French Vanilla Icing

As a child I did not like cake, mostly because I did not like the icing. I would usually carve the cake out from under the disgusting shortening sugar mixture and I would always avoid the corners or the horrific roses creations that would just send me into a gagging fit.
The when I was around 8 I found a recipe in the "5 Roses" recipe book that my mom made everything from. I tried it, I loved it & I can vividly remember the page with "French Vanilla Icing" recipe, it quickly became the most used recipe in the book, splattered with tiny bits of icing that had been wiped off but stained the page. There were 5 children in our family so lots of birthday cakes to be made.  I remember the taste of the icing, it was so much creamier and light than the repulsive stuff I have already described. My favourite version was when my mom made it light green, somehow it tasted better to me when it was green. As I grew up I learned how to make the icing and eventually did not need the now worn and tattered "5 Roses" recipe book to pull it off.
Until recently I have always thought it was the best icing recipe I had tasted, then my friend Carol introduced me to her "Nana's" best ever, fluffy creamy icing. I am sorry "5 Roses" but your icing paled in comparison. Once my eyes had been open to this lovely tasting icing, I have started searching for other recipes and have found there is an entire world of great tasting icing out there.
So here is the recipe for the "French Vanilla Icing" that I learned to make as a child. I may also post the Nana's super fluffy icing in my next post but realized I should probably ask before I give away Nana's secret recipe.

French Vanilla Icing

1c. unsalted butter softened
4c. Icing Sugar (Confectioner's Sugar)
1 tbsp. good quality vanilla (if you want your icing to stay as white as possible, use clear vanilla)
3 tbsp. Milk (or if you are not worried about the fat, and I might point out there is already a cup of butter in this recipe, use 1/2 and 1/2 cream as a substitute)
Food Colouring (optional) but remember light green is the best!

Beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, add your sugar and start beating slowly so you don't fill your kitchen with a cloud of white powder - I learned the hard way but give me a break I was only 8 or 9 at the time. Then add your vanilla and milk and keep beating until light and fluffy. You can change the consistency by reducing or increasing the amount of milk. That's it quite simple, very tasty and no gagging sensation!!