On a rare day off work the other day, I felt the sudden urge to do a spot of baking. I made a lovely batch of chocolate buns and set about getting the icing sugar out to make some icing for them. I've never had much luck with getting the consistency right with icing sugar and, true to form, I made a right hash of it and had to ditch the icing, leaving my buns undecorated.

I had seen ready to spread icing in the supermarkets but hadn't paid much attention to it so I didn't really know what it was like but knew it existed so I popped to the shop to get some. Betty Crocker Ready to Spread Icing was the only option. Vanilla flavour was the only flavour there although according to the packet, chocolate and fudge flavours are also available. I paid £1.96 for a 450 gram tub and went back to ice my buns!

I was expecting the icing to be glossy and runny like the icing made with icing sugar. When I took the lid off the tub and peeled back the plastic film seal I was surprised to see it was more like frosting than icing, like a thick butter cream. Not being able to resist, I got a teaspoon and had a taste. I was overwhelmed by the sickly sweetness of the vanilla, I hadn't expected the vanilla to be such a strong taste and I was disappointed to find that I didn't like it! The texture of the icing is thick and creamy as it says on the tub.

I iced half the batch of the buns with this icing and found that it was very easy to spread with a knife or the back of a spoon. It looked lovely on the buns and didn't run down the sides like icing can do. The consistency of this icing simply isn't like that, it stays put and spreads where you want it to.

Although the icing was quite sickly (when I ate a teaspoon full on its own), once on the bun and eaten along with the bun, the vanilla flavour wasn't so strong and it wasn't as sickly as I had first found. However, it did add a heaviness and a sickliness to an otherwise non-heavy non-sickly bun! I was glad I had only iced half the buns. My fiance however, thought it was great and demolished two buns before attacking the tub of icing with a spoon. Horses for courses I suppose!

This icing doesn't set on the buns either, it stays soft and makes your fingers very sticky, possibly not the best to use if you have small children! I much prefer icing that sets hard.

As a quick fix, this icing did the job, it just wasn't to my taste. At £1.96 for a tub, it is very reasonably priced. No nutritional values on the tub but I guess the icing has no nutritional value! Won't be buying it again but will persevere with the old icing sugar instead!