Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

DIRECTIONS

• 1. Defrost strawberries in microwave or overnight in refrigerator. Place the strawberries and their juice in a colander suspended over a deep mixing bowl. With a rubber spatula, press the thawed berries to force juice into the bowl. Strain the juice if it contains pieces of strawberries.
• Pour the berry juice from the bowl into a saucepan and boil the juice until it reduces to 1/4 cup.
• Transfer the reduced berry juice to a heat-proof container.
• In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, puree the remaining strawberries. Use a fine strainer to remove all the seeds.
• Stir the pureed strawberries, reduced berry juice, and lemon juice together. Set aside.
• Place flour in a small saucepan. Add milk, a little at a time, stirring well to remove lumps. After all the milk has been incorporated into the flour, heat the mixture until it becomes very thick, again stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Remove from heat and place plastic wrap directly on the milk/flour mixture to prevent a film from forming on its surface. Cool to room temperature.
• While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. If using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoons salt.
• Add the completely cooled milk/flour mixture and vanilla and beat until no graininess remains from the sugar.
• Mix in 1/2 cup of strawberry puree until combined, reserving remaining puree for another use.