Help with deflated frosting

[A Cup O Love]

Hi - I'm new to this site, so this is my first post...
OK, so I tried out a frosting recipe I found on here for Honey Frosting - very easy. Just 4 whipped egg whites with a dash of salt, a cup of honey drizzled in, beaten till stiff peaks form. It's delish, and I used it on vanilla peach cupcakes. I stored the leftovers in a Tupperware container. This morning I found the frosting deflated and foamy - nothing like the lovely fluffy, shiny white frosting of yesterday. So, my question is, What did I do wrong? How am I supposed to store these? Should I toast the frosting a little - would that help? Thanks so much for any advice!!!
Laurie

[KarenB]

Guaranteed the egg whites can't handle cold. If you try to whip them cold they will not "meringue" same goes with putting it in the frig. Not sure but try letting them come back to room temperature and re-whip them. Another option is to add a pinch of cream of tartar powder to help with the stiffening. And Welcome to the site. You will be amazed at the variety of things you will learn here.

[A Cup O Love]

Thanks for the Welcome - and for the response! OK, so I can't re-whip the frosting because it's already on my cupcakes. I did whip the eggs when they were cold and they stiffened up great - it's after being in Tupperware overnight that they deflated. Next time I'll let the eggs come to room temp first, though. Maybe the cream of tartar will help to stabilize the frosting longer, and next time I'll just loosely cover the container, not seal it. Thanks for your help. I'm sure this site will be of great use!!

[CM]

Welcome Cup O Love!

Try melting a large marshmallow or two into the meringue, too - sometimes that can help (or a little gelatin) but it's best to do meringues at the last minute.

[A Cup O Love]

If I add a little gelatin or cream of tartar when I'm beating the eggs, plus store the cupcakes in a pastry box rather than a sealed container, do you think that would keep the frosting looking Day 1 perfect? How long should I expect cupcakes frosted this way to last? Thank you! I usually do buttercream types of frostings, which are so much easier to keep, but this meringue one is so good with peach cucpakes!

[KarenB]

Maybe next time use a seven minute frosting. It's cooked and will stand the test of time.

Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons cold water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In the top of a double boiler, combine the sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, water and vanilla. Place over boiling water and beat with an electric mixer on high speed for 7 minutes, or until frosting forms peaks when beaters are raised. Remove from heat. Use immediately to frost a cooled cake.

[A Cup O Love]

Thank you - I'll definitely try the 7 minute frosting. Thanks to all for the advice!

[A Cup O Love]

So I tried the 7 minute frosting today, with my vanilla cupcakes filled with peach puree. I made just a few changes to your recipe - I used honey instead of the corn syrup and added a half teaspoon of salt. It came out so delicious - tastes a lot like marshmallow. The only problem I had was when I piped it out of my decorating bag, it didn't come out nice and smooth, rather a little clumpy. So the cupcakes don't look as pristine as I like them to. Not sure what to do to fix that problem...

[KarenB]

oops. I should have pointed out it's frosting not icing. Should be put on the cupcakes like a meringue all puffy and billowy like clouds. For a little bling decorate the frosting with sprinkles.