My raspberry frosting (yes Gina, I know it is your favourite)!

I am not a very adventurous person and especially with respect to baking, I always stick to the recipe and when I find a good recipe I keep using it! Having said that, in the wee hours of one morning when making cupcakes for my workplace, I decided to do something crazy and out of control, instead of following my usual vanilla frosting recipe I decided to add raspberry jam to it (I know crazy)! This left the frosting looking and tasting a bit off – not quite vanilla, not quite raspberry.  I had to think fast and improvise, I remembered I had a packet of frozen raspberries in the freezer and decided to throw in handful. This made the frosting turn into a bright pink colour and tasted amazing! I piped the raspberry frosting onto the mini cupcakes and this was the final product:

I have used the frosting since and it has never failed me. I love the natural vibrant colour that the raspberries add to the frosting. I recently used the frosting for the cupcakes I made for my friend’s baby shower. Knowing how bright the frosting is, I made the fondant toppers to match the frosting colour.  The frosting together with the toppers really made the cupcake set!

It doesn’t really seem fair that I am going on and on about this raspberry frosting of mine and not allowing you to have a taste of it! So, for my fellow bakers, here is the recipe:

Raspberry frosting

Ingredients

• 250 grams of salted butter
• 500 grams soft icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons of raspberry jam
• Handful of raspberries

Method

1. Sift icing sugar thoroughly and set aside.
2. Beat butter until the butter becomes pale (almost white).
3. While the mixture is beating, slowly add half of the sifted icing sugar to the mixture.
4. Add vanilla extract and the remaining icing sugar.
5. Ensure that the mixture is thoroughly combined before adding the raspberry jam and raspberries.  
6. And now for the secret ingredient, add a pinch or two of salt to counter the sweetness of the frosting.  

NOTE: If you are working with frozen raspberries, you may find that the frosting may be a tad tough to work with due to it being slightly frozen. When you place the frosting in your piping bag, rub the piping bag between your hands. The warmth of your hands should make the frosting easier to pipe out.

Enjoy!

Gina, now that you have the recipe you can now make it yourself! :)