I first discovered Our Best Bites through their blog, and then I decided I just had to have their cookbook as well. I check the blog weekly and have made several recipes from their site. Very yummy stuff, lots of step-by-step pictures, and fairly simple recipes to follow. I have been very happy with both the bookmark on my computer and the cookbook on my shelf.
This week took me down a never before explored avenue of cooking and baking: from scratch frosting! Sure I've done the simple powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla mixture. And of course I can mix powdered sugar and milk. This time, however, I wanted to try something a little more fancy for some very special cupcakes I baked. So I turned to p. 240 of my new cookbook and tried my hand at this buttercream frosting recipe. I copied the recipe below from their blog, but if you want to see the pictures of the process on Our Best Bites' site, click here.
The recipe:
3 T Flour
1/2 C milk (whole milk is best, but I used 1% and it was fine)
1/2 C real butter (they suggest a name brand but I used my local store brand)
1/2 C sugar (that’s granulated sugar, not powdered sugar)
1 t vanilla extract (or other flavor - almond, amaretto, peppermint, endless possibilities!)
Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. Let it cook, while stirring with a rubber spatula, until you can start to see the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook until mixture has the consistency of pudding.
Put mixture in the fridge and let it cool completely, it’s fine if it stays in there long enough to get chilly, you just don’t want it warm at all or it will melt the butter and you will have runny frosting. As it’s cooling, feel free to stir it occasionally to speed up the process and keep it from forming a crust on top.
In an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. You’ll want to use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer if you have one, instead of the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla (or other flavoring). Beat to combine and then scrape down the sides. Mixture will separate and look messy, keep beating! Continue beating until mixture comes together and is light and fluffy, about 7-8 minutes, but time varies. Take a sample of frosting between your fingers; frosting is done when light and fluffy and sugar granules are dissolved.
The verdict:
YUMMY! I seriously could have eaten it by the spoonful right from the bowl, but I resisted and instead frosted cupcakes with it. I tripled the recipe so that I had enough for 24 cupcakes and extra leftover for a cake. It was plenty.
The only thing I want to do differently next time is figure out how to do that ziploc frosting trick to make my cupcakes look so pretty when I'm done frosting. Maybe I'll perfect that next time!
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