Butter Cream Frosting: Worthy of a Royal Wedding Cake

When the girls and I decided we needed to stay up all night in our jammies and tiaras to watch the Royal Wedding, I knew we needed a dessert worthy of a princess.  That means NO FRUITCAKE (Sorry William) and no treacle or other strange British desserts.  It meant CUPCAKES!  Chocolate of course.  With lots of yummy frosting.  But not just any frosting.  Thick, white, fluffy WEDDING CAKE frosting.  The kind that you really need to eat at 3 a.m. when you're watching the Royal Wedding coverage on CNN.  Drinking Mimosas and Diet Cokes of course!

"Royal" Butter Cream Frosting

Whip shortening until fluffy.

Sift confectioner's sugar.

Add to shortening.

Mix until combined.

Add salt.

Add vanilla.  (The recipe calls for Clear Vanilla,
but since I didn't have any and this isn't the
ACTUAL Royal Wedding frosting
I let it slide and went with regular brown vanilla.)

Add cream.  Once combined, switch the mixer
on high and let 'er rip.

Meanwhile get your pastry bag ready. 
(Mine is a very fancy
kind.  Made from a zip top bag
with a hole cut in the corner.)

Fluffy Fluffy Fluffy

Fill the fancy pastry bag and pipe
on tons of frosting.  (The cupcake recipe
I used is the Black Magic Cake.  I just baked
them for about 20 minutes
in muffin tins with liners.)

Some of the Royal Cupcakes
got flags, some got fancy rings,
and some got sprinkles.

It doesn't matter as long as you
make sure there is at least
two inches of frosting on each cupcake.

"Bob's Your Uncle!"
(Translation:  "you're all set" or "you've got it made.)

Butter Cream Frosting

2 cups shortening
8 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons clear vanilla
6 ounces heavy cream

Cream shortening in an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add confectioner's sugar and continue creaming until well blended.  Add salt, vanilla and whipping cream.  Blend on low speed until just moistened.  Beat at high speed until frosting is fluffy.

Prep Time:  Approximately 15 minutes     Cook Time:  0