How to Make Simple White Frosting

Hmmm...what is that?!

That would be pumpkin cake.  

Made with pumpkin cookie batter (so it is thick and buttery).

Hot out of the oven, the smell is DIVINE.  

Wafting through the house and making fall a near reality.

Let me go grab a fork.

mmm...

hey wait...this totally doesn't taste as good as it looks.

Seriously...it is a little dry and that intense scent doesn't match the lackluster taste.  Gosh.

It needs something...maybe some caramel?  ...a little dusting of powdered sugar?

Nah...this cake needs white icing.  Classic cheap white icing.  You know the kind....the kind on wedding cakes that gets thick like a layer of candy on the top of cake.  Not rich, creamy frosting.  Not slick, beautiful fondant.  Cheap white sugary icing.  It is a problem for me. 

MMM.  YUM.

YUM.

YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM.

It's so GOOD that cheap icing...so, so very good!  I used to live in a house in DC with a bunch of girls from Cedarville and they taught me the secret of white frosting.  We were literally sitting there one night licking the bowl after Lindsey had made a cake and she told us the basic recipe handed down from her mom.

Now, don't go getting technical on me because this recipe isn't quite a recipe...more a technique, but trust me - IT WORKS. (Of course, it doesn't work at all if you are trying to lose weight, though you could always make it a little easier on the waistline by using some Sensa, right? ) 

1.  Get a spoonful of Crisco (yes, crisco...it will kill you, it will also make you happy in the meantime.  Use about a cup.)
2. Add a ginormous amount of powdered sugar (more than you would ever think...start with 3 cups)
3.  Add the secret ingredient - almond extract.  Do NOT go cheap...get the good stuff.  You only need about 1 tsp.
4.  Add a SPLASH of milk...that's it...just a splash.  Any more and you'll be in trouble.

See, that is the mistake I made for ages.  I always added to much milk and the frosting never solidified correctly.  It was always yummy and sugary, but not perfect.  When you add that tiny splash of milk, the powdered sugar almost instantly starts to "liquidize"? and as you stir the frosting forms.  Easy to do, but quite easy to mess up too...just remember - not too much milk!!

What recipes are tripping YOU up this week?