Fresh Raspberry Buttercream

We've had a lot of raspberries lately (as you can tell from my recipes) and I've been able to experiment with them much more than usual, since they're so expensive normally. (We got close to 30 cartons for $1 each!) Mmm mmm yeah.

I just used a box cake mix for this recipe, since the buttercream was the for suuuure best part of the cupcake. 

Blend up some raspberries (we seem to be doing a lot of that lately...) and press through a fine mesh sieve. I used a cheesecloth, because we don't have a sieve.

Blend 2 sticks of softened butter (just soft enough that you can smoosh it easily, but it's not melted, don't set the microwave for a long time just because you want it done fast, you'll regret it later. Plus patience is a virtue...) until light and fluffy and add the vanilla and raspberry juice. 

It will look all gross and separated but keep blending. Trust me, it will look better later. Patience is a... ok I'll stop now.

Add your powdered sugar (either put the lid on or blend very slowly bc this stuff is messsssy-- personal experience) and blend until fluffy.

And you've got beautiful, velvety, perfectly pink raspberry buttercream. It almost looks like there's food coloring in there. But nooo, it's all natural, folks! (at least I think so... don't quote me on that)

Spread/pipe it on some vanilla cupcakes (use your favorite recipe!) and take a big ol' bite. Make sure you put a raspberry on, too!

(snarfs the whole thing .00426785 seconds after taking the picture)

And yes, that is my foot. Don't judge.

Go eat your delicious cupcake (or whatever else your heart desires that you slather this frosting on, graham crackers are never a bad idea for leftover frosting) and go outside (even if it's raining. Rain is good for the soul.) A fun experiment would be to practice piping cupcakes, but I still haven't bought a 1M tip, so that's an adventure for another day.

(I'm trying out new fonts and editing websites, thoughts? I'm deciding if it's easy enough to do for every recipe.) 

Raspberry Buttercream

(adapted from sweetpeasandsaffron.com)

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (226g; at room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup raspberries (at room temperature)
• 3 cups powdered sugar (360g)

Directions

1. Using a mesh strainer and a spoon, mash raspberries against strainer until only seeds remain, collecting raspberry juice below in a bowl. Discard solids and set raspberry juice aside.
2. Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, beat the butter on medium high until light and fluffy. 
3. Beat in vanilla and raspberry juice. *your buttercream may look broken but it needs to be beaten for several minutes to completely incorporate the raspberries*
4. Beat in the powdered sugar, starting on low and increasing speed to medium once sugar begins to become incorporated. Beat for 2 or so minutes until the sugar and butter mixture is well combined.
5. Beat on medium-high for one minute; scrape sides of bowl with spatula and repeat until the color of buttercream is uniformly pink and smooth.
6. Frost your cupcakes! (Use a knife or a piping bag.)