Fluffy Frosting for Cupcakes...?!

I just yesterday made some chocolate butter cream frosting that my wife piped onto cupcakes. It was very soft and fluffy and light.
The trick is to let your butter soften completely to room temperature and whip it up really well in the mixer bowl before adding the icing sugar. It requires a lot of air to be incorporated into the butter so it is light and fluffy.
After that I added the cocoa powder and some vanilla, and whipped it again in my KitchenAid mixer with the paddle beater on high speed.

EDIT: The caption on the picture says this is a vanilla cream cheese frosting, not a butter cream.

EDIT 2: I don't know where to buy lavender flowers, but I just read the other day that you should not buy them from a florist because they might have been treated with pesticides. You should be sure to buy food-grade lavender.

You must use an electric mixer to get a fluffy frosting. If it's too stiff, you need to add a bit more liquid, maybe 1-2 teaspoons at a time. Mix it in, whip, then check consistency.

The icing in the photo was piped on w/ a large round decorating tip; it was not "plopped" on w/ a knife.

These recipes work well for me. If you have failure, you're either not following the recipe or making substitutions.

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Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Makes enough for one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes*

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
? cup milk or less, depends upon thickness desired
2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bow and beat until fluffyl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then half the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the milk. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

If you are icing a 3-layer cake, use the following recipe proportions:
1? cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
8 to 10 cups confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
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Better Cream Whipped Cake Icing

? cup cold water
1 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp. white sugar
? tsp vanilla extract

Chill mixing bowl and beaters for at least 15 minutes before using. Place water in a small microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over water and allow to soften 5 minutes. Dissolve gelatin by microwaving for 3 minutes, stirring after every minute. Remove from microwave and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes; gelatin must be liquid but not warm when added to cream.

Remove bowl and beaters from refrigerator and pour in cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat together just until beater marks begin to show distinctly. Add gelatin mixture to cream, pouring in a steady stream while beating constantly. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spread on cooled cake immediately.
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That's the Best Frosting I've Ever Had

5 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool.
In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.
While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.
Grab a spoon and taste this wonderful goodness. If there is any left after your taste test, spread it on a cooled chocolate cake.

--Pioneer Woman blog