1/2 cup Milk, plus a 3-4 extra tablespoons to thin icing if necessary
2 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
Makes enough for 1 double layer 9 inch cake or a 9×13 cake
Instructions
Cream butter in mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on high for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar 2 cups at a time, and mix on low speed until sugar is absorbed. You can add 1 Tbs of milk each of the 3 times the powdered sugar goes in the bowl.
Add vanilla, pinch of salt, and cocoa powder and mix on low speed, adding 1-2 more tablespoons of milk.
Once ingredients are combined, mix on medium speed for a couple of minutes and continue adding milk until the icing is smooth and creamy. At the very end, turn the mixer down to low and mix to make the frosting super creamy and to get rid of some air bubbles. Frosting needs at least 1/2 a cup of milk, but may need a few tablespoons more.
Icing consistency depends on the purpose of the frosting. For piping, icing should be a little stiffer, closer to stiff peaks. For frosting a cake, the frosting should be more like medium peaks. For crumb coat, use softer frosting, as it will spread very easily. You will need less frosting if it spreads easily for crumb coating.