Buttercream Icing

For my father’s birthday I baked him a light chocolate fudge cake with homemade buttercream icing. My father has always been known for his love of chocolate, but in keeping with the mood of spring, rather than go with a heavy chocolate frosting, I opted for buttercream to balance out the depth of the cake. I chose to give it a slight bare cake style to allow the chocolate to peek through. Then I simply topped it with fresh strawberries, because what goes better than chocolate and strawberries?

This easy buttercream icing can be used on any of your favorite cakes and requires only four ingredients you probably already have on hand. The result? It was a party favorite!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 2 sticks grass fed butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

TO PREPARE:

STEP 1:

Beat butter at high speed until light and fluffy. I find a stand mixer works best.

STEP 2:

Reduce to low speed and sift powdered sugar into the mixing bowl.

STEP 3:

Add vanilla and milk and whip at high speed for 3-5 minutes or until desired consistency.

STEP 4:

Spread or pipe onto completely cooled cake. I let mine cool for at least an hour. Otherwise, you are likely to end up with a mess. For a bare cake look, be mindful not to ice too thickly, artfully scraping the sides to allow the cake to show.

And that’s it! I hope you enjoy!