Weddingbee PRO

Several readers asked about the type of buttercream that I mainly use, so I thought that I would share it with you. I've had many buttercream woes leading up to this fantastic find of a buttercream. Either the buttercream was too sweet, too artificial tasting, grainy looking, not thick enough to pipe with, or had some other quality that led me to turn my nose up to it, but once I tried Elizabeth Falkner's vanilla buttercream from her book Demolition Desserts my buttercream nightmares were over.

This, in my opinion, is the perfect buttercream to use on everything from cakes to cupcakes. I love her addition of salt to the recipe, which I think takes away that overly sugary taste, which I am not a fan of. Also her addition of lemon juice aides in this as well. However, I don't add quite as much lemon juice to my buttercream as she does. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as I have and let me know if you try it and what your opinion is.

Vanilla Buttercream

as adapted from Demolition Desserts

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. unsalted softened butter
• 2 1/2 c. or 10 oz. powdered sugar
• 1/2 t. kosher salt
• 1 T. plus 1 t. whole milk
• 1 t. pure vanilla extract
• 1 t. fresh lemon juice (I put 1/2 t.)

Directions:

In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter & salt for about 30 seconds and then add half of the powdered sugar and the milk to the butter and beat again until combined. Scrape down the bowl. Add the rest of the powdered sugar, the vanilla, and the lemon juice and beat until combined. Scrape down the bowl again. Beat on high speed for 5-6 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy. She says that she prefers to use it the same day, but that it can keep in the refrigerator for 3 days if tightly wrapped. I have also left it out at room temperature overnight (if I was going to use it in the morning) and it was just fine. Make sure and stir the buttercream well though before using to get the air bubbles out of the frosting.