Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

How to Make
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

This is my recipe for classic vanilla American buttercream frosting, which is highly versatile and adaptable for many different applications and tastes. Frost and fill cakes with it, or pipe cupcakes, borders, flowers, and more with it! It pairs well with any cake, cupcake, cookie, and more.
Make sure to read all important notes below.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
¼ tsp salt (plus more to taste as desired)
2 tsp vanilla extract (plus more to taste as desired)
4 to 4½ cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp heavy cream* please read notes on liquid ingredients below

Directions

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (I prefer the paddle attachment with the flexible/spatula edge), beat the butter alone on medium speed for several minutes until the color lightens. A hand mixer with the beaters will work as well. Avoid using the whisk attachment when making buttercream, as this can whip in extra air.

Add the salt and vanilla, then mix until well combined.

If your mixer has a shield, add this on to prevent powdered sugar from escaping while mixing. Add the powdered sugar, then pulse the mixer (alternating turning it to the first/lowest speed, and then stopping) to prevent ingredients escaping. Pulse this just until the powdered sugar is combined with the butter mixture.

Add the cream (or other liquid source – see below) and pulse again just until this is combined as well.

Mix on lowest speed (higher speeds can whip the cream and thus cause an increase in air bubbles) for a few minutes until the buttercream stars to look smooth.

Stop the mixer and taste test using a clean spoon each time. If it tastes too sweet, add a pinch of salt and/or another drop of extract and mix again on low speed. Repeat this until you find a taste you prefer.

Yield

This recipe makes 5 ¼ to 5 ¾ cups of buttercream, which is approximately enough to:

Frost 2 dozen cupcakes in a flat/short design
- OR -
Frost 1.5 dozen cupcakes in a tall/swirl design
- OR -
Frost a 3-layer 6-inch cake
- OR -
Frost a 2-layer 8-inch cake

Make more buttercream to pipe borders, flowers, and further decorations to cakes and cupcakes. I frequently make double and even triple batches of this for various cake sizes and quantities of cupcakes. Follow the directions in the same way for larger batches as well.

Important Notes

Consistency
This ratio of ingredients is for a medium consistency buttercream frosting. If you wish to thin the consistency slightly in order to frost and cover a cake, add a dash of the cream or other liquid ingredient. If you wish to pipe cupcakes, borders, flowers, and other decorations that need to hold their shape, add more powdered sugar and mix on lowest speed until desired consistency is reached.

Storage
Store American buttercream frosting in an airtight container at room temperature for a day, in the refrigerator for 2 weeks, or in the freezer for 2 months. Climate/humidity/temperature may affect this. After buttercream has been sitting, whether this is on the counter, in the fridge, or in the freezer, air bubbles will begin to develop. Allow the buttercream to come to room temperature, and then gently stir back and forth with a rubber spatula to gently press these out.

Ingredients Temp
I’ve found that the ingredients mix and emulsify together better if they are all at room temperature (or near room temperature). Ingredients of similar temperatures will mix more easily than ingredients of differing temperatures from one another.

Coloring
My American buttercream frosting colors very easily with gel-based colorings. I’ll link brands and types that I frequently use below. Vibrant colors require time to develop and saturate, so often times bright and deep colors like red, black, navy, purple, etc will need a day or two in the fridge.

Want a whiter buttercream color? Switch out the vanilla extract for a clear/imitation vanilla extract and/or a bit of almond extract (be sure to taste test); or use gel whitener or a very tiny amount of purple/violet gel coloring.

Want black buttercream? Consider starting from my chocolate buttercream frosting recipe here and/or use black cocoa powder to help darken the color before adding black gel coloring. Another way to start to get black is to stir together all your leftover buttercream colors and then add black cocoa powder and/or black gel. Black buttercream will require time to develop the color in the fridge.

As with any recipe, results may vary by brand/types of ingredients and humidity/temperature/climate.

*A Note About Liquid Ingredients
This recipe is intended for home use and consumption. If intending to sell baked goods, be sure to verify approved recipes and ingredients with your state’s cottage foods governing entity. The cottage food laws where I live do not allow for cream or other dairy as the liquid ingredient in buttercream frosting, so if intending to sell, water and/or a bit more of the flavoring/extract may be substituted for the cream. Add these in very small increments while mixing on low, as water thins the buttercream recipe more so than cream does.

Supplies, Materials, and Ingredients Links

Stand mixer, hand mixer, and attachments: KitchenAid: Amazon Storefront
Mixing bowls and spatulas: KitchenAid and various brands: Amazon Storefront
Vanilla extract: Watkins: Amazon Storefront
Gel coloring: Chefmaster liqua-gels and Americolor gel-pastes: Amazon storefront
Black cocoa powder: Wincrest: Amazon Storefront
Heavy Cream: Kemps: Retailer Locator

I would love to see what you make with your buttercream frosting!
Tag me @erin.cakesandcupcakes on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook!