Friday, January 22, 2016

Day 22: Good and easy chocolate buttercream frosting

I had resigned myself to the fact that my homemade buttercream frosting was meant to be chalky.  No matter what I did - cream the butter more, add vanilla, add cream cheese - it still had that consistency where you could taste where the confectioner's sugar met the butter instead of being melded together in buttercream perfection.


Yesterday I happened across this recipe to frost cupcakes, and I was skeptical at first.  I was supposed to melt the butter?  It seemed like more work, and I was hesitant since I had guests coming over and these cupcakes were my plan for dessert.  However, this recipe is one I'll repeat again since it came out so wonderfully!  I made a few changes to the original recipe, lowering the amount of vanilla and confectioner's sugar.  

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk 

1.  Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low to medium heat.
2.  Add the cocoa powder and vanilla, and stir.
3.  Put the confectioner's sugar in a mixing bowl.  Add the chocolate mixture and stir on a stand mixer or with hand mixer.  The mixture will be crumbly and dry.
4.  Add milk one tablespoon at a time to desired consistency.


Even after I put the chocolate mixture into the sugar, I was worried.  It was looking dry and crumbly - not at all frosting-like.  I was about to have my husband run the grocery store to pick up a tub of store made frosting.  But after I added the milk, like magic it became this silky milk chocolate frosting which turned out to be the highlight of dessert!  I added the first tablespoon just to have it mixed in and ready.  When my cupcakes had cooled sufficiently and were ready for frosting, I added the other tablespoon.  It spread easily, and after about 20 minutes the frosting had become more firm atop the cupcakes.  

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