Deliciously rich and creamy, vanilla buttercream frosting whips up quickly with just the right amount of sweetness. Made with only five ingredients, this whipped vanilla frosting spreads and pipes smoothly for a beautiful finish on cakes or cupcakes!
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Why this recipe works
- A delicious whipped vanilla frosting made with only five ingredients
- Spreads and pipes smoothly onto cakes and cupcakes
- The easiest type of buttercream to make!
When you want an easy frosting for cakes or cupcakes, you can make this delicious, creamy vanilla buttercream frosting (or to be more specific, a vanilla American buttercream frosting) instead of heading to the store.
You only need five ingredients and a few minutes for the best vanilla frosting that's silky smooth and richly flavored!
This vanilla buttercream recipe produces a product with lots of vanilla flavor that's not overly sweet. There's no plastic-y or mouth-coating feeling like with some commercially made frostings.
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to make this buttercream recipe:
Ingredient Notes
Butter: While using unsalted butter is the best way to control the amount of salt, you can use salted butter if that's what you have on hand. Adjust the additional salt used as needed.
Having the butter at a warm room temperature allows it to quickly beat up smooth and fluffy. The cooler the butter is, the longer you'll need to beat it to smooth out any lumps. If the butter is very soft, it isn't necessary to cut it first.
Powdered Sugar: Sweetens the vanilla buttercream while adding sturdiness, giving the frosting great piping smoothness. Sifting the powdered sugar helps it incorporate into the creamed butter easier.
Vanilla: How much vanilla extract you want to use is up to you - I use a tablespoon to really get the rich floral vanilla flavor. You can also use a fresh vanilla bean - you'll see the seeds scattered throughout for a real homemade look.
Food coloring: If you want to color your frosting, gel food coloring works best because it won't thin the product.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make vanilla buttercream frosting
Step 1: Whip the butter
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a hand mixer and a large bowl), beat the butter on medium speed until it is creamy and lightened in color, about two minutes (photo 1).
Step 2: Whip the frosting
Add the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract (or fresh vanilla bean seeds, if using), and salt. Beat at high speed for three minutes or until fluffy (photo 2).
Getting the buttercream to the right consistency
When adjusting the consistency of the buttercream, a little heavy cream or milk goes a long way! If you add too much, you can add in more powdered sugar to stiffen up the frosting.
This holds true while using the buttercream as well - if you're frosting a cake and decide it's too thin, mix in some more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add some more heavy cream or milk.
Step 3: Adjust the consistency, if needed
If needed, just the buttercream's consistency by adding more powdered sugar if it's too thin, more heavy cream if it's too thick, or a pinch more salt if it's too sweet (photo 3).
You have vanilla buttercream frosting! Fill, crumb coat, and frost or pipe as you like. This recipe should make enough to frost and fill a 2-layer 8- to 9-inch round cake or a 3- 4-layer 6-inch round cake, and can be scaled as needed.
Storage instructions
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. When you're ready to use it, let it come to room temperature on the counter for several hours before using (you can stick it in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds to help soften it if you're short on time). It's best to whip it on high speed in your mixer for 30 seconds for a better consistency before using.
Yield Notes
This recipe should make enough to frost and fill a 2-layer 8- to 9-inch round cake or a 3- 4-layer 6-inch round cake, and can be scaled as needed.
Ways to use vanilla buttercream frosting
With its smooth, creamy flavor and superb pipe-ability, vanilla buttercream is wonderful as a cupcake frosting recipe and as a filling and topping for decorated cakes, like this checkerboard cake. Speaking of cupcakes, try pairing it with chocolate cupcakes for a black and white effect. Yum!
You can also use it as a filling for macarons. And of course, there's always buttercream shots - a dollop of vanilla frosting on a spoon. I won't tell if you won't!
Questions asked and answered
Here are some questions you might have...
American buttercream frosting is the easiest type of buttercream to make. It's just butter that's been whipped until it's light and creamy, then sweetened with powdered sugar. Flavor with vanilla extract and you get this vanilla buttercream frosting recipe. Adding melted chocolate gives you chocolate buttercream frosting, which is a dream unto itself.
Going one step further, you can make an Italian buttercream frosting which is an Italian meringue (egg whites whipped with sugar syrup) with butter beaten in. Italian meringue frosting tends to be less sweet than American buttercream since the sweetened meringue is doing the work of the powdered sugar in an American buttercream recipe. It's a little more effort, but it tastes very nice and works well in Italian meringue macarons.
There's also a Swiss meringue buttercream, but we're getting a bit far afield. For now lets go the easy route and stick with the basics for now.
In a word, butter. Icing for cakes and cookies is powdered sugar that's been mixed with a bit of liquid to a drizzling consistency and flavored to complement the item being glazed (like this lemon glaze on top of lemon shortbread cookies). Glaze adds glossiness and sweet flavor to the item, but it's not going to be thick and pipeable like a buttercream frosting.
All buttercreams are frostings, but not all frostings are buttercream. They do share common ingredients, like powdered sugar, vanilla flavoring, and milk (or water). The difference is the type of fat used - while buttercream uses butter, frosting can contain other types of fat like shortening or cream cheese.
You might be tempted to use granulated sugar in your buttercream recipe, but if it doesn't fully dissolve into the creamed butter, the resulting product can have a gritty or grainy texture. That's why it's best to use powdered sugar for buttercream because the sugar particles are very small and will mix in better.
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I hope you like this recipe! Let me know if you have any questions, and don't forget to leave a comment and rating. Thanks!
Slainté! L'chaim! Cheers!
- Tammy
More frosting recipes to try
Recipe
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups unsalted butter, softened, cut into chunks (3½ sticks), see Recipe Notes
- 1¾ pounds powdered sugar, sifted
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream, milk, or milk substitute
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, or a fresh vanilla bean, scraped, see Recipe Notes
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- food coloring, optional, see Recipe Notes
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a hand mixer and a large bowl), beat 1¾ cups unsalted butter on medium speed until it is creamy and lightened in color, about two minutes.
- Add 1¾ pounds powdered sugar, 6 tablespoons heavy cream, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (or fresh vanilla bean seeds, if using), and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Beat at high speed for three minutes or until fluffy. Stir in food coloring, if using.
- If needed, just the buttercream's consistency by adding more powdered sugar if it's too thin, more heavy cream if it's too thick, or a pinch more salt if it's too sweet.
- You have vanilla buttercream frosting! Fill, crumb coat, and frost or pipe as you like.
- Storage instructions: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. When you're ready to use it, let it come to room temperature on the counter for several hours before using (you can stick it in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds to help soften it if you're short on time). It's best to whip it on high speed in your mixer for 30 seconds for a better consistency before using.
- This recipe should make enough to frost and fill a 2-layer 8- to 9-inch round cake or a 3- 4-layer 6-inch round cake, and can be scaled as needed.
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