Making The Perfect Buttercream Icing

I have to admit...I was a little sad when I handed this cake over to my son's school for tonight's fundraiser. It's so pretty! I volunteered to donate a cake to use as one of the many prizes for this evening's Family Fun Night. This particular one is a four layer chocolate cake that's filled with French Buttercream Icing and Newman's Own chocolate sandwich cookies (or remotely "healthier" Oreos).

People have been asking me about my frosting recipe for a while, but I haven't had the chance to bake many cakes recently. I tried to be very descriptive when detailing the steps needed to walk you through it, and if you follow them EXACTLY you will have the most fabulous icing created to frost your cake with! Whatever you do, do not get antsy and cut the beating time short. You cannot overbeat, but it is very easy to not give it enough time. Use a good quality butter, of course, and your favorite sugar. I use evaporated cane juice, and the first time I did I was afraid my frosting wouldn't be white, but it turns out fine (because ECJ is a slight tan color from being less processed than regular sugar). Here goes, and please pay close attention!

French Buttercream Icing

1 cup milk (whole or 2% ONLY)

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup softened butter (leave it on the counter overnight, if possible)

1 tsp vanilla

Such odd ingredients, right?! Trust me, it's FANTASTIC. They come together to create a frosting that glides on a cake smoothly, freezes well, and is stable at even the hottest temperatures for hours. Have a little faith!!

Whisk together the flour and milk in a small saucepan. Continue whisking, constantly, over medium heat until thickened enough to coat a spoon. (Do not walk away or you will end up with massive lumps...whisk continually.) Remove from heat and let stand until cool.

Combine the vanilla, butter, and sugar in the bowl of a Kitchenaid mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Turn speed to the highest setting and beat for at LEAST five minutes, or until very fluffy. Scrape sides of bowl occasionally.

Pour the milk mixture through a sieve (very important or you'll end up with bits of icky flour decorating your cake). Add to sugar, turn speed to high, and beat for about 10 minutes, scarping bowl occasionally. It should be doubled in volume, fluffy, and the sugar should be dissolved when it's ready. Add any colors, beat some more, and frost your cake!

For ease in frosting cakes, I always bake ahead of time and freeze the layers (well wrapped). This makes it possible for me to bake the lovely desserts with small children on the loose; I can bake one day and frost another! I then do a quick crumb coat, a very thin layer of icing, and pop it back into the freezer to set up. Finishing the frosting and decorating is easy, as the icing glides on and smoothes well with no crumbs in sight!

Please let me know if you attempt this recipe and how it turns out! It seems a bit daunting at first, but is so worth it! Now that I have it down, I rarely make the powdered sugar buttercreams. They don't "glide" on the cakes as this one does, and they're a lot sweeter. This also makes a wonderful filling (think chocolate cupcakes filled with this and dipped in ganache!)

This recipe makes 3 cups of icing. If I'm making a layer cake, such as the one above, and want to fill it with the buttercream, I will make a larger quantity. To fill and frost 4 layers, make 1 1/2 times the amount needed, and if you'll be wanting lots more to decorate with, double your amounts. But if you're planning on using a different filling, the standard recipe will give you enough icing to frost and decorate. It pipes on exceptionally well.