Life with a toddler is hectic. Now we have a one month old as well, so it leaves little time to write on here. But I am still cooking and doing crafts frequently; the crafting just looks a bit different, as it involves lots of stickers, markers, and washi tape (my daughter’s favorites!).
Tomorrow we are celebrating my brother-in-law’s birthday, so I made a cake during nap-time! I baked a triple chocolate fudge cake with a peanut butter buttercream, and we might have sampled a cupcake (there was leftover batter) tonight… 😉 This turned out really good, so I wanted to share my frosting recipe.
I began by letting my butter sit out at room temperature for a good hour. This allowed it to mix much more easily. I combined it with the peanut butter in my KitchenAid until they were thoroughly combined.
Next, I used a drum to sift the powdered sugar over parchment paper and then poured it into a bowl. (Any time I need to sift an ingredient I pull out the drum because it sifts much more efficiently than my old hand sifter. I first used one in a cooking class at Sur la table a few years ago and bought one in their store immediately following the class.)
With the mixer turned on low, I added a third of the powdered sugar, followed by one tablespoon of heavy whipping cream. I alternated the two ingredients twice more, until it was all incorporated. Last, I added the vanilla. Normally I use a clear vanilla extract in buttercream, so it doesn’t affect the coloring of the frosting. However, the peanut butter already made the frosting brown, so I used vanilla bean paste for better flavoring.
The frosting was then ready to use! I started with a crumb coat on my cake and then finished decorating with more frosting, Reese’s pieces, and Reese’s peanut butter cups. Not rich at all, right? 😉
Recipe for: Peanut Butter Buttercream
Ingredients:
1 c butter, softened
1 c peanut butter
4 c powdered sugar, sifted
3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Cream butter and peanut butter together in a mixer until combined well. Slowly add the powdered sugar, alternating with one tablespoon of heavy whipping cream, until it’s all added. Mix in vanilla extract last. Decorate your cake or cupcakes and enjoy!
taste and SPARKLE 