Perfect Vanilla ButterCream Frosting

I bake a lot of plain cakes. My family is not a fan of sweet rich frosting and they prefer to have simple no frosting cakes. But I have a terrible sweet tooth and I jump at any opportunity to whip up something sweet. Now I know this space has been quite for a very long time. And thats because little A is just growing naughtier by day and did I tell you he just turned 1!!!! And I have been wanting to bake a birthday cake for long and I just baked one for little A. Its a three layered two tier cake with handmade cake bunting by my daddy! 

The bottom tier is two layers of chocolate cake with one layer of buttermilk cake and the top tier is three layers of buttermilk cake filled with strawberry mousse and frosted with vanilla buttercream. The cake was yum! And the buttercream was super fluffy and delicious. 

It was perfect. There are a million buttercream recipe out there and each has their own. But I loved the buttercream recipe from Cooking Classy. To crumb coat and cover this 8" and 6" tier cake I had to double this recipe. 

Buttercream frosting is the easiest of all frosting. Just few tips and it turns out so perfect and yum. Its a really sweet frosting unlike Swiss / Italian Meringue. 

Tips for a smooth and fluffy frosting:

• Use good quality butter at room temperature. Butter should be soft and not runny or overly melted.
• Sift the powdered sugar couple of times to make sure no lumps are there.
• Homemade powdered sugar also can be used but store bought ones are convenient and gives that smooth consistency. 
• Beat the butter really really pale. It should become almost white and fluffy.
• Make sure to scrap the side of the bowl every time you add icing sugar and beat. Once all the icing sugar is added keep beating for 3 mins. 
• If adding color add few drops at the end and mix to combine.
• Bring frozen or chilled buttercream to room temperature and beat for a min or two before using. 

You Will Need:

Makes enough frosting to fill and cover a 3 layer 8 inch layer cake

1 1/2 Cups or 340 gm of Unsalted Butter, room temperature 

500gm Icing Sugar

3 tbsp of Heavy Cream 

1.5 tsp Vanilla Extract

A Pinch of Salt

Direction:

Step 1:

Place the unsalted butter in a large bowl and cream using a hand mixer till the butter is fluffy and really pale in color. Almost white. This will take around 5 - 7 mins approx

Step 2:

Add a cup of icing sugar and beat again scraping the sides until the sugar is well combined. Continue the process till all the icing sugar is used up, adding one cup at a time. 

Step 3:

Add the vanilla extract, salt and heavy cream and beat another 3 mins. The frosting should be fluffy and light when you run your fingers onto the buttercream. Use immediately or you can store in the fridge in an air tight container. 

PS: No need to scrap the bowl clean. Leave some behind he lick off later. Its that Yum! 

Happy Frosting!