Marshmallow Buttercream

Remember a few posts back when I mentioned things that I wish I had been doing all along?  Well, in addition to ‘using an eyelash-curler’, this frosting recipe has now topped that list.

Last week, my oldest had her 6th birthday party.  It was flower themed and I confess that I pushed for it because it was simple.  Of course Evelyn does love flowers so it was an easy sell, but still…in light of what my days look like now, I needed something stress free.  And I have to say, surrounding yourself in all things ‘flowers’ is quite fun.  What little girl doesn’t have a flowery dress in her closet?  The party girls painted flower pots and my husband filled them with pink petunias!  They also got cute little bags filled with, among other things, flower jewelry and huge flower hair clips which all the girls promptly accessorized with.  Thank you Bella Bambini!  The menu?  Little mini sliders with fixings,  Margarita Pasta Salad, veggies and dip, a huge bowl of strawberries and grapes, and June Bugs to drink.  As for the cake, the birthday girl requested chocolate-yeehaw!-and when I mentioned that this was the way I wanted to decorate it, her face fell.  Apparently, she had pictured one big flower.  No biggy.  I just backtracked and decided to use my trusty star tip.  The cake was a recipe I make all the time and I am sure I have mentioned before.  You can find it here.  The frosting had to be white because as my daughter pointed out, flowers are not usually chocolate colored.  So after finding several different versions online and doing some experimenting of my own, I ended up with this buttercream.  My sister, who happened to be in town for the week and who I enjoyed spoiling, at least in the culinary sense, grew weak in the knees when she ate this.  Literally.  She then proceeded to eat so much of it she ate very little dinner because she was so ill on sugar.  Now that is what I call a successful frosting recipe!  We agreed that a certain sister-in-law of mine (you know who you are!) would go bonkers for this recipe!  I am sure she could out eat anyone in a frosting contest!  The frosting didn’t deflate, fall, melt in the heat, or get thin when I added coloring.  It was fluffy and extremely easy to work with.  The middle layer was chocolate frosting and I just used the recipe that frosts my One-Bowl Chocolate Cake because I knew it would be the perfect amount.  And it was.  The finished cake was absolutely outstanding.  Here are some pictures from the process:
Happy birthday, Evelyn!

One Year Ago: Strawberry-Watermelon Cooler

Marshmallow Buttercream
I doubled this recipe in order to ensure that I had enough for the crumb coat AND to decorate it.  It came out perfectly with very little leftover.

1 c (2 sticks) softened, unsalted butter
1 small jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme
Beat these two ingredients together for several minutes until light and fluffy.

Add 2 1/2-3 c of powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Leftovers keep in the fridge for several days and are also good eaten with grapes:)