Buttercream Cupcake Icing

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream the butter, add the sugar, salt, cream, and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy. Add a drop or two of food coloring to achieve a delightful pink. Sprinkles are always a good idea.
I do not have a homemade cupcake recipe, because I am a hopeless baker. Pillsbury seems to work best for me. I used to worry about this until I listened to a Sporkful podcast. They explained that cupcakes are merely vehicles for conveying the icing to your mouth! How very right they are! Thanks Dan and Mark for relieving me of years of guilt. And think about it – when the children were in preschool all they ever did was lick the icing off the cupcakes. Charles and Camilla tried the two methods suggested in The Sporkful – tearing the bottom off of the cupcake and using it as a sandwich top, and the more direct technique – tearing the bottom off the cupcake and tossing it out. Charles, while secretly abhorring the waste, chose the latter technique. More icing!
Listen to The Sporkful podcasts when you get a chance. Then you too can ponder the mysteries of baked potatoes, peanut butter sandwiches and the lordly cupcake. www.thesporkful.com.

Lots of birthdays this week: Kyle, Felonice and Marsha. Here are some cupcakes for your celebrations! Happy Birthday!

“The old believe everything; the middle aged suspect everything: the young know everything.”
Oscar Wilde

Fine Art Daily was featured in a video on Food52 recently! Food52 video: http://www.food52.com/blog/796_weekend_french_toast