A very simple recipe, made with only three ingredients.
Allergy Warning: Contains dairy products: Butter, Margarine, may contain cream
May contain vanilla extract, which includes alcohol that may be made from wheat, and therefore may contain small amounts of gluten.
The picture above from a batch of icing made with seeds scraped from a vanilla bean. Using a vanilla bean is optional, and the bean may be substituted with pure vanilla extract -- the flavor will be different, but still delicious.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup room temperature unsalted margarine or butter
1 1/2 cups powdered (confectioners') sugar
1/2 vanilla bean's worth of scraped seeds (the amount in approximately 2 inches' worth of bean), or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Small amount of cream, to thin if the icing is too stiff
Beat the butter until soft and pale. Beat in the powdered sugar in 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the vanilla seeds or extract, and beat well until fluffy.
If the icing is too stiff, add in a bit of cream -- 1/2 teaspoon at a time, so as to not thin too much -- and beat it in until the icing reaches the desired consistency.
Use as desired.
