Use this to top our Vanilla Cupcakes. This is a great, easy to accomplish, recipe for chefs starting out in baking. Make sure it is thin enough to be easy for them to pipe (if you are going that route). If you need to thin it a bit, just dump it all back into the bowl and add a little more heavy cream (a few Tablespoons at a time) and mix until smooth.

Warm Ingredients:

All your ingredients do need to be room temperature. For butter, if you slice it thin and leave it out for 15 minutes, that usually does the trick. You can tell it’s room temp by poking it with a (clean) finger and if you can easily leave an indentation of your finger, that’s good. You can also slice it and then pop it in the microwave for 5 seconds. Test again to make sure it is nice and soft. You can warm your eggs in their shell by placing them in a bowl of water hot from the tap. Leave for 5-10 minutes and they should be good. Warm milk in a heat proof measuring cup such as Pyrex for 10 seconds or until it feels room temp (or use a clean instant read thermometer).

Feel free to add any food coloring to the frosting to make these extra festive, and don’t forget the sprinkles!

Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients

1 cup butter (must be softened-room temperature)

4 ½ cups powdered sugar

¼ cup heavy cream (room temperature)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

A pinch of salt (about ⅛ teaspoon)

Instructions

1. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, mix butter for 2 minutes until soft and creamy. 
2. Add your powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla to your soft butter. 
3. Mix on low for 30 seconds so that you don’t explode powdered sugar everywhere! 
4. Turn mixer to high and mix for 2 minutes. 
5. Add a pinch of salt and mix just to combine. 
6. Pipe or spread on your cupcakes or cake. 

Notes: 

• If you like a thicker frosting, add ½ cup powdered sugar and mix. 
• If you like thinner frosting, add a couple tablespoons more heavy cream and mix.