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Category Archives: Desserts Galore

Written on October 18, 2011 by Kate

This was my weekend project. I LOVE pink, and happen to think the more ruffles the better, so I do get a bit excited when someone orders something to celebrate a little girl. These were for a baby shower, and the only request was that the cupcakes be pink. I piped the cupcakes in a ruffly swirl using Wilton’s 1M tip. I made monograms and flowers out of fondant, which is a simple way to make a cupcake fancy. If you can roll out Play Dough, you can make these. When making fondant decorations, I buy Wilton’s premade fondant and use Americolor gels to dye the fondant the colors I want. If I’m making a fondant cake though, I prefer the taste of marshmallow fondant, so making a batch is worth the extra time and mess for cakes.

The shower was taking place at a restaurant, so I knew passing out cupcakes could be a little messy. Plus, in my experience, a lot of women pass on the dessert at showers. ( I’m not one of those women!) I went ahead and packaged these as cupcake favors and tied them with coordinating ribbon. I love how they turned out. The boxes also gave people who were full, or had to leave early a way to bring a cupcake with them to enjoy later.

These plastic boxes open up at the top, which makes getting the cupcake in the box without messing up the cupcake or the box an extra challenge. I discovered that tongs solve that problem. Boxes that open on the side are available for a little more money if you search the web. These plastic boxes from Papermart come in packs of fifty. They are reasonably priced, easily to assemble, and the perfect size for cupcakes and cookies.

These were so adorable I was sad to see them go!

Cupcakes, Favors, frosting, Parties, Recipes

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Written on October 4, 2011 by Kate

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I’m warning you, this isn’t your ordinary recipe make-over. In fact, some people might see this as politically-incorrect in the fight against obesity. Usually, a make-over means cutting the fat and reducing the calories… this make-over is quite the opposite. I baked banana bread this weekend and ~~adapted~~ fattened up a recipe from Cooking Light. I’m not opposed to making “light” desserts, as long as they keep the same texture and flavor of the original recipes (and quite often they don’t retain either), but having no plain yogurt or egg substitute on hand, I swapped them out for eggs and oil (a little backwards, I know).

I then took things a step further and fattened it up even more. Ever since my Kendall Jackson post last week, I’ve been craving Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and for some reason I felt compelled to add them to my batter. The peanut-butter/chocolate combo took the banana bread to a whole other level, and I’m proud of my politically-incorrect, added- fat recipe adaptation.

I may not be very good at making things “light”, but I am good at portion control. Instead of baking this up in one large loaf pan, I divided the batter into five mini loaf pans. I then proceeded to eat one for dinner, with my wine, and wrapped up the other four to share with friends… four politically-incorrect friends who I knew would appreciate my make-over.

And in case you’re wanting to fatten up other banana bread recipes, Cooking Light has put together a great collection of banana bread recipes, thirteen of their favorites.

printable recipe

Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread (Adapted from Cooking Light)

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3-4 bananas)

3 large eggs

1/3 cup oil

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

20 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, chopped**

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add banana, eggs, and oil; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Gently fold peanut butter cups into the batter.

Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup batter to chocolate, stirring until well combined. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Swirl batters together using a knife. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes* or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

*Baking these in mini loaf pans took about 35 minutes.

** I folded these into the banana bread batter before adding the chocolate batter. I forgot to put this in the original post, but went back and added it into the recipe. Sorry for that. I’m always going in fast motion!

Breads, Cakes, Desserts Galore, Recipes

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Written on September 28, 2011 by Kate

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I almost didn’t post this week, as I am in the midst of intensive training, overwhelmed with cookies, and suffering from severe mommy guilt. But I felt compelled to share this with you… it’s BIG NEWS. It’s not good news either. It’s the kind of news that you never saw coming; it knocks you off your feet.

So here is the thing, break-ups are hard, right? Now I’m not referring to the divorce break-up, which is absolute hell (in case you are fortunate enough to not have gone through one). No, I’m talking about the not so happily ever after break-up, in which your heart is completely broken because you were pretty much infatuated with the love of your life, but your true love decided that he or she did not share in your feelings.

Many of you are aware of my love for Kendall Jackson (I’ve professed it all over this blog)… it’s borderline obsession. Well ,yesterday while sitting in Cognitive Coaching training, my adult ADD kicked in and I tuned out for a bit and started reading through my favorite food blogs (I’m a great teacher, but a terrible student.). I was ecstatic when I saw that Nicole of Baking Bites was posting about KJ (that’s my pet name for him). I quickly skimmed the article and saw that she was sharing a KJ recipe to pair with the chardonnay. This was exciting! I had no idea KJ even had a passion for food. I then emailed my girlfriend, Laura, who was actually in the training being a much better student than I was to tell her that I planned on opening a bottle of KJ and making the recipe Nicole had posted. I told Laura she was welcome to join me. Get this, the KJ recipe was for caramel popcorn. This sent me into a state of complete bliss. Only KJ would think to pair chardonnay with caramel popcorn. Seriously, we were destined to be together.

After the training, I opened a bottle of KJ Grand Reserve and made the caramel popcorn recipe with Laura. Man, was it good… possibly the best caramel popcorn I’ve ever tasted, and paired with the wine made both taste even better. This was the life I was meant to live.

Fast forward to this morning when I abruptly fell off of Cloud Nine. Once again, I was physically sitting through training, but mentally somewhere in the blogosphere off-task. Brace yourself…this is the part where my heart was broken. Right there, before my eyes, I saw that KJ had invited a whole group of food bloggers to his winery to enjoy a luxurious weekend of wine testing, wine education, and wine pairings. There, on the screen was pictures to prove it. All of these amazing food bloggers in his presence, but his true love missing? Something was terribly wrong. I think I went through all of the stages of grief in a matter of minutes. You know, denial, anger, a few more, and finally acceptance. Really, is there any other food blogger who writes about KJ as much as I do? Is there any other food blogger who has convinced a whole bunch of readers to start toasting with KJ on a daily basis? I’ve now accepted the fact that my feelings for KJ are not reciprocal (sad, huh?). I guess it happens, right? In my heart, KJ is forgiven. I will continue to stock both of my refrigerators with KJ and enjoy my chardonnay daily. One day maybe I’ll be able to spend a weekend at KJ’s place… a girl can dream, right?

By the way, another brilliant KJ pairing…peanut butter cookies. There will be a peanut butter post in my near future… Reese’s Peanut Butter I think! In the meantime, here’s what I recommend…make this caramel popcorn, pour yourself some KJ, and go check out Recipe Girl’s recap of her KJ dream weekend. It’s really pretty amazing!! I am jealous!

printable recipe

Kendall Jackson’s Double Gold Caramel Corn
(recipe from Kendall Jackson’s culinary team)
12 cups air popped popcorn (pref. unsalted)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar (pref. golden brown)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 300F. Line a large rimmed sheet pan (10×15 inches) with aluminum foil and lightly grease. A nonstick pan can also be used.
Lightly grease a very large bowl with a very thin coating of cooking spray or vegetable oil. Place popcorn in bowl and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add corn syrup and brown sugar and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, without agitating or stirring the pan, for 4 minutes.
Continue cooking for an additional 4-5 minutes, stirring well with a spatula every thirty seconds. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, salt and baking soda.
Pour caramel over popcorn in the large bowl and carefully fold the popcorn with a spatula until it is evenly coated with the caramel.
Pour caramel covered popcorn onto prepared baking sheet and spread into an even layer.
Bake for 15 minutes, stirring or turning the popcorn every 5 minutes.
Place one very large sheet of parchment paper on the countertop and spread cooked caramel corn onto it after it comes out of the oven. Allow it to cool for a couple of minutes, then separate it into small clusters while still very warm.
Allow to cool completely before eating or storing.

Makes about 12 cups.

Candy, Desserts Galore, Recipes

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Written on September 21, 2011 by Kate

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Yes, I made my own birthday cake. Is that wrong? I usually make mini cakes for birthdays, but I decided to go BIG this year because I happen to think 38 is going to be a BIG year. Plus, who doesn’t deserve six layers of chocolate? (okay, let’s not answer that) The boy seemed to have an issue with the fact that I was making myself an enormous birthday cake. I never quite figured out why. Surely, he recognizes that his mom, who will go to the ends of the earth for him (even in her jammies), is worthy of an enormous cake, right?

In our family, birthdays are kind of a big deal. I know a lot of people who treat their birthday like just another day. How un-fun is that? I am of the philosophy that the entire birth month should involve celebrations. I don’t expect presents, but I do expect to be treated like the Birthday Queen that I am.

I had a great birthday, you know why… I have great friends and family!! Thank you to those who made my special day extra, extra special! You’ve proven that sometimes the simplest of celebrations are the BEST! Who needs real champagne glasses when you’ve got clear, plastic cups! Aside from having to pick my son up at 11:30 at night from his dad’s, in my jammies, it was a perfect night (and the truth is I couldn’t think of a better way to end my birthday night than snuggling my boy and his pup.) Moral of that story… even in the midst of drama, there’s always a silver lining.

I didn’t make just any ordinary cake either. I made my favorite chocolate cake. I love this recipe!! I decorated my cake with ruffles, which is actually much easier than you might think. It’s also very forgiving. I don’t know about you, but I happen to think perfection is totally overrated. To make the ruffles, you use a petal piping tip and pipe in a zig zag motion all around the cake. Melody, from Sweet and Saucy, has a great clip on youtube showing the technique. It’s easier to understand by seeing it in action, than by trying to describe it. Melody doesn’t just blog about her baking masterpieces, she has her own bakery in Long Beach, California that she opened a few years ago. You must stop in if you’re in the area. The Sweet and Saucy blog is one of my favorites. The cake and dessert table photos are gorgeous!

When my birthday cake was finished, I could not get over how heavy it was. We barely made a dent in it for my birthday dinner, and there was no way I was going to keep a six layer chocolate cake in the house for more than two days. I ended up giving away more than three-quarters of my birthday cake… Spread the love… Spread the calories! (That’s the secret to having a dessert blog and still fitting in your skinny jeans!).

My Favorite Chocolate Cake (From Ina Garten)

printable recipe

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

2 cups sugar

3/4 cups good cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Birthday Cake Buttercream (Grinandbakeit)

printable recipe

I like to use this frosting for kids’ birthday parties. I find it is most like what bakeries use. A lot of adults prefer this to traditional buttercream too. This is my dad’s favorite!

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 Crisco, softened

pinch of salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

4-6 tbsp. whipping cream (you can substitute milk or half and half)

4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter and Crisco. Add pinch of salt and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth. Add in sifted confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time, add a tablespoon of whipping cream in between each cup of sugar, scraping the sides of bowl down each time. Gradually beat on low-medium speed well until smooth and fluffy. (The lows speed keeps it from incorporating too much air into the frosting). To reach the consistency you need, you may need to add more sugar or more whipping cream. Add food coloring and blend well. Remember, gel or paste coloring will darken over time.

Cakes, chocolate, Desserts Galore, frosting, Recipes

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Written on September 12, 2011 by Kate

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Don’t you just love people who give you advice when they have absolutely no business telling you what they think? You know what I’m talking about… you find out you’re pregnant and random women stop to ask you if you plan on breast-feeding, or you become a parent and suddenly those without children feel it’s their obligation to critique your parenting skills. It usually starts with this, “I would never let my kids do ____________.” Then, there are those divorced people with all of the answers to making a marriage work. So please, take everything I say with a grain of salt because I have very little credibility on the subject of marriage.

This is what I now know…

Men are SIMPLE… Women make life complicated.

(Feel free to disagree, but just so you know I was the President of the debate team.)

What evidence do I have of men’s simplicity, you’re wondering? What you may not have realized is that one of the added bonuses of divorce is that you get to show up to a lot of parties entirely full of married couples and be the lone single person in the group (a little awkward, yes, but nothing a glass or two of wine won’t take care of). I was a Sociology major at UC Santa Barbara, and I LOVE to study people. So if I’m invited to your party, it’s entirely possible that I’ve made you and your spouse a case study (all in the name of research).

Want to know one of the simplest ways to show your man that he is loved… make these Cookies and Cream Rice Krispy treats. They are a sure thing to making your guy happy. I confirmed this last weekend. My next door neighbors throw a huge annual Labor Day party, and these are what I brought this year. In attendance were approximately 101 people, 50 adults, 50 small children, and one lone single girl (me, of course!). 25 men devoured these treats within an hour of me bringing them out. Many of them immediately went to their wives to ask if they would get the recipe from me. Of course, I loved watching it all. It just supports my belief that men find pleasure in simple things (and it doesn’t get much simpler than this recipe!).

Here’s where I might lose some of you (if I haven’t already), but bear with me… It’s only a suggestion ~ In addition to making these this week for your guy, send your small children away, and greet him at the door at the end of the day in some cute lingerie, while holding the tray of Cookies and Cream Rice Krispy treats. I’ll leave it up to you, but I’m just sayin’, had I known then what I know now, I’d do things a little different. Prince Charming, if you’re following my blog (and I think you are), see what you have to look forward to!

This recipe idea is from Jenny at Picky Palate. She is the queen of coming up with simple, yet incredibly creative recipes. Her blog is one of the first food blogs I got addicted to a few years ago.

Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats (Recipe from Picky Palate)

4 Tablespoons Butter
4 Cups mini marshmallows
8 Cups rice crispy cereal
8 oz bag mini Oreo cookies

1/2 Cup chocolate chips, melted

Place butter and marshmallows into a large microwavable bowl. Microwave for a few minutes until marshmallows puff up nice and large. Remove and stir in cereal and Oreos. Pour into a large 9×13 inch baking dish. With the back of a large spoon that’s sprayed with cooking spray press and smooth treats. Drizzle melted chocolate over top and let cool. Cut into squares.

Brownies & Bars, Recipes

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Written on September 7, 2011 by Kate

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The first day of school finally arrived… my boy started 5th grade today!

An interesting question was posed to me last week that I thought I’d share… brace yourself for this one ~ Here’s the question, “Are you ready to be pregnant again?”. I know I’m not giving you the context of the question, which really isn’t fair, but regardless of the context, don’t you think that’s kind of an interesting question to ask a single parent of a ten-year-old, who is still in search of Prince Charming? Where do I even begin with that one? First off, being pregnant and having a baby are two entirely different questions. Here is my translation of , “Are you ready to be pregnant again?”. “Are you ready to give up Kendall Jackson for 40 weeks, gain a bunch of weight, and wear clothes that aren’t all that cute?”. I’m gonna have to go with no for now based on my current circumstances.

I will tell you this though, when I sent the boy off to school I instantly flash-backed to his younger years… all of the hours we spent playing Thomas the Train together, his first day of kindergarten, and that cute, little boy face that used to kiss me goodnight after I would tell him,” I’m the luckiest mom in the world because I have you for a boy.” It really does go way too fast, and as much as we try to be in the moment, time always gets ahead of us, doesn’t it?

Blake’s dad came over for our traditional first day of school breakfast this morning. We’ve done this since kindergarten, and it holds a lot of significance. For me, it marks another year that we’ve continued to keep our family (which happens to have two separate homes) a whole family unit. (The truth of the matter is that Matt and I are both really selfish people and neither of us want to miss out on anything important our son goes through. I’m kidding, sort of!) I hope that as Blake grows up and figures things out, he will understand that we loved him so much, we were willing to do whatever it took to remain a family.

So today was filled with mixed emotions for me. I’m exhausted!! But you know what I have absolutely no mixed emotions about, these cookie bars. I found this recipe from Baker Girl, a blog I just discovered. You must check out all of Kerry’s recipes, so much sweet inspiration in her archives! These bars were good right out of the oven, but fantastic the next day. Don’t eat them all up in one day and you’ll see what I mean. It is the combination of chocolate and pretzels and cookie dough that make these fabulous. I baked mine for thirty minutes. Next time I might bake a few extra minutes just to get them a tad more firm in the center. They will firm up a bit overnight though.

printable recipe

M&M, Pretzel, Chocolate Chip Bars (Recipe from Baker Girl, original recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini M&Ms
1 cup pretzels, crushedPreheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Using a mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about one minute. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chip, mini M&Ms, and crushed pretzels.

Spread the batter evenly in the pan, pressing down with a spatula. Sprinkle a few M&Ms on top, if desired. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow to cool completely.

Brownies & Bars, cookies, Recipes

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Written on August 24, 2011 by Kate

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You know all of those oatmeal crumbs that I rimmed my martini glass with on Monday, here’s where they originated. As far as I’m concerned, these bars can easily be considered breakfast. It’s oatmeal, right? The caramel-chocolate layer is just there to hold all of that nutritious oatmeal together. And by all means, feel free to eat these for snack or dessert… dinner too for that matter. I’m one, who on multiple occasions, have popped two waffles in the toaster, poured myself a glass of wine and called it dinner, so you do what you want with these bars. They’re worth baking a batch up for any meal you deem appropriate.

The whirlwind of life has taken off again, and as busy as it gets, it feels great to be back to work. I have been blessed to work with a great group of people and to have amazing support from my friends and family. Thank you to my mom who has kept my son from being a latch-key kid this week. She doesn’t just hang out with the boy while I’m at work, she challenges the boy in handball to the point where they’re both dripping sweat (not exaggerating), and the boy now has her addicted to Plants vs. Zombies on his iPad. Really, he’s got the coolest grandma ever (and he knows it)!!

A few other things are brewing in my life that have added to my current adrenaline high. Dare I say, these “few other things” may prove to be life-changing at some point. I am a status quo girl. I don’t generally embrace change, but I can’t help but feel excited to see how things unfold. I know I’m being a bit vague and that’s probably really annoying. Remember when I talked about blog stalkers. I really can’t control who reads this little blog, so I have to be a little cautious when sharing some of what happens behind the scenes of my crazy life. For today, life, like these caramel oatmeal bars, is extra sweet!

printable recipe

Caramel Chocolate Oatmeal Bars (Adapted from Martha)

Vegetable-oil cooking spray

16oz. soft caramel-candy cubes (approximately 50)*

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13- inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line with a 9-by-21-inch sheet of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on each short side. Put caramels and cream in a small saucepan; cook over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, until caramels are melted, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

Stir together oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and the salt in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a fork or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal; press half of mixture onto bottom of lined pan. Bake until just set and starting to color around edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes.

Sprinkle crust with chocolate chips; drizzle with caramel mixture. Top with remaining crumb mixture. Bake until pale golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

* You can substitute caramel sundae sauce for caramel cubes. Omit cream and drizzle caramel sundae sauce on crust.

Brownies & Bars, Desserts Galore, Recipes

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Written on August 16, 2011 by Kate

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These cupcakes were for the Breakfast at Tiffany’s bridal shower that I told you about last week. Andrea, who was throwing the shower, wanted simple and elegant, and of course Tiffany blue. Tiffany’s has trademarked the color, and even Pantone, the world-renowned authority on color can’t reveal it’s secret formula to the public. Even without access to their top-secret formula, I think I was able to get pretty close to the Tiffany color. It was surprisingly very simple and didn’t involve any mixing of gel pastes. I just used a little of Americolor’s turquoise. I was careful not to use too much because the colors really darken up over time. I accessorized these cupcakes with Wilton’s mini candy pearls.

Last week, I shared a link on the Facebook page to a great post on Glorious Treats. Gloria has put together a tutorial on how to frost cupcakes in a series of posts on “Cupcake Basics”. The question I am asked most is how do you make the swirl on top of the cupcake. Check out Gloria’s link. She even has a YouTube clip so you can watch it in action. While reading through her recent posts on cupcake making, I came across her favorite buttercream recipe. Her secret is to add a little bit of cream cheese. I tried the recipe and liked it so much, I used it to frost these cupcakes. The cream cheese cuts out some of the over the top sweetness of a traditional buttercream. I’ve now added this to my list of buttercream frostings that I use. This one is perfect for people who don’t want a super-sweet frosting. My other two go-to frosting recipes are listed below.

Buttercream (and a hint of cream cheese) Frosting ~ (Recipe from Glorious Treats)

printable recipe

(I was able to pipe the swirl on 26 cupcakes with one batch of this)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter (salted, or unsalted) 4 oz. (half block) cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)

4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (best quality available)
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream, half and half or milk.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter (on medium speed) until completely smooth (30 seconds to a minute). Add cream cheese and beat until smooth.
Add salt (if needed). One cup at time, add 2 cups of powdered sugar, beating after each addition. Add vanilla, or other flavorings and beat to combine. Add about 1 tablespoon of cream, and continue beating. Add the remaining 2 cups powdered sugar, one at a time. Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons cream until desired consistency is reached. If you want to pipe the frosting on cupcakes, the frosting should be nice and thick. Continue to beat another minute or so. The frosting should now be smooth and fluffy.

Birthday Cake Frosting (Grin and Bake it)

printable recipe

I like to use this frosting for kids’ birthday parties. I find it is most like what bakeries use. A lot of adults prefer this to traditional buttercream too.

1/3 cup butter, softened