Usually when I get the urge to bake something in particular it escalates into dire need rather quickly. A few months ago I bought 2oz of cocoa butter... not very much I know, but those 2oz were around $5. Ridiculous. I bought the cocoa butter for a presentation I was doing at school, but haven't gotten around to experimenting with it until recently. The urge to bake some cupcakes suddenly overwhelmed me, so I decided to play with a bit of the cocoa butter. I wont say too much about the actual cake because it wasn't that great. I tweaked the Magnolia Bakery's recipe for vanilla cupcakes by adding an ounce of the cocoa butter. The flavor was great, but the cake was too dense for my taste. I like light, airy, fluffy cupcakes, and this was not. Oh well. The icing on the other hand was amazing! I am not the biggest fan of American buttercream icings, usually I prefer Swiss buttercream, but this recipe was great! It is also Magnolia's recipe, so I wont take any credit for it. It is pretty much an old fashioned buttercream recipe, just butter, confectioner's sugar, milk and vanilla. It is wonderful; you must try it out!
Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
6-8 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of a good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. Add a few drops of food coloring, if desired, and mix thoroughly. Use and store the icing at room temperature. Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Makes enough for one 2-layer 9 inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes.
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