Perfectly Pipable Cream Cheese Frosting

So no longer can we call Mini Smalls a baby ... she is officially a toddler now! (And in an attempt to live up to her new title, she just started toddling around this week... yowza.)

Any occasion this momentous should be marked by something delicious.  Like a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

But I must confess that I am a bad mommy and food blogger - on her actual birthday, I bought her a cupcake from a local bakery!  I know, I know... don't judge.  Her birthday was on a Friday and I worked late the night before, so my intention of making her a chocolate zucchini cake was just never realized.

Not that she seemed to mind.

(BTW, do not give a toddler any food dyed bright red, unless you're prepared to throw out their clothes afterward.  Just sayin'.)

But wait, it gets worse.  For her birthday "party" this past weekend, I cheated and make red velvet cupcakes from a box.

Ack!

However... I was not going to put that fake-tasting canned frosting on top, to boot.  So I did at least go to the trouble of making this cream cheese icing, which was perfect for piping.

I must admit, I was not able to eat any of these bad boys until days later - I caught some sort of evil bug that had me down and out not only for the party, but also the whole next day.  Mr. Vittles, my mother-in-law, and my brother-in-law's girlfriend all fell victim to it as well.

So, we may never be able to entice anyone back to our house for a party... but at least they got to enjoy some yummy cupcakes before their involuntary "cleanse."

And more importantly, somehow Mini avoided the Sickness of Death.  Might have been the best birthday gift of all... though it was tough to top some of the awesome presents she received, including a rockin' Elmo, a ball-spitting elephant, and a new wagon (in which she insisted on opening the remainder of her presents).

All in all it was a fabulous celebration.  Thank you to our friends and family for their generosity.  Happy Birthday, Mini Smalls!

Perfectly Pipable Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch salt

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until creamy.  Mix in vanilla and salt, then gradually add the powdered sugar until frosting ingredients are completely combined. (Check the consistency at this point - if the icing seems too soft, add a little more powdered sugar.  If it seems too thick, mix in a teaspoon or so of milk.) Use immediately, and refrigerate cupcakes after frosting.  Frosts about 18 cupcakes (if you pipe it tall, like in my photos.)

Note: Click here for a great tip using plastic wrap for no-mess piping, at Our Best Bites blog.

Recipe slightly adapted from Recipe Girl

Doctoring a Cake Mix and Cupcake Frostings

Sometimes... you have no choice but to take a baking shortcut.

In my opinion, single-handedly making five types of desserts for 45 people, over a span of 2 days, calls for a shortcut or two.

For my brunch in honor of Momma Vittles, I decided that I wanted to make mini vanilla cupcakes - but I didn't want to take the time to make the batter from scratch so I doctored up a cake mix.

Multiple people at the brunch asked me for the recipe because they were so "moist" and "wonderful".  I wasn't embarrassed to admit it was a mix that I just fixed up a bit, and they asked me to put the shortcut here on V&B.  (Which, by the way, made me so happy that people are reading it!)

So, here is my tip: Substitute 1 cup of buttermilk for the water in the recipe.  If you're using a white cake to make vanilla cupcakes, add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to boost the real vanilla flavor.  Follow the rest of the recipe as it is on the box.

But since this isn't technically a recipe and I don't want to cheat you all, I will also share a couple of recipes for a vanilla frosting and a chocolate sour cream frosting that you can use to pipe onto your cupcakes.  I just think that for cupcakes, it looks so much cuter when you can pipe the icing on rather than spread it on!

So these two frostings are both conducive to holding the shape of a decorator's tip.  The vanilla one is so light and fluffy, it almost tastes like whipped cream.  And the chocolate one is rich with just a hint of tang from the sour cream and cream cheese.

 

Vanilla Frosting

• 3 T flour
• 1/2 C. milk (whole milk is best, but you can use lower fat versions as well)
• 1/2 C. real butter (one stick)
• 1/2 C. granulated sugar  
• 1 t. vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and the milk in a small saucepan on medium heat.  Continue whisking until mixture starts to thicken and it looks like smooth, shiny pudding (you should be able to see the bottom of the pan when you stir it).  Once it hits this point, promptly remove it from the stove and immediately empty it into a mesh strainer set over a bowl.  The mixture will be thick, but you can whisk within the strainer and also use the back of a spatula to push it through (you just don't want any residual flour lumps to go into the mixer.)

Let mixture cool to room temperature (you can chill in fridge to speed this up).  Just make sure it's cooled completely, otherwise it will melt the butter and you'll have runny frosting!

In an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar for a minute or two until well-combined and fluffy.  Then while beating, add in thickened milk mixture and the vanilla.  Beat on the highest speed you can for 7-8 minutes.  It will start out looking like a mess but I promise after being mixed that long it will turn out smooth and fluffy.

Spread or pipe onto cupcakes using pastry bag fitted with decorating tip.  I was able to pipe a dollop onto about 60 mini cupcakes with some leftover (as shown in the above pictures) but depending on how much you use, you could frost anywhere from 12-24 regular sized cupcakes.

Recipe from Our Best Bites blog

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Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

• 7 oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 T. butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 3 T. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, heating at 15 second intervals and stirring after each heating.  Set aside to cool until just barely warm.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.  Gradually mix in the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.  Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate and then the sour cream.  Continue beating until the mixture is smooth and well blended.  Frost cupcakes immediately.

Recipe Adapted from Annie's Eats blog