” as a jumping off point. I had no idea I would strike white gold with this recipe making my banana nut bread suddenly edible

Judi Tracy
2 years ago

5 stars
Worked perfectly- added melted butter to a little cream and added slowly- was delicious on chocolate cake! So easy…

Peggy
3 years ago

5 stars
Love it

Michelle
4 years ago

5 stars
When I make my glaze, I use Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Cream coffee creamer. Mmmm… deliciousness!

Erica
4 years ago

5 stars
Thank you for this recipe! It was my first time making glaze and I used a combo of heavy cream and half and half. The glaze was used for my pumpkin bread.

Lesley Eaton
4 years ago

I made a similar recipe for glaze,that called for butter added to the powdered sugar. It turned out very lumpy no matter how much I stirred and/or whisked. It was like very sweet cottage cheeses. I used powdered sugar, then added butter, then milk, and then vanilla extract. I tried the butter just softened first, then redid the recipe with melted butter.. It was worse when the butter was melted. What did I do wrong? It was so gross!

Beth
4 years ago

5 stars
I love cinnamon in my glaze…not mentioned here…shame…shame….!

Lisa
4 years ago

5 stars
I made the icing with lemon juice and it was perfect. I let it completely dry for overnight on the sweet bread. Then I placed in a bag and heat sealed it for freshness. Within 24 hrs the icing looks crinkly and/or wet again. Then when I opened it, it was actually sticky and wet.
How do I get the icing to stay hard and dry when sealed in a bag?

Jane Lingle
4 years ago

Do you glaze after bread is cool and then wrap when glaze hardens?

Mary Ann Kiser
4 years ago

5 stars
My glaze turned a tan color after I added the vanilla extract. What did I do wrong ir what would have caused this?

Thank you

Tara
5 years ago

Hi. I’m making a raspberry cheese crumb cake and it calls for almond extract in the recipe. Would you recommend almond extract in the glaze or stick with good, old fashioned vanilla? Thank yuh in advance!

Natashia Phelan
5 years ago

5 stars
This is the first time I liked how powdered sugar glaze turned out. I used 1/2 and 1/2…added some vanilla…drizzled it one apple spice cake. Thank you!