Monday, December 7, 2015

Mom Muse's Frosting for Taco's First Birthday!

My teeny tiny Taco is 1 today! I can't believe a whole year has passed.


One year old!

To celebrate, we had family over on Saturday for brunch and cake.


Birthday cupcakes! 

We hadn't given Taco any sweets before. So, I though long and hard about what his very first confection should be. I decided on cupcakes with my family's very favorite birthday frosting. My mom has been making what we have dubbed Mom's fluffy chocolate frosting since I was a child. It gets specially requested for birthdays and other occasions. Essentially, it's a chocolate whipped cream... light and delicious. It could not be easier to make.

Phin is not much of a chocoholic; I am a third generation chocoholic. We were curious to see who Taco would take after.


Clearly taking after me.

I think the verdict is clear. My clever little guy ate all the frosting and left behind some chunks of cake.






Mom Muse's Famous Chocolate Fluffy Birthday Frosting
2 cups heavy/whipping cream
3/4 to 1 cup of confectioners/powdered sugar (to taste)
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp unflavored gelatin (optional)
4 tsp water (optional)
Mix water and gelatin in a small bowl (optional). Warm in microwave until it is liquid (20 sec?)  Set aside.  Sift cocoa and sugar together. Pour heavy cream into a stand mixer or use handheld beater. Begin to whip. As cream begins to thicken, add sugar-cocoa mixture in a few (3-4) batches, beating well in between additions. Beat cream until it holds a peak. Whip in gelatin. Spread or pipe over one 8 or 9 inch layer cake, 9 x 13"

If you don't have or want to use the gelatin, you should just keep in mind that the frosting is basically a whipped cream and will deflate over time. The gelatin just stabilizes it enough to keep its shape.  It was never a part of my mom's recipe, but I added it to give the frosting a longer "shelf life".


An early walker is a mixed blessing. 

What a year it's been! 

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