Soap Frosting
I love decorating my soaps but at the beginning, I found it really difficult to find a recipe for frosting that
(a) wouldn’t set before I’d finished piping, or
(b) wasn’t temperamental when it came to temperature. But now I think I’ve finally cracked it.
Start cold! This method I found on the internet and it made perfect sense.
‘Start Cold’ it said, so I put my recipe together the day before which included making up my lye solution and putting both in the fridge. The next morning I took both out of the fridge and let them stand on the counter for about an hour or so while I took my dogs for a run.
Back in my kitchen, I checked the temperature of both the oils and the lye they were at 15 degrees C (60 degrees F) so I gave them a good stir. The oils were soft enough for me to use a spatula so no need for a hand mixer or stick blender. Once the oils are soft and creamy I add my lye a little at a time mixing it thoroughly until all the lye in.
Next, I add my fragrance and any colour’s and mix in. I may have to wait a few minutes for the frosting to reach the consistency I need to pipe but that gives me plenty of time to prepare piping bags or change nozzles or whatever. When the frosting has reached the consistency that I need for piping I simply fill my piping bag and away I go. Want the recipe? Here you go;
- 141.75g Coconut Oil
- 141.75g Cocoa Butter
- 113.40g Olive Oil
- 56.70g Shea Butter
- 172.36g Distilled Water
- 64.77g Lye Na0H
I found that this recipe also works really well if you need to correct the odd piping error. Plus I also had time to divide the quantity, add different colours and pipe without having to worry about the frosting hardening too soon.
If you should decide you would like a softer frosting simply reduce the coconut oil and the Cocoa butter and up the Olive Oil. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.