Miracle Frosting

Can't believe that Christmas is less than three weeks away.  I'm one of those overzealous people who likes to extract as much holiday spirit out of the season as possible.  Where was I the morning of Black Friday?  Not in line at the mall, that's for sure.  I got up super early and headed to Home Depot to get my Christmas tree of course!

Christmas is also the busiest time of year for me and my kitchen.  So far I've made about 25 pounds of cashew toffee and that's only half of what I need.  My poor fridge is busting at the seams with it.  Thank goodness I stopped eating the stuff a long time ago. 

I needed a break from candy making and wanted to bring a treat in to the office for my boss's birthday.  He likes anything chocolate so I went with cupcakes since they're easy to serve.  Instead of frosting them with my usual swiss meringue buttercream I ended up trying something new.

A while back my sister told me about this milk based frosting she'd seen in Cook's Country magazine called Miracle Frosting.  In all my years of baking I had never seen or heard of a frosting made with boiled milk.  But I trust Cook's Country since they're the same folks as Cook's Illustrated.  I was a bit skeptical at first but this frosting is aptly named, miracle indeed! 

Light and fluffy, with just a hint of sweetness, I think I've definitely found a new favorite.  And on top of that it's perfect for people who suffer from egg allergies since it doesn't contain any!   

This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Miracle Frosting

(adapted from Cook's Country)

Makes about 4 cups (enough for two 9-inch cake layers or 24 regular cupcakes)

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons cornstarch

¼  teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups whole milk

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

24 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (12 ounces or 3 sticks), cut into 24 pieces

1. Combine sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Pour mixture through fine-mesh strainer into medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture boils and is very thick, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer milk mixture to clean bowl and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

2. With stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat cooled milk mixture and vanilla on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Let sit at room temperature until stiff, about 1 hour.