I am so excited it is FINALLY Spring!!!! The snow, cold and darkness has ventured away and I hear birds. I am so excited for the flowers to bloom and hanging out in the warm sun. Seeing the world come back to life after the dark cold winter makes me excited about every morning I wake up and the possibilities.
My excitement for Spring jumped into my baking as you can tell. I had so much fun designing these treats as a birthday gift for a friend. I do admit I attempt NOT to jump onto the cupcake bandwagon on a regular basis. I try to limit my cupcake adventures to a few times a year since it seems to be a crazy obsession right now.
As you can see from the photo above, I think most of my friends thought I got a little carried away with the piping bag. (But......is that a bad thing??) A debate ensued with friends over these wonderful sweets on what is the correct proportion of frosting to cake???......(yes, my friends actually debate things like this. lol)
I am a frosting fanatic and love an amazing sweet frosting. It better for me if it is made out of real butter, sugar and some good vanilla. When I moved to the Midwest, this is the first place I ever experienced a thing called "Whipped Frosting"...this was a new concept to me! Who wants a frosting that has to be "whipped" and in my opinion isn't "real". I remember the day I first tasted it. It was the most disappointing piece of cake I ever had and went directly into the trash.
Have you ever had something that logically should be one way and it appears society ruined it????
So all I ask.....please NEVER make fake frosting again. (Or if you do dont tell me.....)
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
1 1/4 C Sugar
5 Egg Whites, room temperature
4 C Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces
2 Tsp Vanilla
Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot about 3 minutes.
Transfer contents to a mixer bowl. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high until mixture has formed stiff and glossy peaks and has cooled, about 12 minutes.
Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Note: if buttercream looks curdled keep mixing. It will smooth out. Add vanilla and only mix until combined. Add paddle attachment, mix on low to remove any bubbles – about 3 minutes.
Hint: When making colored frosting, always use gel food coloring to small amounts until the desired color is reached. Decorate to your heart’s content!