When I lived in the suburbs of New Jersey, I took a cake decorating class. It took place in a kitchen supply store in a strip mall (where else?). I was in my mid twenties,  going to grad school, and looking for something fun to do. As it turns out so were about ten middle-aged-to retired New Jersey housewives who were my classmates for this course. What I do remember from the course was that I cut myself with one of the piping tips and that I made little sugar roses that go on cakes. I also learned how to properly hold a frosting bag and how to alternate pressure to achieve the right effect. After the class, though, I rarely frosted and decorated a cake. Mostly because I hated the hassle of making the frosting itself.

But then came Smitten Kitchen and Deb’s super easy buttercream frosting recipe. It does require a food processor, as well as melting the chocolate and letting it cool, but it consists of throwing everything in said food processor and running it until they magically transform into a delicious, smooth frosting. After that, it’s up to you what to do with it. In the photo below, I made our favorite banana bread, and then sliced it in half and filled and frosted it. Needless to say, it was very delicious.

Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting – Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 ounces (55 grams) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups (180 grams) powdered sugar (sifted if lumpy)
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pinch of fine sea salt (optional)
1 tablespoon cream or whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a food processor and run machine to mix. Scrape down bowl then process until smooth and somewhat fluffed. If you don’t have a food processor, you could do this in a mixer by beating the butter, sugar and salt first, then adding the rest of the ingredients and beating until smooth.

Frost or fill your cake immediately