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.
Hi maam, great buttercream recipe! Everyone in my family loved it. All the credit goes to you. That smile on my brothers face was so adorable. I have seen all your vlogs and they are quite interesting. lots of love from me and my family.
Yay, Shriya! So happy the recipe was a hit. Thanks for taking the time to let me know, that totally makes my day!
Hi,
You butter cream looks great but won’t it be too sweet after adding double amount of sugar?
Hi Noopur, I’m not sure what you mean by “double the amount of sugar”. This recipe is meant to have the amount of sugar and other ingredients specified, and I’ve purposefully made it less sweet than other American buttercream recipes by lessening the sugar and adding salt in for balance.
Hey!
I was wondering, how does your icing turn out so pale white? Whenever I make buttercream, it turns out quite yellow because the butter is yellow. Do you have to add something, or do you use a special kind of butter? I’ve experimented with adding a tiny amount of purple food colouring, but its just turned it grey!
Thank you. X
Hi Ruth! I whip the butter for 7-10 minutes before adding the other ingredients in this recipe, until the butter is almost white in color. That sets the recipe up to turn out pretty white as-is, but if you want it extra bright you can add an icing whitener like Americolor Bright White: https://amzn.to/2EAQXnm
Can this recipe cover and fill a 3 layer 9 inch cake if I double it?
Hi Sally! If you’re filling and frosting a triple layer 9-inch cake, I would make 2.5x this recipe.
Can this recipe cover a 3 layer 9 inch cake if I double it?
Hi Sara! If you’re just covering the cake (filling and stacking with other frostings/fillings), 1.5x this recipe will be the perfect amount.
Hi Whitney I have a question about the speed medium high to start with butter, which number on your KA?, because I have KA too. Thanks! from Spain
Hi Teresa! I whip the butter on speed 8. Hope that helps!
Hello
How many batches do I need to fill and coat a cake ? 6 inch 3 layers
Thank you !
Hi Randa! I always double this recipe for filling and frosting a triple layer 6 inch cake.
This icing was delicious! Do you have a post or tutorial on coloring the icing? I had a terrible time getting the right colors for a cake but there aren’t many tutorials out there that I found. Everything I’ve seen says to not add much gel coloring except my toddler’s rainbow cake (with dark/bold-ish pastel colors) ended up looking like a Easter/gender reveal cake because I couldn’t get the colors right in the correct quantities to pipe multicolored designs. I didn’t want true bold colors, but wasted so much time and icing trying to get it just right. What’s the trick?
Hi Julie! So happy to hear that you love this recipe! I am currently working on a tutorial on how to color buttercream as part of my Cake Basics series, so stay tuned. I’ll make an announcement about it on my Instagram when it’s ready!
Hi!
I was wondering how much frosting you typically use between your layers, to crumb coat, to frost, & decorate? I am trying to get my measurements down to a science so I make just enough of what I need. Thank you!
Hi Kacie! It totally depends on the size of the cake. If it’s a 3-layer 4 inch round cake, one batch of this recipe is enough to fill, frost, and decorate. If it’s a triple layer 6-inch or 8-inch cake, a double batch of this recipe is perfect. Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney! I just started making cakes a few months ago and I’m obsessed with making flowers. I just haven’t found the right consistency to withstand the crazy humidity here in Austin, Texas! Not sure where you are located but what’s your experience with these flowers staying in place in humid weather? I read somewhere to add shortening and I actually tried that with one of the buttercream recipes and it was absolutely disgusting! I really want to find a good buttercream to hold. What are your thoughts?
Hi Tisha! I’m in the pacific northwest, so it’s not quite as humid/hot over here. Substituting half (or all) of the butter in this recipe with vegetable shortening (the higher the fat ratio the better!) is the only way I know to stabilize it for heat and humidity! I wish I had another suggestion for you but the science behind it is that butter just starts to soften and melt above 75ish degrees and shortening is just much more heat tolerant.
Darn. That’s kind of what I thought you would say! 🙂 Most of my research comes up with the same answer. Although, a few recipes suggested cornstarch. I guess I need to start making two separate buttercream recipes, one to frost the cake and the other (with shortening) for flowers. Most people I know don’t really eat all the decor… I’ll keep playing with it. Thanks for the input though!
Hi! This buttercream recipe looks amazing! I am making a 4 tier wedding cake (12″, 10″, 8″ and 6″ double tiers). How many batches of this frosting will I need? Also, if I use salted butter should I leave out the salt called for in the recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Kristi! Wow, that’s a big cake! Maybe start with 5x this amount and go from there? It’s hard to say for sure because I don’t know how you’ll be decorating the cake (semi-naked finish? accent piping? etc). To give you an idea of how much this makes, I usually double this recipe to fill and frost one triple-layer 8 inch cake. And yes, if you use salted butter go ahead and omit the salt at the end.
Do you need to use different consistencies buttercream for filling vs crumb coating and frosting the cake? Would you do a thick consistency for filling the cake ?
Hi Saba! I always just use this recipe as-is for filling, frosting, and crumb coating my cakes. The only time I thicken the consistency is if I’m filling a cake with a softer filling and need to create a strong buttercream dam around the edge. Here’s a video that shows what I mean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwvyChljIQ4&t=2s
Hi!
I would like to make this into a lemon buttercream. How would you recommend doing that? I know that adding only the extract can sometimes result in a bitter taste because there is no acidity, but I don’t want to add too much liquid with the juice. Thanks!
Hi Ellen! To turn this into lemon buttercream, omit the vanilla and instead add the zest and juice of a small lemon (about 3-4 Tbsp of lemon juice). I would also half the amount of whole milk to cut down on the liquid. I do have a lemon buttercream recipe here but it makes a bit more than this vanilla buttercream recipe does (enough to frost a triple layer 6-inch cake): https://sugarandsparrow.com/strawberry-lemonade-cake-recipe/
Could this recipe be made with a hand mixer?
Hi Jamie! It can. Just follow the same speeds and mixing times and you should be good to go with a hand mixer!
Hi Whitney! Can I ise vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract for this recipe?
Love all your helpful posts by the way ♥️
Hi Anisha! You totally can sub vanilla bean paste. So tasty!