Easy Homemade Frosting

Both of my daughters typically request yellow birthday cake over chocolate, which consistently leaves me wondering if there was a mix up at birth. Almost every year we have the same conversation where I ask, “What kind of cake do you want for your birthday…chocolate or yellow?” and the answer I get is “yellow.” Then I immediately follow up with, “Are you sure? You don’t want chocolate???” But no matter how hard I try I can’t win them over, although one year I did get my older daughter to agree to a yellow AND chocolate marbled cake, which turned out to be a win-win for everyone. :)

So as promised (on Facebook a couple weeks ago), click here for the yellow cake/cupcake recipe we’ve been using. And while the recipe (originally from Joy of Cooking) contains sugar and some white flour – both against our real food rules – I recognize this is WAY better than the store bought boxed version that many have relied on for years and that unfortunately contains a lot of unwanted additives (like hydrogenated oils)! And for the homemade frosting (below) I even used all natural beet juice for the pretty pink color you see in the photos. For a less girly look feel free to experiment with small amounts of other colored juices as well (I froze the leftover juice in an ice cube tray since it didn’t take much). So for those occasions which are truly special – like birthdays! – we hope you enjoy this homemade treat with your loved ones.

I am admittedly horrible at decorating cakes so here are some links to the supplies that helped me pull these together:

• “Fancy” cupcake holders (I got the pictured ones at Michael’s but there are similar cute ones online as well)
• Cake stand (or tall tower for a larger crowd)
• Frosting decorator (pictured below – this thing is a must)
• Non-artificial chocolate sprinkles (optional)

Click for the yellow cake/cupcake recipe.

Easy Homemade Pink Frosting #1

Course: Dessert

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 20 cupcakes

Similar to Traditional Icing - and directly from my friend Trang the master cupcake maker! This stuff is deeeelicious!

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Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter unsalted, at room temp
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons milk or heavy cream
• 5 teaspoons beet juice optional
• strawberries for top (optional)

Instructions

1. Using an electric mixer combine the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until the consistency is smooth. 

2. With the mixer still going slowly add in the milk and juice until you reach the desired consistency. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary. 

3. Frost the cooled cupcakes just before serving. 

   FYI - if you refrigerate the frosting for later it will harden back to the consistency of cold butter. 

4. Top with strawberries (or other fruit) if desired.

Easy Homemade Pink Frosting #2

Course: Dessert

Servings: 20 cupcakes

This version is basically just sweetened whipped cream, but an easy stand-by (and what is pictured above).

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Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups heavy cream
• 5 teaspoons beet juice optional
• 6 tablespoons sugar or powdered sugar
• strawberries for top (optional)

Instructions

1. Using an electric mixer whip the cream, juice and sugar together until stiff peaks form. 

2. Frost cooled cupcakes and top with strawberries (or other fruit) if desired.