When creaming butter for frostings, incorporating air and creating cells is not as important as simply creating a seamless texture. Many traditional buttercream frostings, such as the Swiss Meringue Buttercream on Page 455, incorporate softened butter into a meringue base, but this version is far simpler and quicker. You need only to beat the butter until creamy and then mix in confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder until smooth. This frosting will be grainier than a shiny, glossy meringue-based buttercream, but it is perfectly acceptable for a birthday cake or batch of cupcakes.

Ingredients

　　1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

　　1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

　　3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

　　5 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

　　WITH AN ELECTRIC MIXER, cream butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to medium; add cocoa. Mix until smooth. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix on high speed until well blended, 10 to 20 seconds more. (If not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 2 or 3 minutes.)

　　Reprinted with permission from Martha Stewart's Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook by Martha Stewart. Copyright © 2008 by Martha Stewart. Published by Crown Publishing. All Rights Reserved.Martha Stewart is the author of dozens of bestselling books on cooking, entertaining, gardening, weddings, and decorating. She is the host of The Martha Stewart Show, the Emmy-winning, daily national syndicated program, and founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which publishes several magazines, including Martha Stewart Living; produces Martha Stewart Living Radio, channel 112 on SIRIUS Satellite Radio; and provides a wealth of ideas and information on www.marthastewart.com.