MY GO-TO VANILLA BUTTERCREAM

I know some people are funny about their recipes, but I don't have time for that. There are so many adaptations of buttercream from the Masters and our grandmothers, why not share the love.

My Go-to Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup)

1 stick of salted butter (1/2 cup)

1 cup shortening

1 -1/2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

4- 6 cups of Confectioners Sugar (depending on desired crust and sweetness)

4 Tablespoons Heavy Cream (*milk can be substituted)

Directions:
Cream butter for 2-3 minutes. Add shortening. Cream both for 3 minutes. Add vanilla and almond extract. Mix for 1 minute. Add sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Mix for 2 minutes. Add heavy cream or milk, mix for 5-7 minutes till desired thickness. Icing will also get whiter the longer you mix it. 

Frosts 24 cupcakes / 4- 7” inch cakes or / 3- 8-9”inch cakes -

*Amount is approximate and will depend on how much icing you use to pipe or crumb coat. I always make a little extra.

*This recipe is a variation of the Wilton Crusting Recipe and my grandmother's :)

THROWBACK! MY 1ST ROSETTE CAKE - DON'T LAUGH

Every aspiring Baker has that 1st cake that had that potential  wow factor. When you look back at it after you've been baking a while,  you cringe a little.  Yeh, me too. 

Christmas 2012. The first time I challenged myself to attempt a cake that I had loved. I saw a neopolitan cake on Pinterest and I was determined to make this cake. 

At that time there were no video tutorials for it, just written instructions on how to make the cake. It was made with 2 different  box cake mixes, but the frosting was homemade. 

I bought french vanilla and chocolate cake mix. Strawberry preserves was added to the vanilla for color and flavor.  I made 3 batches of flavored buttercream. But it wasn't enough. I underestimated how much I would need because I had to ice the cake and add rosettes.  

Here's the crazy part. I was in a situation where I had leftover chocolate batter, so I opted to make cupcakes with it. Great! So here is how I ran out of frosting...I iced the cupcakes FIRST!!  Why? To get that task out of the way. It was hot in my kitchen,  and I had to keep putting the cake in the fridge so the icing wouldn't melt. I was trying to kill time by icing the cupcakes, but it left me with not enough vanilla frosting for the top of the cake. Oy Vey! 

So after reading this, I'm sure you wanna see what my bald neopolitan cake looks like? Well, here you go. Don't laugh. 

*The pic is kinda grainy as HD quality wasn't happening on my cell

But you see what I mean.