Fluffy Maple Icing

This Fluffy Maple Icing is a variation on Seven-Minute Icing, which is light and billowy and tastes a bit like whipped marshmallows. The one caveat with any Seven-minute icing (and especially this maple variation) is that you must make it fresh. I recommend making the icing right before you frost your cake/cupcakes, and serving the cake immediately or not more than an hour later. After that, the icing deflates a bit and becomes a little chewy. If you want a maple frosting that does not need to be made right before serving, I would recommend my Maple Buttercream instead.

Fluffy Maple Icing:
3/4 Cup Real Maple Syrup
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 Egg Whites

Put the maple syrup and the cream of tartar in a small saucepan and, over low heat, simmer gently for one minute, stirring often. Take off heat.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on medium until the mixture can form soft peaks.

Keeping the mixer on medium high speed, very slowly pour the hot maple syrup into the egg whites in a thin stream (this adds the hot syrup gradually so as not to cook the eggs). You want to pour the syrup down the side of the bowl so it goes into the egg whites, not directly onto the beaters.

When the mixture is blended, turn the mixer up to high and beat for five minutes. The icing will be very fluffy, stiffer and look a little less glossy.

Frost and serve as soon as possible.