Creamy Chocolate Almond Butter Cream Frosting Recipe

Who doesn't love chocolate - This unexpected twist on milk chocolate frosting has almond extract as flavoring adding a delightful "adult-touch" to the frosting - perfect to use as decorating frosting too. Keeps really well and can be used as the "insides of mock truffles" See comments below for the how to on mock truffles....

Ingredients

1 box (1 pound) of confectioners sugar sifted roughly 3-1/2 cups
1/2 cup butter at room temperature (1 stick) (margarine will make a much softer frosting not great for decorating)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
4-5 tablespoons liquid - milk preferred - but water works great too.
2/3 cups cocoa (I've tried the 3 oz squares of melted unsweetened chocolate
- but really prefer the dried cocoa to melted chocolate which made a
mess and screwed up the proportions of liquid measurements)
Equipment needed: Mixmaster such as kitchen-aid or hand mixer. Couple of bowls.
Sieve to sift sugar, One cake readying themselves to be covered with
delicious-tasting chocolate frosting and peeps to lick the beaters
(yourself included, of course)

Directions

Sift confectioners sugar and sift one more time with the cocoa powder and salt. - Set aside temporarily.
Take butter and place in mixing bowl, whip till lighter in color maybe 2-3 minutes.
Take and add about 1/3 third of powered sugar which now has the sifted cocoa
powder in it, to the mixing bowl. Start mixer slowly at first to avoid
sugar cloud coming up from out of the bowl with all that powdered sugar.
Increase speed to incorporate well, stop mixer on occasion to scrape sides down
with spatula to ensure all butter is incorporated into frosting.
Add additional third of powered sugar along with 2 tablespoons of milk or
liquid of your choice. Start mixer again to incorporate.
Add last third of powdered sugar, and two tablespoons of remaining milk.
Start mixer again slowly at first with each addition of powdered sugar,
scraping bowl as necessary.
If frosting is too stiff for you, you can then add the additional one tablespoon of milk
at a time (or liquid you chose to use) - be sure to mix well at high
speed to create the creamy texture this frosting is known for.
Grab that cake and start frosting away!
Want to learn about the mock truffles? See comments below...
Enjoy! - This recipe is part of my holiday jelly roll cake that was a huge success this last Christmas holiday.

Technorati Tags: frostings, adult flavors, chocoalte, almond, butter cream frosting, quick, easy

Mock Truffles:

You can make these when you are in a jam and even have some leftover frosting if you made the recipe above.

Get frosting cold by chilling it in the refrigerator, and using a little melon scoop, roll a ball of it with your hands, moving quickly. Then roll balls into sifted confectioner's sugar or straight cocoa powder. Let put back into fridge until ready to serve. These melt in your mouth - and are so decadent.