The Best Frosting Ever

In spite of my lackluster frosting skills and junky photos, this frosting is to die for. It's like whipped cream.

You. Must. Try. It.

I've seen it in several places on the internet, so I don't know who came up with it first, but I used the recipe from OurBestBites. The Pioneer Woman also posted one on her Tasty Kitchen blog. They both include photo tutorials that are worth checking out. I recommend the one from Our Best Bites, because they get a better finished product.

So today is St. Patrick's Day and we are invited to a potluck. Everything green. So I decided to make some pistachio cupcakes using a recipe that involves white cake mix, pistachio instant pudding, and 7-up.

First time, I burned the cupcakes because I accidentally used the temp on the box instead of the temp in the recipe. Whoops.

The second time I still overcooked them because the recipe didn't say how long to bake them as cupcakes vs. a 13x9. This always happens to me when I'm cooking for someone else!!! So, they are overly brown, flat on top, and not very cute. And I tasted one and guess what? Tastes just like regular white cake! So screw that recipe.

Moving on, I thought I'd try this new recipe for frosting and boy am I glad I did. If anything can redeem those crap cupcakes, this frosting can! I used almond extract instead of vanilla because it's similar to pistachio. I also added a tiny bit of green food coloring, so that is why it looks kinda whack in the photos.

This frosting is best eaten within 24-48 hours and does not do well in the fridge. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature (65-75 degrees F).

Also, you can use any flavoring you want: vanilla, almond, coconut, lemon, etc. I recommend reading the reviews on Our Best Bites - they are chock full of information.

So, anyway, here is the recipe, at long last. Sorry I got so wordy:


THE BEST FROSTING EVER

1 cup milk
6 Tbsp. flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted, real, name-brand butter (no margarine or cheap Wal-mart butter!!)
1 cup granulated sugar (not powdered sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, whisk together flour and milk until there are no lumps. Stirring constantly over medium heat, whisk the mixture until it thickens:

You want it like a very thick pudding.

If you screw up and get lumps, strain the mixture through a sieve, using a rubber spatula to force it through. Don't worry if it gets super thick. It will still work. Pour flour mixture into a bowl and refrigerate until cooled or chill.

In an electric stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat butter and sugar for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add flour mixture and vanilla extract. Now beat at a high setting for 7-10 minutes or until creamy and sugar is dissolved. If it looks goopy and weird, keep beating.

Once frosting is creamy you can add gel or paste food coloring if you want. I did a pale green (for pistachio - ha ha) and piped it onto the cupcakes. I then topped my cupcakes with a chopped toffee bar:

I think I will invest in a Wilton 1M star tip and large coupler. I didn't like the look of the tip I used, whatever it was.