I’ve tested a ton of buttercream recipes in my day, but my go-to is a super simple American buttercream recipe that I’ve tweaked to my liking. I’ve used this recipe for frosting countless cakes and cupcakes and I’m a big believer that a good vanilla buttercream is something every baker should have in their recipe box. There’s nothing fancy about the way this recipe is made, but it will certainly taste like you whipped up something special!
My Favorite Buttercream Frosting for Cake Decorating
This vanilla buttercream recipe is technically an American buttercream, which basically means it has a butter base and is stabilized and sweetened with powdered sugar. Most American buttercream recipes use a ton of powdered sugar to give structure to the frosting, but I have tailored this recipe to use less powdered sugar and be less sweet than your average American buttercream. As a result, the vanilla flavor really shines through and it’s the perfect consistency for cake decorating, topping cupcakes, and even creating intricate designs. It also firms up in the refrigerator, making it ideal to use as a base under fondant!
Vanilla Buttercream Key Ingredients & Substitutions
There are just a handful of ingredients you’ll need for this recipe and it’s simple to whip up for people of all skill levels. I’ll explain what role each ingredient plays in the buttercream and any substitutes you can use:
- Unsalted Butter. This is the base of the buttercream and gives the frosting a rich buttery flavor and velvety smooth texture. If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use that instead and omit the salt at the end of the recipe. And if you want a vegan version of this buttercream, you can follow this recipe which uses vegan butter sticks.
- Powdered Sugar. This adds stability to the frosting while sweetening. I like to use less powdered sugar than the average American buttercream so that the frosting doesn’t end up cloyingly sweet, but if you’d like it even less sweet you can reduce the powdered sugar amount by up to ½ Cup. Just keep in mind that the consistency of the buttercream will be thinner.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. This flavors the buttercream, and making sure you use a good quality vanilla extract or paste is one of the secrets to success. You can use any kind of vanilla extract or paste, but my favorite brands are Trader Joe’s Bourbon Vanilla and Costco Pure Vanilla Extract (the price is unbeatable). You can also substitute this ingredient for other extract flavors, just be careful how much you use because some extracts are more potent than others! If you’re looking for more flavor options, I have all of my frosting recipes here.
- Whole Milk or Heavy Whipping Cream. This thins out the buttercream while binding all the ingredients together. I like to use a liquid with lots of fat for this part because it makes the final frosting more velvety smooth, so whole milk or heavy whipping cream are my go-to’s. If you’d rather use a dairy-free option you can substitute this with any milk alternative, but keep in mind that the flavor of the liquid will affect the overall frosting flavor.
- Salt. A pinch of salt helps balance the sweetness beautifully.
Vanilla Buttercream Tips for Success
This buttercream is simple for anyone to make, but there are a few things to keep in mind when making, storing, and working with it.
- Room Temperature Ingredients. Be sure to use room temperature ingredients. This is important for ingredients to combine and create a smooth consistency. Over the years I’ve found that cutting corners like adding cold milk will create a curdled look in the final frosting because the temperature hinders the ingredients from coming together smoothly. Not the best look! So, take your ingredients like butter and milk out of the refrigerator for about an hour prior to making the frosting.
- Use the Paddle Attachment on Your Stand Mixer. Also known as the flat beater attachment, the paddle attachment is designed to incorporate just the right amount of air into the buttercream. This makes it easier to make smooth buttercream without a ton of air bubbles.
- Whip the Butter for a Long Time. To achieve the smoothest buttercream that’s also nearly white in color, you’ll want to whip the butter for a long time – about 7 minutes. In this amount of time, the butter should go from yellow to almost white and be extra smooth.
- Then Mix Everything Else on Low Speed. After you whip the butter, it’s important to keep the mixer on low speed any time you’re mixing in the additional ingredients. Even though it will take longer to mix the ingredients, keeping the mixer on low speed helps prevent air bubbles from forming in the buttercream.
- Let the Ingredients Fully Combine. After I mix in the final ingredient (salt) I like to run the mixer on low speed for another minute or two to allow everything to combine fully. This gives the powdered sugar time to dissolve as well, so the buttercream will taste smooth and not grainy.
Here’s a quick video I whipped up to show you my method for making this buttercream recipe and all my tips for success:
I’ve got more recipe videos like this one + some fun cake decorating tutorials on my YouTube channel if you want to see some more! I’m always rolling out new videos, so click the subscribe button while you’re there to ensure you never miss a new one.
Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups (420g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp whole milk or heavy whipping cream, room temperature
- 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Instructions
- With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
- Add vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on low for another minute until fully incorporated.
Notes
- Frost 12-15 cupcakes with a piping bag
- Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 8-inch cake. To have enough for frosting and decorating as well, double the recipe.
Tips for the best buttercream consistency
There are three types of consistency for buttercream that you need to know, and each one plays a different role in cake decorating.
Medium Consistency
This is the most versatile of all consistencies. It works perfectly as a filling between layers, crumb coating, frosting a cake (especially if you want a smooth buttercream finish), and even decorating cupcakes with simple piping tips. This buttercream recipe is medium consistency as-is, so it’s super easy to spread smoothly onto cakes. To test and make sure you’ve got a medium consistency going, you should be able to dip your rubber spatula into the buttercream and it will come out with soft peaks and spread easily when you move your finger over it.
Thin Consistency
This is the perfect consistency for painting with buttercream or writing a message on your cake. To achieve it, just add 1-2 additional teaspoons of room temperature milk to thin out the buttercream.
Stiff Consistency
If you’re piping buttercream flowers, especially ones with petals that need to stand upright, you’ll need a stiff consistency. Add an extra 1/2 cup of powdered sugar per batch of the above recipe to achieve this. When you dip your rubber spatula into the frosting, it should come out with stiff peaks, but when you pipe with it, make sure it’s not so thick that you have to put a ton of extra pressure on the bag or clog the piping tip. If you’re running into these problems, fear not! You can tone it down by adding room temperature whole milk, 1 tsp at a time, until it’s just right.
Hello! I’m so excited to make this for my daughters birthday. I just remembered that my niece is dairy free! Would I be able to use Lactaid instead of whole milk? Will doing that effect anything?
Hi there! You can absolutely sub the milk in the recipe for any non-dairy milk and if you need to sub the butter as well, here’s the vegan version of this recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/vegan-vanilla-buttercream-recipe/
Hello!!
Can I double the recipe
Or should I make separate batches?
Hi Wadha! You can totally double this recipe!
Thanks for your buttercream recipe!
I’m planning to make an ice cream cake for my daughters birthday and I am wondering if buttercream flowers will work on an ice cream cake?
Hi Janelle! Buttercream flowers would look lovely on and ice cream cake and will totally work!
Hello Whitney,
my sister is getting married soon and I’m baking a wedding cake as a surprise.
During my internet research, your blog and especially your vanilla buttercream recipe convinced me.
However, I’m not so sure about the amounts. Maybe you can help me.
The size of the cake is “12”, “10”, “8” and is planned with three layers of cake each.
The cake should have a buttercream dam, crumb coat and a naked finish.
How many batches of your recipe do I need for this?
Thank you for your help.
Warm greetings from Germany.
Hi Judy! I’m so excited for you to make your sister a wedding cake! For cakes that size and the type of decorating you’re doing, I would recommend 1 batch for the 8″ cake, 1 batches for the 10″ cake, and 2 batches for the 12″ cake (4 batches total). That will give you about 12 Cups of buttercream total. Let me know if you have any more questions! I’m cheering you on!
Hello,
Can I use icing sugar mixture such as this one? I find sifting icing sugar takes too long!
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/96253/csr-icing-sugar-soft-mixture
Hi Anne! I’ve never heard of icing sugar mixture before, so it would be an experiment, but it looks like it’s made for icing so it might be worth a try if you feel like experimenting. Otherwise you can skip the sifting of the powdered sugar so long as there are no large lumps in it. I rarely take the time to sift my powdered sugar anymore!
Hi Whitney. Powdered sugar is like the regular white sugar in powdered form right? And NOT the Icing sugar? I had always heard that Icing sugar is used in buttercreams
Hi Sabika! Powdered sugar is icing sugar, also known as confectioner’s sugar.
I was wondering if this recipe yields enough for crumb coat, filing, and final layer
Hi Natasha! If it’s a three layer cake I would double the recipe to have enough for filling, crumb coating, and decorating.
If i want to make a cream cheese butter cream what is your ratio? I am making carrot cupcakes?
Hi Trudie! Here’s the Cream Cheese Buttercream recipe I use: https://sugarandsparrow.com/cream-cheese-buttercream-recipe/ enjoy!
How much is needed for a 4 layer 8” cake? Crumb coat, filling, frosting and piping?
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!!! question… can it be left out but kept in. Cool dry place for 24-48 hours?
Yay, Nivia! I’m so happy you love this recipe 🙂 Yes – you can leave this at room temperature in an airtight container for 1-2 days, or if it’s already on a cake/cupcakes you can leave it out at room temperature for that long as well. Hope that helps!
Can buttermilk be a substitute for heavy cream/Milk?
Hi Samantha! You can technically use buttermilk as a sub, but since it has more of a bitter taste that will reflect in the resulting buttercream. If you like the taste of buttermilk, go for it!
Hi there I have made your Perfect Vanilla Cake Recipe and so far it really is perfect !!
I plan to glaze this cake, I would like to make 1 layer with jam and cream but I am not sure what to recipe to use for the cream part ???
should I use this butter cream ?? will it hold up one layer of cake and taste good?
kind regards
Laura
Yay, Laura! I’m so happy you love my vanilla cake recipe as much as I do! This buttercream would be perfect for pairing with jam and glaze. It’s definitely what I would use – I use it to fill, frost, and decorate the majority of my layer cakes!
woohoo ! Thank you for the reply, I assume the stiff consistency would be best to use ?
Whitney, You are absolutely right. This is the BEST buttercream I have ever made! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. Now I can’t wait to try your cream cheese icing. I am so glad I discovered your website! I am in the Pacific NW as well!
Yay, Lori! I’m so happy you loved this recipe and can’t wait for you to try the cream cheese buttercream recipe. Yay for the PNW!
Making this tomorrow for a giant wedding cake! Question… have you ever replaced the vanilla extract with lemon juice in this recipe? I saw the question about lemon curd, which is a good idea… wonder if that worked?!
Hi Amanda! You could totally use lemon juice as a sub for part of the vanilla, or even better, use lemon extract! I’m not sure about lemon curd but my hunch is that it would work. It would probably tint the buttercream yellow though.
how do you make your crumb frosting?
Hi Joan! I just use whatever I’ll be frosting the cake with as the crumb coat. This buttercream recipe works wonderfully as a crumb coat!
How much Buttercream for a 6 inch cake x 3 cakes depth 3 inches to fill and coat also the same for a 8 inch cake x 3 cakes to fill and coat depth 3 inches and a 10 inch x 3 cakes depth 3 inches to fill and coat .
Kind regards
Katherine
Hi Katherine! For a triple layer 6 inch cake, 1.5x the recipe. For a triple layer 8 inch cake, 2x the recipe. For a triple layer 10 inch cake, 2.5x the recipe. So the grand total would be 6x the recipe to fill and frost those three cakes. Hope that helps!