Magnolia Bakery's Chocolate and Vanilla Buttercreams

Since I got these recipe's online, I'm assuming (hoping) that these really are from Magnolia Bakery's cookbook. I had read that these are not true buttercreams but that doesn't bother me. They are really easy to make and very delicious.   The chocolate buttercream is perfect for the Seriously Amazing Chocolate Cake recipe that is posted on this blog.

Magnolia Bakery's Chocolate Buttercream Icing  (from www.food.com)

Covers 2 9-inch cakes or 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 9 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled to lukewarm
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar 

Directions

1. Melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for 5-10 minutes; stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely smooth and no pieces remain; remove from heat and let cool 5-15 minutes or until lukewarm.


2. To make the buttercream: In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter using an electric mixer on MEDIUM speed for about 3 minutes or until creamy.


3. Add the milk carefully and beat until smooth.


4. Add the melted chocolate and beat well for 2 minutes.


5. Add the vanilla and beat for 3 minutes.


6. Gradually add in the sugar and beat on LOW speed until creamy and of desired consistency.  Be sure to beat the icing for the amount of time called for in the recipe to achieve the desired creamy texture.

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For my daughter's birthday, I made cupcakes and the children decorated them. I made a batch of the vanilla buttercream and divided it out into smaller cups. Each cup was colored differently, red, pink, purple, blue, green, etc.  so everyone had their choice of frosting. They also dipped the frosted cupcakes into sprinkles. They had a blast. 


I've also used this to dirty ice cakes before applying fondant. Because my family is chocolate oriented, I don't get to make this buttercream as often. You can also substitute the vanilla for orange or lemon oil.  Go slowly and taste along the way. The oils are very strong. 


For my own birthday I made a lemon cake (I think it was, I can't remember) anyway, I made the buttercream with orange oil and a few sprinkles of ground ginger.  SO GOOD! I just had an idea, you could mince crystalized ginger and add that to orange scented buttercream.

Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla Buttercream
From More From Magnolia by Allysa Torey, online from www.recipelink.com

Makes enough for one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes*

·       1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

·       6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar

·       1/2 cup milk

·       2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. 
2. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. 
3. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. 
4. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. 
5. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. 
6. Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled. Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. It freezes well too!

*Note:
If you are icing a 3-layer cake, use the following recipe proportions:

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
8 to 10 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract


Enjoy.