Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

For my son's first birthday, I made him his very own smash cake and it was so much fun to see him dig into it (hmm...I think he gets that from his Mama...) When I made the little 5" cake, I found that I had some leftover batter. I can't bring myself to throw away cake, so I made cupcakes with the leftovers. I frosted them with a simple, but delicious buttercream frosting.

This buttercream is so easy, but really tastey. I also use this recipe for cake decorating and it's never failed me. Give it a try, it's truly amazing! This recipe will yeild enough frosting to pipe about 15 cupcakes (although I'm pretty heavy-handed). If you just smeared it on with a knife, I'm sure you could get 24 cupcakes covered.




Easy Vanilla Buttercream
20 tbsp. (2 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. heavy cream


Directions:
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds. Scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds. Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Source: Cooks' Illustrated