The buttercream below is the one I use. The chocolate option is also great.

Here is a link that might be useful: Buttercream

I have never been know for my restraint in cooking; here's what I do: 1 16 oz pkg XXX sugar, about 3/4 cup room temp. margarine (butter tastes great but Smart Balance makes me feel less guilty), a tsp of vanilla, a pinch of salt, and a full 8 oz container of Hershey's cocoa. You read it right - use the whole thing. I do not like wimpy, looks pretty but has no taste chocolate icing. This makes enough icing to frost a 9 inch 2 layer cake heavily. Just the way my 6 yr. old likes it! If you don't like such a knock out chocolate taste, start out with about half a box and work your way up. Happy eating!

Bookworm, you might like the attached recipe. There is another at

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/French-Buttercream-Frosting/Detail.aspx

Just highlight the above beginning with http and ending with aspx, right click, choose 'copy', then 'paste' this in your browser.

If you have a double boiler and an electric mixer, I have a recipe that tastes like the old fashioned 7-minute frosting but is a lot easier. It's my grandson's favorite, he calls it 'fluffy marshmallow frosting'. It uses two egg whites and sugar, very little else, so is economical to make. Let me know if you're interested in it and I'll post it. -Ilene

Here is a link that might be useful: Buttercream frosting

This chocolate cake is one of the best I've ever had/made. The recipe came from the 1970s from McCall's magazine, I think. The chocolate frosting is delicious as well.

Perfect Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups boiling water
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Frosting:
1/3 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9 inch round cake pans. Stir together the cocoa and boiling water from the first set of ingredients. Set aside to cool. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the cocoa mixture. Mix only until combined. Divide evenly between the three prepared pans, and spread the batter out flat.
3. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool cakes on a wire rack.
4. In a medium bowl, whip the heavy cream and vanilla. When the cream becomes thick, add the confectioners' sugar and continue to whip until stiff but not too grainy. Divide into three parts and spread onto two of the cooled layers. Stack the layers onto a nice plate, putting the two creamed ones on the bottom. Place the plain layer on the top. If there is a hump on the top of the cake, trim it off with a long serrated knife. Frost the sides with the chocolate buttercream frosting.
5. To make the frosting, beat the remaining ingredients, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and cocoa until light and fluffy, about 7 to 10 minutes. Frost sides of the cake, leaving a ridge that sticks up over the top edge. Spread the remaining cream filling over the top of the cake. Garnish with sprinkles, chocolate curls or seasonal fresh fruit.

Here's an old recipe from my aunt who made the best old fashioned chocolate cakes and icings.

She's the same lady who gave me the now popular 'Aunty Doe's Shortbread' recipe.

Aunty Doe's Chocolate Icing

1 cup icing (confectioner's) sugar
3 heaping TBS cocoa
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/2 teasp salt
1 egg

Have margarine or butter soft, and cream it with the egg, icing sugar and salt. Add cocoa and beat well. If it seems a little too thick, add a tiny bit of milk.

SharonCb

Thank you so much for all the recipes! I will definitely be trying them. The recipe I had used before called for veg. shortening and that made it so greasy to work with not mention very fatting! I was using a recipe out of the Wilton Cake booklet that is designed more for cake decorating really but is hard to work with I think.

The other thing is-once I go to ice the cake-I have such a crumb problem and if I am using the bright white icing recipe from the Wilton Book-you can really see the crumbs! Any advice on that??

The professionals apply what they call a 'crumb coat' to the cake. It's some of the same frosting you're planning on using on the cake, only thinned way down. They let it dry and then they put the frosting on top of that.

Now, I'd think that:
1. you'd have to make more frosting to have enough for the crumb coat AND for the top coat.
2. depending on the type of frosting you plan to use, maybe it wouldn't always lend itself to thinning down and applying in this manner. I have always wondered if you couldn't just mix up confectioner's sugar and water for the crumb coat.

I took the Wilton cake classes I-III. For the crumbs, I decrumb the cake w/ the back of a spatula/knife first. Always make sure it has cooled well before doing this. I then add more water to my frosting if my frosting is too stiff & it goes on much easier.

freeze the cake first and frost it while frozen

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