Butter Cream Frosting

I remembered seeing my Aunt making this icing when I was very young and tasting it right from the bowl. She used it to cover Christmas cake. A little later I saw my mother making the same icing and using it to decorate wedding cakes. Mom could make this icing very smooth. She would add food colour and achieve many different effects. Now that I have grown myself, I have used this common, age-old recipe to ice some of the cakes in the tearoom. I still don't understand why someone would name something Butter Cream when there is neither butter nor cream in the recipe! Maybe it is because it just tastes like there is?

• 4 cups icing sugar
• 2/3 cups Crisco shortening
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Beat all ingredients together at high speed for 5 to 7 minutes.
2. To regulate icing consistency, add more or less milk.