This easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is smooth and creamy and perfect on any cake or cupcake!

Recipe posted first on Spend With Pennies.

Some days (most days) there is just nothing that beats a cupcake with smooth, creamy, luscious Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.

We will put this frosting on pretty much anything:

• Funfetti Cake (it’s great for piping!)
• cupcakes (any flavor)
• cookie cakes
• cookie sandwiches (pick two of your favorite cookies and sandwich them together with a thick schmear of buttercream frosting)
• a spoon

It’s incredibly versatile as you can add in a variety of extracts and flavors (see some ideas below), and any leftovers can be frozen for another use (or it can be frozen right on a cake or some cupcakes).

How to make Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

1. Start with room temperature unsalted butter — this will ensure a smooth frosting with no lumps!
2. Whip in your sugar and vanilla until super smooth — it will be very thick!
3. Add your cream a little at a time and whip it again — this ensures you reach your desired texture and firmness without overdoing it!
4. Add a pinch of salt to cut the sweetness — this is crucial! Buttercream frosting can be overbearingly sweet but just a bit of salt really helps.

How to make thick Buttercream Frosting for piping:

This recipe as is is nice and thick for piping and will hold its shape well.

I tend to push the limits on how much cream you can add to frosting, as I like mine as light and fluffy as it can be while still holding its shape and not turning into a puddle.

The best thing to do is play it “by ear” (or by sight rather), and add as much cream as you want to get the texture you like.

If I was making this recipe and not worried about it holding intricate designs, I might even add a little extra cream to make it as light and creamy as possible.

Flavor variations on this buttercream frosting recipe:

• Add a 1/2-1 teaspoon of almond, mint, or lemon extract (or get crazy and try another flavor!) to go with whatever you’re putting it on.
• Stir in some crushed M&Ms, Oreos, or Reeses Pieces at the end — just make sure if you’re piping it you use a large round tip.
• Add in a tablespoon or two of peanut butter, cocoa or Nutella for an interesting twist!

How to freeze frosting:

This Vanilla Buttercream Frosting freezes like a dream, on your dessert of choice or on its own.

Simply place it in a freezer safe container and freeze for 2-3 months.

When you need it, place in the refrigerator or on the counter to thaw (just don’t let it sit on the counter too long after it reaches room temperature).

Make sure your frosting is at room temperature but not warm when you go to use it, and give it a good stir before spooning it into your piping bag or spreading it onto your baked goods.

Other delicious frosted things (perfect for spreading with this Buttercream Frosting!):

• Frosted Funfetti Blondies
• Grandma’s Sour Cream Sugar Cookies + VIDEO
• Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting + VIDEO
• Pumpkin Caramel Pecan Naked Cake

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Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

This easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is smooth and creamy and perfect on any cake or cupcake!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 24

Calories 185cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 5 cups powdered sugar 600g
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• pinch of salt to taste

Instructions

• Place butter in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
• Add sugar, one cup at a time, and beat until combined — it will be thick. Beat in vanilla extract.
• Add cream, a little at a time, and beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Continue adding cream until desired texture and firmness is reached.
• Add a pinch of salt (to your tasteand beat until combined.
• Spread or pipe onto cake or cupcakes, or see post above for storing for longer periods of time.

Nutrition

Calories: 185cal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 70mg | Potassium: 8mg | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Calcium: 5mg

The post Vanilla Buttercream Frosting appeared first on The Recipe Rebel.

So, I really like cake.

Also, I really like decorating cakes. And cupcakes. And just generally making pretty, edible things and playing with my food.

But I don’t do many posts about cake or cupcake decorating because I think that’s probably not why most of you are here. Most of you are here for one pot pastas or slow cooker meals or cookies (man I like cookies….).

But every once in a while I just need to break out the food coloring and the piping bags and go to town.

All you need is some cupcakes, some food coloring, and a leaf tip (or multiple) to make a wreath like this, and it’s actually really easy to do!

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Fall Wreath Cupcake Cake

An easy cupcake decorating technique that’s perfect for dessert at your Thanksgiving dinner! Change up the colors to suit the season.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 14 cupcakes

Calories 356cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 ounces good quality chocolate
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature 1.5 sticks
• 3 cups powdered icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon milk or cream
• food coloring

Instructions

• For the cupcakes:Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line about 14 muffin cups with paper liners.
• Melt together the butter and chocolate in the microwave, heating in 20-30 second increments and stirring each time until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with an electric mixer), combine eggs, sugar, vanilla and yogurt until smooth.
• Add melted chocolate mixture and beat until combined.
• Add cocoa, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and beat just until combined. Batter will be thick and almost mousse-like in texture.
• Spoon into prepared muffin pans, each cup about ⅔ full, and bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.
• Frosting:In a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with an electric mixer), beat butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk and beat on low until combined. Beat on high 1-2 minutes until fluffy and smooth.
• To make the cupcake cake:Divide frosting into 4-5 small bowls and color with food coloring as desired. I had brown for the base, red, burgundy, green, and warm yellow.
• I find the frosting gets warm after mixing the food coloring in and I like to cover and refrigerate at least 1-2 hours before piping.
• Place frosting in separate piping bags — the brown fitted with a small round tip, the colors fitted with leaf tips (or use couplers if you don’t have enough leaf tips to go around — then you can easily switch the tips).
• Arrange cupcakes in a circle (can be as small or large as you want). Pipe the brown frosting in circles around the top of the cupcakes to form the base of your wreath. Try to cover as much of the top as possible — this will keep your leaves from sinking in the cracks.
• Pipe different colored leaves all around the cupcakes until you are happy with the colors and fullness.
• *To pipe a leaf with your leaf tip: Hold the piping bag so the tip has one point to the sky and one point to the bottom (the cupcake). Squeeze the bag and hold the tip in place to build the base of your leaf. Slowly move the tip out and release pressure on the bag, dragging the tip out to make the point. They won’t all be perfect — and that’s okay! You can always do another one on top of the ones you dislike.

Nutrition

Calories: 356cal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 241mg | Potassium: 119mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 550IU | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg

Chocolate cupcakes barely adapted from I Am Baker, original recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

The post Fall Wreath Cupcake Cake appeared first on The Recipe Rebel.

Yes, I need two titles.

Because I think not everybody knows what to expect when they hear the words “Brownie Mountain”. And because this is really just the most fun you’ve ever had making an ice cream cake, even if it looks like your young child put it together.

I was tempted to name this “Hot Mess Cake”, but I decided that ugly food needs to be loved to. And sprinkles can make almost any cake feel good about itself, am I right? The extra two layer of chocolate on top of the brownie don’t hurt either.

As I was photographing this cake all I could hear in my head was the song “Unpretty” by TLC — tell me you know that song and I’m not that old. But it’s really what’s on the inside that counts, right? And on the inside is no-churn vanilla ice cream. And it’s easy.

I got stole the idea for this cake from the Taste of Home Celebrations cookbook. I didn’t use any of the recipe, as I had my own brownie and ice cream recipes that I like. But I saw it and I knew I had to make it, even though the world is now onto Back To School themed everything and what you really want are granola bars and cookies.

But don’t you think the kiddos deserve a treat for making it through that first week? As a teacher, I’m pretty sure I do most years (though this year I’m going to be at home with my babes as the rest of my colleagues make their way back)!

Optional shortcuts:

If you’re looking to save time, you can always use a boxed brownie mix or store bought ice cream — mix it up by adding any flavors you like!

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Ice Cream Brownie Mountain (Brownie Mountain Ice Cream Cake!)

This Ice Cream Brownie Mountain is the ultimate ice cream cake! A homemade brownie filled with your favorite flavour of ice cream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 14 servings

Calories 563cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

For the brownies:

• 1 cup butter melted
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the ice cream:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 35%
• 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• sprinkles optional

For the brownie mountain:

• 100 g milk chocolate bar
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 cups whipped topping or whipped cream
• chocolate sauce, sprinkles, and cherries for garnish as desired

Instructions

• Make the brownies:Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9×13″ with tin foil and spray with non-stick spray.
• In a large mixing bowl combine butter and sugar and whisk until combined. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla.
• Add the cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder and whisk just until combined.
• Spread into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Cool completely.
• Make the brownie mountain:Line a 2.5 quart bowl with plastic wrap, letting some hang over the sides. Cut brownies into pieces and press brownies into the bowl, cutting and squishing to fit (see photo below).
• For the ice cream: Whip 1½ cups cream until stiff peaks form and fold in sweetened condensed milk and sprinkles if desired. Pour into your brownie-coated bowl until the ice cream mixture almost reaches the rim of the brownies (see photo below). Freeze solid.
• Place remaining brownies on the top of your bowl (which will end up being the bottom of your mountain). Freeze until firm.
• Make your ganache: in a small pot melt together chocolate bar and ¼ cup whipping cream over low heat until smooth. Set aside.
• Unmold your brownie mountain onto a plate. Pour ganache over mountain. Set in the freezer for 15-30 minutes until firm. Cover with whipped topping, chocolate sauce, sprinkles and cherries as desired. Serve frozen and freeze leftovers.

Nutrition

Calories: 563cal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 138mg | Sodium: 271mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 50g | Vitamin A: 1220IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 132mg | Iron: 1.2mg

The post Brownie Mountain Ice Cream Cake appeared first on The Recipe Rebel.

Tell me: what is your ideal birthday food?

For me? I’m all about tradition. I want cake.

And not some fancy, new-age birthday cake. I want vanilla or chocolate – the simpler, the better. A good thick layer of not-too-sweet frosting and maybe some sprinkles for good measure.

Confession: I have always preferred store-bought birthday cake over homemade.

I don’t know what it is.

But I suspect part of the reason is that light, fluffy bakery frosting. There’s just (almost!) nothing like it.

I used to work in a store bakery when I was in high school, and I ate a ridiculous amount of sweets. I could eat the cake frosting straight from a spoon, sans cake.

There’s a time and a place for classic buttercream frosting (in fact I can think of plenty). But it’s just so sweet, that sometimes I want something a little fluffier and a little less sweet.

And then I found Swiss Meringue Buttercream. And my life has never been the same.

I think it’s my favorite frosting. Ever.

But I’m not going to lie – it takes a bit of time. And a bit of equipment. But it’s so totally worth it if you’re going for something extra special, or if you just like your frosting a little on the milder side.

To make the cakes, I baked my favorite cake recipe (adapted slightly from Add a Pinch), but I spread the batter between a large sheet pan and a 9×13” pan. I wanted fairly thin layers, and I think they could even be a little bit thinner. I lined the pans with parchment so I could easily remove them from the pans to cut them.

I baked them ahead of time, so I covered in plastic wrap and stuck the whole pans in the freezer for a couple days. Then I removed them and let them thaw slightly while I made the frosting.

I cut them out with a biscuit cutter (about 2.5” in diameter), and I got about 22 circles, or 11 2-layer mini cakes.

And don’t even worry about the extra cake! I got plenty of scraps, and I used them to make a trifle. I threw them all in a large container and stuck them in the freezer until I was ready to make my trifle. Super easy! Then you have a quick dessert for company when you don’t have a lot of time to bake later on.

To make the frosting, you’ll need a “double boiler”, a thermometer, and an electric mixer (I recommend stand mixer, because it takes a bit of time to whip!). I’ve never owned a real double boiler. You can see my make-shift double boiler above – I take a small pot and a small glass bowl and just make sure the bowl doesn’t sit too low in the pot. You don’t want the bottom of the bowl touching the water in the pot.

It’s going to take a bit of time to come to the right temperature, and it’s going to take some time after that to whip to stiff peaks. Just have patience!

When it’s done, you can just slather it on the little vanilla layer cakes, or grab a piping bag and a simple tip and give it a swirl. I chose not to frost the sides, because (a) it’s less work and (b) it’s so rare that the sides of a cake are so perfect, why not show them off?!

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Mini Vanilla Layer Cakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

These Mini Vanilla Layer Cakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream are a fun, untraditional birthday cake — everyone gets their own!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 11

Calories 725cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

Vanilla cake:

• 1 1/2 cups butter softened
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

• 1 1/2 cups diced strawberries
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 3 sticks butter 1 ½ cups, room temperature, cubed
• 1/2-1 cup powdered icing sugar optional

Instructions

• Vanilla cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9×13” pans by spraying with non-stick spray, then line with parchment (the non-stick helps the parchment to stay down), and spray the parchment with non-stick spray.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs until well combined. Add milk and vanilla and beat until smooth.
• Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix just until combined and smooth.
• Divide between both pans – you want an even, thin layer in both pans.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs (baking time will vary based on pan size, so be sure to check often).
• Cool completely. Then you can either freeze the cakes (as I mentioned above) or cut out your mini cakes with a regular biscuit cutter (about 2.5” diameter).
• Strawberry Meringue Frosting: Puree strawberries in a blender or food processor (I used a Magic Bullet because it gets things the smoothest for me). Set aside.
• In the bottom of your double broiler (see notes and photo above in post if you do not have one), put about ½ – 1” of water (make sure that the bottom of your bowl will not touch the water when it’s boiling). Set on the stove and bring to a boil.
• In the top of your double broiler (your bowl), off the heat, whisk together the sugar and egg whites. Place over your pot of boiling water and reduce heat to medium or medium-low. Continue cooking and whisking until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F and sugar is dissolved (this took a while for me – 10-15 minutes).
• Pour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip with a whisk on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and mixture is room temperature (about 10 minutes).
• Add butter, one cube at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the pureed strawberries gradually, making sure that they do not dilute your frosting and make it runny (I used the full amount and it was not runny at all – this is just a precaution). Beat until combined (if your frosting begins to look soupy or curdled after adding the butter and strawberries, continue beating 3-5 minutes on medium-high and it will come together! This happens every time I make it).
• If you find that it’s not as sweet as you hoped, add in optional powdered sugar.
• Frost cakes as desired. Store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 725cal | Carbohydrates: 112g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 334mg | Potassium: 240mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 84g | Vitamin A: 915IU | Vitamin C: 11.6mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 2.1mg

The post Mini Vanilla Layer Cakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream appeared first on The Recipe Rebel.

So I wanted to make you at least a couple cute springy thing, and I saw these cupcakes in The Cupcake Bible that my brother-in-law gave me for Christmas. They looked super easy and I am all about easy.

And my daughter is all about animals of all kinds.

Except ladybugs. For some reason she is terribly afraid of ladybugs. Go figure.

So today I’m bringing you these adorable little lamb cupcakes! They are so easy and you don’t even have to be good at piping. Just a schmear (yes, schmear) of frosting over the cupcake, plunk on some mini marshmallows, and make the face.

Honestly, the hardest part is cutting the jellybeans.

My husband has been doing the grocery shopping quite a bit since the baby was born, and he often gets some strange things on his list. This time, pink jellybeans.

When he got back he told me he looked all over for a bag of pink jellybeans but could only find the little multicolored gourmet ones.

Which is totally fine, and what I expected he’d come home with. The only problem is if you open the bag and start munching away on them, thinking there’s got to be a good amount of pink ones in there. Then you dig them out and count and you’ve got about 5.

So if you’re making these, I recommend counting out your pink jellybeans before you dig into the rest of the bag!

I’m actually not even a fan of jellybeans. But sometimes I just need a little something sweet… and a few jellybeans are much friendlier to my post-baby-booty than a piece of cheesecake cake.

ANYWAY.

Be careful when you’re cutting the jellybeans because you don’t want them to shmoosh too much. I thought that I’d have to use frosting to stick the jellybean to the large marshmallow for the ears, but the cut marshmallows and cut jellybeans are both super sticky, and it worked perfectly!

In the book they use skinny black licorice to make the mouth, but I couldn’t find any so I just colored a wee bit of frosting brown, put it in a Ziploc bag and cut a small hole. Worked just as well!

So if you’re looking for an easy, cute, Easter treat, these would be perfect!

Use your favorite vanilla cupcake recipe, or a cake mix if you’re in a rush, or here is one of my favorites!

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Little Lamb Cupcakes

Little Lamb Cupcakes: a super easy cupcake or cookie decorating technique that even the kids can help with! Perfect for Easter or spring birthdays. www.thereciperebel.com

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 24

Calories 272cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

Frosting:

• 1 cup butter room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups powdered icing sugar
• 4 tbsp milk

Assembly:

• 24 vanilla cupcakes
• Brown food coloring
• Pink jellybeans about 3 dozen
• 16 large marshmallows
• 10.5 oz package mini marshmallows
• 48 mini chocolate chips

Instructions

• For the frosting, add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla and 1 cup of the sugar and beat until smooth. Continue adding sugar, one cup at a time, beating after each addition.
• Gradually add 3-4 tbsp milk, until you reach desired consistency. Beat on high for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
• Set aside about ¼ cup frosting for the mouths and color it brown. Spoon into a small Ziploc bag and cut a small piece off of the corner. Set aside.
• Spread frosting over the tops of the cupcakes – you want the frosting right to the edge so the marshmallows will stick.
• Cut each large marshmallow in 3 pieces crosswise and stretch into oval shapes (they kind of do this naturally as you’re cutting them).
• Cut 24 jellybeans lengthwise and attach to the large marshmallows to make the ear. Stick into the frosting on the edge of the cupcake, 2 per cupcake.
• Place mini marshmallows around the outside of the face, as they appear in the photos, leaving a space open in the middle for the face.
• Place 2 mini chocolate chips in each cupcake as the eyes.
• Pipe a small smile on each cupcake using the brown frosting.
• Cut 12 jellybeans in half crosswise, and place in the middle of the cupcake to form the nose.
• And you’re done! Show them off ?

Nutrition

Calories: 272cal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 233mg | Potassium: 18mg | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 0.5mg

Cupcake decorating idea from The Cupcake Bible.

The post Little Lamb Cupcakes appeared first on The Recipe Rebel.

I’m going to go ahead and claim that it makes them more realistic, because how often do you see a live rose with perfectly smooth edges?

Just work with me.

And if I’ve had trouble forming sentences lately, it’s because I’m going on a few measly hours of sleep. Night after night.

I thought that I was tired before our sweet babe arrived.

And, you know, I think I’d be fine if it was only the baby that woke me up in the night. But our toddler has been waking for nightly bathroom breaks and my husband is a sleep walker/sleep talker.

Apparently lack of sleep makes his sleep walking/talking habits worse.

I’ll wake up and find him with a book open in bed, in the dark. I’ll wake up and find him searching for the baby in our bed (we are not co-sleeping).

The good thing is he’s pretty obedient when he’s sleeping walking, and he’ll never remember if I use a less-than-pleasant tone when directing him back to bed.

A simple, “put the book away and go to sleep!” is usually enough.

But first — super moist, fudgy chocolate cupcakes!

I found this recipe on Glorious Treats but it’s originally from Hershey.

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Fudgy Chocolate Cupcakes with Two-Tone Roses

These Fudgy Chocolate Cupcakes with Two Tone Roses are a fun, pretty dessert for Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 24 cupcakes

Calories 356cal

Author Ashley Fehr

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour I used whole wheat
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk I used 1%
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups butter room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 5 cups powdered icing sugar
• 2-3 tbsp milk
• gel icing color as desired see pictured below

Instructions

• Line two muffin pans with paper liners (for 24 cupcakes) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a whisk.
• Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and whisk well, until completely combined.
• Add boiling water and whisk slowly until smooth — the batter will be thin.
• Pour batter into muffin cups, about ⅔ full.
• Bake for 18-22 minutes (I baked mined exactly 18 minutes and they were perfect).
• Remove from oven and set aside to cool before frosting.
• FrostingIn the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until smooth.
• Add vanilla and one cup powdered sugar. Beat on low until combined. Continue adding sugar, one cup at a time, and beating on low until combined.
• When all sugar has been added, beat on medium-high for 2-4 minutes, until smooth and fluffy, adding milk if needed to reach desired consistency.
• Do not refrigerate before piping as it will stiffen as it’s cooled.

Nutrition

Calories: 356cal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 289mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 390IU | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 0.9mg

TWO-TONE ROSES

1. You want your frosting to be nice and thick — if you take a large scoop on your spatula, it shouldn’t droop or sag at all if you life it straight up or turn it over.
2. You will need: cupcakes and frosting, a long skewer, additional gel icing color, large piping bag, a petal tip (I used a Wilton 125), scissors to cut the end off if using a disposable bag.
3. Place the petal tip in your piping bag, and line the narrow end up with one of the seams of the piping bag.
4. Dip your skewer into the icing color.
5. Using your skewer, create a line of icing color along the seam aligned with the narrow end of the petal tip. The narrow end of the tip will be the tops of your petals, so this is where you want your line of color.
6. Carefully fill your piping bag with frosting, trying not to smear your line of icing color. If you do, don’t worry. They don’t have to be perfect. My line looks pretty thick, but it won’t be that thick when you’re piping.
7. Pipe a small circle in the center of your cupcake, with the narrow end facing straight up. Make it as tight as possible — this will be your bud.
8. Create petals around your bud by making small half circles of frosting, with the narrow end pointing straight up and the wide end against the base of your bud. *It’s important never to complete one full circle. Start the next petal in the middle of the one before, so they overlap and look somewhat natural.
9. As you continue making petals, slowly angle the narrow end of your petal tip out, so that your tip ends up horizontal by the time you reach the edge of your cupcake.

The post Fudgy Chocolate Cupcakes with Two-Tone Roses appeared first on The Recipe Rebel.