It seems that whenever I ask what I can bring to a picnic or gathering, I am usually asked to bake something.  Before I really started cooking, I got into baking and cake decorating.  So, I have pretty much become of the official dessert-maker in the family.  This year, my husband and I are going to two different 4th of July picnics, so I made two batches of cupcakes (totaling about 4 dozen) to split between the two picnics.  I also made a strawberry/raspberry/rhubarb cobbler for one of the picnics, but I’ll post the details of that later.

For the cupcakes, I made yellow cupcakes (the recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, nothing fancy) and my standard chocolate cupcakes (the recipe I use for my Mocha Espresso Cupcakes, sans espresso icing).  To top the cupcakes, I made a quick and easy buttercream icing. I have gotten quite a few questions lately on my icing recipe, so I thought I would share that here.   It’s really quite simple… I have found that it’s all about adjusting the recipe accordingly for different times of the year.

Basically, I use a mixture of unsalted butter and vegetable shortening.  I find that too much butter in the recipe will cause the icing to sort of melt, especially in the heat.  I am not a fan of how the icing tastes when it is made with too much shortening, either.  Because it’s July, I went with half shortening and half butter this time. I think that’s about the most shortening I would use.  If you’re making cupcakes in December, though, you can probably get away with 3 parts butter, 1 part shortening.

This particular batch of icing was used to frost 4 dozen cupcakes, but you can adjust the amounts as necessary. Just be aware of the fact that the amount of powdered sugar necessary will vary based on a number of factors, such as the temperature, humidity, etc.  Just add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time until you reach the desired consistency.  You can always add more!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable shortening, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Combine the butter and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment, and whip the butter mixture until light and fluffy.  Add one cup of sugar and the vanilla extract, and whip until evenly combined.  Continue to add 1/2 cup sugar at a time, whipping on medium-high speed between each addition until the desired consistency is reached.

If you want a denser icing, use a lower speed on the mixer.  Mixing at a high speed will whip air into mixture, creating a light fluffy icing.

A few tips for frosting your cupcakes:

• Use a large cup to stabilize the pastry bag while you fill it
• If you are frosting a large number of cupcakes, don’t be afraid to frost in batches. The pastry bag will be much easier to handle if it is not filled too full.
• The heat from your hands may warm the icing, which may cause it to melt a bit.  To avoid this, try not to handle the icing to much.  This is another great reason not to fill the pastry bag too full.