Birthdays and Buttercream Frosting!

Monday Munchies...

 My sweet little #4 daughter turned 5 over the weekend. We had a lot of fun celebrating her birthday together, and then I secretly cried in the bathroom at the thought of this sweet little thing heading off to kindergarten in a few months! Why do they have to grow up?Anyway, instead of a main dish and dessert recipe I'm going straight to the cake! 

This has become the standard b-day cake at our house, 4 layers decorated in the colors and flavors of the birthday-ee. Halli chose a "cookies and candy" cake this year, so that's what she got.

I am not by any means a great cake decorator,  but I enjoy the adventure and so do my girls. I've learned along the way that your frosting can completely make or break the cake so today I share my very favorite frosting recipe...



Classic Buttercream Frosting Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened

3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Directions:

Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer on medium speed.  Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter.  Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for for 3 minutes.  If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar.  If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time. 

Enjoy!