Whitney Berge isn't just the baking brains behind The Blonde Who Bakes; she's also a genius time-saver while she's serving up seductive treats!
She showed us a no-headache way to make Buttercream Frosting smoother and more workable: Just let your butter get to room-temperature; or to the point where you can put a fingerprint in it easily! See? Baking hacks like this one are why we love Whitney's style!
After you make the frosting, you can spread it on cakes, cupcakes, brownies, cookies...and even inside macarons!
So here's her recipe for the perfect buttercream, but first, I know some of you are like me and would rather buy things pre-made, so she's giving viewers 10-percent off at www.theblondewhobakes.com; just enter the code "theplace" at checkout!
BUTTERCREAM RECIPE
INGREDIENTS:
-1.5 C SOFTENED BUTTER (salted or unsalted)
-1.5 tsp CLEAR VANILLA (not brown)
-1 tsp ALMOND EXTRACT
-4 TBSP HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM
-5 C POWDERED SUGAR
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Let butter warm up close to room temperature, to the point you can leave a finger print in it. (To speed up the process, take out of fridge and put in microwave for 14-15 seconds. No more than that. You don`t want your butter to melt at all.)
2. Once room temp, cut butter into Cubes and put into Mixer.
3. Start creaming butter with the whisk attachment. I like to put one stick of butter in at a time and scrape down the bowl at least 2-3 times before I add the other ingredients.
4. Add your flavor extracts to creamed butter. Combine and mix.
5. Add in Heavy Whipping Cream. Mix on low speed for 45-60 seconds. Stop mixer and then scrape down bowl to get all ingredients incorporated.
6. Add in 1.5 C of powdered sugar at a time and start mixing on lowest speed and then you can higher the speed once it starts incorporating. (Believe me... you don`t want a cloud of powdered sugar all over your kitchen and all over you!!! I know... from many times of experience!)
7. Once you have your Powdered Sugar all mixed in and you like your consistency, take mixing bowl off of mixer, and mix frosting with a WOODEN SPOON! This will release any extra air bubbles from your frosting and smooth it out a bit more. It works magic!
8. If you don`t use your frosting immediately, put into airtight pastry bags, or a airtight container to keep soft. If you want to keep this over night, put in the fridge and take out about 45 minutes before wanting to use.
