Milk Chocolate Buttercream

It was my husband's birthday yesterday and he decided to have the same birthday cake I always have, the Simply Delicious Yellow Cake from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread. Unlike me, however, he prefers a Milk Chocolate frosting to the more traditional buttercream that I use for mine.

Last year I'd tried a milk chocolate frosting that was easy to make but was ultimately too sweet and yet bland at the same time. This year I managed to find a recipe for Milk Chocolate Buttercream, scribbled in a notebook from long ago. I don't know the source of this recipe, but I made it and it's great! The dark chocolate in the recipe makes all the difference and yet doesn't overpower the milk chocolate flavor at all. It has a very silky texture and I love that there's not one bit of confectioner's sugar in it. Perfect!

Milk Chocolate Buttercream

1 pound milk chocolate (I used Guittard milk chocolate baking squares)
8 ounces dark chocolate (I used Hershey's Special Dark chocolate bars)
12 ounces (3 sticks) unsalted butter

1. Put some water in the bottom of a double boiler (make sure it doesn't touch the top of the double boiler insert) and let it get hot, but not simmering. Break the chocolate into pieces and place in the top of the double boiler. Remove the double boiler from the heat (but keep it over the hot water underneath) and stir until the chocolate begins to melt. Stir until smooth (return the double boiler to the heat if the water cools, but don't let it get too hot). Let the chocolate cool until it is no longer warm to the touch.

**Alternate method of melting chocolate: Melt in the microwave, stirring every 15 seconds, until smooth.

2. Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed, then beat in the cooled chocolate until the frosting is uniform in color. 

Baking Note:  I've mentioned before what a difference weighing your ingredients makes. I found this to be true yet again, when the five large eggs I used for my husband's cake didn't equal the weight I needed.  I added 3/4 of an egg yolk to make up the difference. It may seem like an extreme measure, but if you're taking the time to make a cake from scratch, why not make the best cake you can? See this previous post for information on the scale I use.  It barely takes up any space in my kitchen and I use it all the time. It's one of the best baking tools you can own.  

{photo via}

Comments

[Laurie]

This recipe is identical to Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe in The Cake Bible. And it is VERY good.

[Anya]

That picture! Oh my - it looks sinfully good!

[A Serenade for Solitude]

Yum. I don't know how long I can resist such delicious looking treats...and it has only been two days!! So very tempting. ;)