This simple and delicious vanilla buttercream frosting is perfect for frosting cakes and cupcakes. It’s so creamy and dreamy, you might just want to eat it plain!
Vanilla Buttercream may seem beyond simple but I get a surprising number of questions from home bakers everywhere. So let’s set the record straight with perhaps the most ubiquitous and variable frosting there is! Let me know how you enjoy this recipe; historically, I have found it to be a crowd pleaser.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is buttercream or whipped frosting better?
The main difference between buttercream and whipped frosting is butter. Whipped frosting does not contain butter and is a lighter and fluffier icing. Buttercream contains a good amount of butter and has more of a rich flavor; so you be the judge! 🙂
Will buttercream melt at room temperature?
When buttercream is left out at room temperature, it will form sort of a crust on the outer layer while the inside will stay fairly smooth. If it is very warm or humid, the buttercream can loose structure. This will affect decorations you’ve pipes and may even destabilize layer cakes, causing them to sag or collapse.
How long can you leave out buttercream frosting?
You can leave out buttercream frosting for overnight if covered. If the buttercream contains cream cheese, then it should always be refrigerated for it to remain safe to eat. Buttercream that contains dairy will spoil more quickly so should be refrigerated after a few hours.
How do I thin out buttercream frosting?
If you want to thin out buttercream frosting, you’ll want to add in some extra cream or milk. I recommend mixing in a tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Using room temperature butter is the most important thing to do when whipping up a batch of “buttercream.” If you’re looking for a very spreadable and very smooth icing, you can add the full amount of cream in (and maybe even a bit more).
You can always substitute a fruit puree, reduction or liqueur if you wanted to spice things up, by the way. If you are doing some detailed work — like piping roses, for example — you’ll be using MUCH LESS cream.
Some people prefer the all-white buttercream that uses vanilla extract. Some people love seeing little vanilla seeds scattered throughout. If you do want to use a vanilla bean, simply split along the middle — scrape out the seeds with a knife — and allow to defuse in the cream that you’re using (or you could even add some bourbon).
For people who live in very warm climates, substituting in some vegetable shortening for the butter will help keep your confections stable. As a final note, I would always remember to sift your powdered sugar as you will never know when a clump will come back to haunt you.
Make sure to sift your powdered sugar, especially if you’re going to be using any piping tips. Those clumps will cause clogs that make decorating nearly impossible!
How To Make Buttercream Frosting
- Cream the butter in a standing mixer for about 5 minutes using a paddle attachment.
- Sift the confectioners sugar and slowly beat it in, in multiple batches.
- Once incorporated, with the mixer running on low, you can go ahead and add the vanilla extract.
- While the mixer is running on low, add in the three tablespoons of heavy whipping cream.
- When your buttercream is finished, you should have a nice even and fluffy consistency.
- You can place it in a piping bag, snip the tip off, and you’re ready to go!
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
How To Make Buttercream Flowers
If you’ve tried this buttercream frosting then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Buttercream Frosting
This simple and delicious vanilla buttercream is perfect for frosting cakes and cupcakes.
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbsp vanilla 15mL
- 1 lb confectioner's sugar 454g
- 1 cup unsalted butter 225g, room temperature
- 3 tbsp heavy whipping cream 45mL
Instructions
INSTRUCTIONS
- Whip the butter for about 5 minutes using a paddle attachment (stand-up mixer).
Beat in the confectioner’s sugar slowly.
Add the cream and vanilla. Beat until you have an even, fluffy consistency. Vualá!
Recipe Video
YUM 🙂
LOVE!!
Hi, I’ve always found the best piping icing to be the most jaw wrenching sweet kind of icing 🙁 I prefer a less sweet, more buttery or whipped cream like frosting… the 1 lb powdered sugar to 1 cup of butter ratio scares me… do you have any suggestions? Whipped Cream cheese frosting is my best bet so far but I get a lot of air pockets with it
Brittney,
If you re like me and love a buttery buttercream, you can make a batch of my Italian buttercream! You’ll be in heaven!
John
I don’t like most frosting on cakes due to being too sweet that’s one of the reasons I don’t eat much cake (which I would love to). I see how much sugar goes in to this buttercream. And i see many of your cakes used buttercream. Is there any alternative to frost those cakes?
Try out my Italian meringue buttercream recipe! It’s less sweet and much creamier than the American Buttercream! I have a feeling you’ll love it!
John
I have tried a few times on this buttercream but it always turned out to be grainy. HELP!
LC,
I don’t know why it would be grainy! Are you using confectioners sugar or granulated sugar??
John
Hi John! firts I have to say: I love ur videos! so pretty, everything looks so perfect! but I have the same problem. My buttercream always is to grainy. I used icing / confectioners (we called “azucar glaze” or “azucar impalpable” in Argentina) sugar and unsalted butter a room temp. equal parts!!! I have tried with a 20% less of sugar icing/confectioners results good but grainy… (\\__\\)
Hernan,
Are you sifting the confectioners sugar before mixing? I’ve never had this issue with buttercream!
John
Hi I live in Arizona and am having a hard time making a buttercream that will stand up to warmer temps. I use Russian piping tips so my flowers lack structure. Advice?
Thank you
Mia,
I’ve heard that if you substitute some of the buttercream for shortening, it will help! Shortening definitely changes the taste though! I’ve only tried it once!
John
Hi. Thanks for answering. I currently am using half butter half butter flavor shortening. Would the only other options be to increase powdered sugar or decrease cream?
I always find my buttercream slightly grainy🤔 what am I doing wrong? Should I beat it longer?
Rodella,
Could your confectioner’s sugar be old? I’ve never come across this problem in my own baking!
John
Hi John! You mentioned using much less cream if we’re piping flowers. Would you say 1 TBS instead of the 3TBS?
Thank you!
Adriene,
Just play around with it! I like a really thick buttercream when I’m piping flowers!
John
Hi John
I am doing a project that requires BLACK Buttercream to decorate cupcake. I have tried American Buttercream with part dark cocoa and Black cocoa that I ordered from Amazon it was King Arthur’s brand. To that I added several drops. of Americolor Super Black Gel. It ended up gunmetal in color and tasted terrible. The next was American Buttercream using melted dark chocolate and the gel. Tasted better but still gunmetal. I let it sit over night to darken but still not turning out black. So I added more gel but it turned a darker gunmetal not black and the cocoa buttercream tasted even worse. Do you have any suggestions as these cupcakes are going to an event. I’m starting to stress.
Thanks
Hi John! How far ahead of time can you make this buttercream? Going to give the shag rug cake a go. Thanks so much!!
Hi Sam,
What kind of buttercream are you making? You can make it 3-4 days in advanced, sealed and stored in the fridge.
John!
Hi we don’t use eggs in our household and don’t like buttercream that much cuz sugar! The whipped cream which we get in India is sweetened. Could you please share on how to stabilise it for assembling the cake. Also could you please do a video of cake decoration using just whipped cream! Pretty please
Hello! Try mixing in mascarpone cheese with the whipped cream if you can get ahold of it
Hi John, I came across this recipe after going through many online. I want to give it a go, but don’t know how much buttercream I’ll need to make. Could you please tell me what your version of “1 batch” is? How many cups will you get out of it. Thanks!
I need to measure the cups out but it’s enough to do a three layer 6 inch cake.
Hi! I use this recipe and love it; however, when i go to move a cake I get cracks in my buttercream. I have even tried glueing multiple cake boards together. Do you ever have this issue? If so, how do you fix it? Thank you!
Hi Jordan! I chill my cake for transport and that really helps, no issues with cracking!
Hi John,
I am a total newbie with frosting and decorating cakes and your YouTube videos have inspired me so much! I actually tried the Italian Meringue Buttercream first, but that tasted like pure butter to me. Did I do something wrong?
So I followed up with this vanilla buttercream recipe and it was phenomenal! Exactly what icing tastes like in my dreams. It didn’t spread onto my cake very easily, it left patchy places all over and pulled up parts of my cake.. Any tips? Should I maybe add more cream?
Thank you very much! Happy baking 😁🎂
I attempted to make cupcakes for the first time in a very long time and was looking for a simple frosting that I have already had ingredients for.
Your recipe is easy to follow and I do like the fact that ingredients are listed both by volume and by weight.
I didn’t have heavy cream, so I had to improvise and added some milk instead. This buttercream is very sweet and for the next batch I will try one of the meringue versions to balance the sweetness.
Perfection. Light and fluffy, creamy and buttery, and sweet without being cloying. 10/10 again, John!
Why is there so many air pockets in my buttercream?