Leftover Buttercream?
We've all heard of making cake pops with our cake trimmings, but what do you do with leftover buttercream? As much as I try to make exactly what I need, it never fails I usually have a little buttercream leftover at the end of the week. I'm not one for throwing food away and I like to make my buttercream fresh for every cake, so I decided to look around an see what I could find. And while there were some ideas for using up leftover buttercream, I honestly didn't find much more than eating it straight from the spoon. I did however see a recipe for fudge that used canned icing. Now for those of you who cringe at the thought of using canned buttercream, do not fear, I am including my own buttercream recipe as well.
I was lured in by the Reese's pieces and quickly realized this was a fabulous way to use up my leftover buttercream! Reese's Pieces Fudge. Now I did make a few adjustments to the recipe, but I have to give credit to Jessica of Butter with a Side of Bread. She has some pretty amazing recipes on her blog!
Ingredients
16 ounces vanilla buttercream
1 10-oz package peanut butter chips
1 1/4 cups Reese's Pieces (regular or mini size)
Instructions
Place peanut butter chips in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir and heat in 30 sec intervals until fully melted. Heat buttercream in the microwave for one minute. Stir frosting and melted chips together well. Add 1 cup of Reese's Pieces. Spread in a greased 8x8 pan. Top with additional Reese's pieces. Let sit until firm, approximately 30 minutes. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Here's my Buttercream Recipe just in case you don't want to use canned frosting:
1 pound unsalted butter (Land O’Lakes)2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
2 pounds powdered sugar (C&H)
Instructions
Cream butter, water, vanilla, and half of powdered sugar on low for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrap down the sides and cream until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and cream until just smooth, but do not over mix as this will create air bubbles.
Notes
Adjust water amounts as needed for thicker or thinner icing. Always easier to add more water if needed to start conservatively.
Alter flavor by using different extracts: Almond, lemon, coconut, etc.
