Buttercream Icing

My friend Kim Suiter noticed on one of my Pinterest boards that I wanted to take a cake decorating class. In fact, it's #89 on my Life List: Things I'd Like to Do Before I Go. So, that's what she gave me for Christmas along with the Wilton starter kit. I was so excited! The 4 classes were held at The Sugar Shoppe in Chattanooga each Monday night, beginning January 9.

The first lesson was essentially an introduction to the tools. Some of the things I learned include how to prepare a featherweight bag with a coupler, take triangle-shaped parchment paper and turn it into a disposable bag, level a cake, make your base icing completely smooth, and make awesome buttercream icing. (Recipe at bottom of post). The rest of the night was spent using the star tip.

The second lesson included how to use many other tips to make designs such as little rosettes and a border. I also learned how to use piping gel to transfer an image (perhaps from a coloring book) to a cake to then decorate. That's how I made the cupcake design below. Here is my very first decorated cake. I was quite proud, oh and it was delicious, too! :)

I was really looking forward to the third session because the focus was on cupcakes. I learned how to make a pompom flower and the shaggy mum. I also discovered these adorable little eyeballs that really added life to animal designs. Although I learned how to decorate cupcakes with the tall swirl designs like you see in bakeries, I decided to decorate the six I brought to class as shown below. I had a blast!

The last session started out a little stressful. It is where I learned how to make a rose. I think I finally got the hang of it, but it required more practice than the other techniques. My last assignment was to decorate a two-layer cake any way you wanted to. Here's my "final":  Woooo hoooo!  :)

Thanks again Kim for a gift that will definitely keep on giving! :)

Now for the best part. This icing is awesome! It tastes just like what you would get on a birthday cake from a bakery. Mmmmmmmm! This makes a very generous amount that you can divide and color as desired. Store whatever you don't use in the freezer for a later use.

Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:

• 2 cups hi-ratio shortening (which is basically whipped Crisco)
• 2 teaspoons flavoring (I use 1 teaspoon clear vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond.)
• 5 tablespoons water (You may need to add just a little more for desired consistency.)
• 2 lb powdered sugar

Directions:
Cream together first three ingredients. Add powdered sugar and mix until all ingredients have been thoroughly blended and creamy.  (Or, just do what I do: dump everything all at once into the bowl of my stand mixer and just use the slow "stir" speed.)