So intoxicated with the successes of my first batch of icing, I couldn't even wait until the next weekend before I tried again. On Leap Day, I searched for recipes for Chocolate Buttercream, and Savory Sweet Life came to the rescue again. I had the devils food cupcakes all ready to go, and was itching for a challenge.
ASIDE: These cupcakes cannot stay in the house. Each box of cake mix makes about two dozen regular cupcakes, or close to fifty baby cupcakes. Jim and I have approximately zero willpower when it comes to eating yummy things (you have only to behold us, and this becomes very clear!), so they simply must leave the house. Where to take them? Everyone at my day job is on Weight Watchers, and since each batch of buttercream calls for half a pound of butter, I have to work hard to push the cupcakes. Jim's work doesn't allow food on the floor, so he can't give them away at work. Gretchen's on a diet (she only got one from the first batch), Dick and Judy are on Weight Watchers, so only got one each from the celebratory first batch with the new KitchenAid, and I'm having too much fun to stop making cupcakes now.
Inspiration struck! I'll drop them off at VOICEcorps. I'm a volunteer reader, there's a snack room, and staff and volunteers can be targets for my cupcaking. So the ones I couldn't give away at my day job were joyfully consumed at my volunteer gig. Which is fantastic! I have an outlet. Whew!
So I carefully followed Alice's instructions on the Chocolate Buttercream recipe, and just about fainted when I had my first taste. Never again shall I buy the plastic tub crap! I can't believe how fantastic that icing was.
Baby cupcakes... somewhat easier to get folks at work to eat tiny mini-cupcakes than it was to get them to eat full-sized cupcakes. I shared with the cafeteria staff, and asked everyone I know at work if they wanted a cupcake.
Lessons learned: Needs a little more powdered sugar to make it set better (Alice said to add that last half a cup if needed... and I didn't discover until a little later that yeah, it was needed), and you must work fast! Holding the bag warms up the butter and can change the consistency of the icing.
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