Homemade Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
This simple homemade vanilla buttercream is easy to make and results in a silky smooth frosting that is easy to pipe. This American style frosting requires only a few ingredients. Whip up in just about 10 minutes and use to frost cakes, cupcakes, and cookies!
Overview
- Skill Level: Beginner
- Technique Used: Creaming Method
The easiest homemade vanilla frosting is made by beating together butter with powdered sugar and vanilla. This style of frosting is known as American buttercream (and decorator’s buttercream) because it pipes so easily to make intricate designs.
American buttercream is also sometimes referred to as crusting buttercream because a slight crust forms when it is exposed to air. This characteristic is desirable when icing cookies that will be stacked or for intricate designs on cakes.
Butter to Sugar Ratios in American Buttercream
American buttercream tends to be the sweetest style of all the buttercreams. However, the sweetness level can be controlled by the ratio of butter to sugar. For a slightly sweet buttercream, use a ratio of 1:1 butter to sugar by weight. This ratio will form the least amount of crust when exposed to air.
For a standard vanilla buttercream that is much sweeter, use a ratio of 1:2.5 butter to sugar by weight. This is the most common ratio used and is much sweeter than the 1:1 ratio but not overly sweet. This is the recipe I’m showing you today.
For a buttercream that crusts a great deal that can be used for very intricate piping work, you can increase to butter to sugar ratio by up to 1:4 butter to sugar by weight.
The styles of frostings available for icing cakes and cupcakes are endless. Here are twelve of my favorite and most used types of cake icing. Each one has its best use and they vary slightly in flavor and texture.
Ingredient Functions
- Butter is a fat that is solid at room temperature so it works well to cream with sugar to create the structure of the buttercream. Butter also has a melting point around body temperature so it melts on the tongue and does not leave a greasy mouth-feel like frostings made with shortening do.
- Powdered Sugar is a very finely ground sugar which is desirable when making frosting so it will not be as gritty when creamed with butter as granulated sugar would be. The sugar provides all of the sweetness for the buttercream.
- Vanilla is the flavor component of vanilla buttercream and can be omitted or swapped with a different extract to make various flavors. I recommend using a high quality vanilla extract or paste like Neilsen-Massey.
- Milk or Cream is used to thin out the texture of the buttercream especially if a high ratio of sugar is used.
- Salt is used to balance out the sweetness from the sugar.
How to Make Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
The process for making homemade vanilla buttercream is very simple. Start with room temperature butter and beat it in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until it is light in color and fluffy in texture. Then, gradually add in powdered sugar and finally the vanilla and salt.
I prefer a ratio of 1:2.5 butter to sugar for a sweet buttercream but that isn’t overly sweet. This ratio of buttercream usually requires a few tablespoons of milk or cream to thin it out and smooth out the texture.
Tips, Tricks, & Techniques
- It is essential that the butter is at room temperature to make the best buttercream. If your butter is too cold or too warm, it will not cream together properly with the sugar. You want the butter to be soft but not greasy looking or starting to melt.
- Don’t skip the salt! While technically optional, a professional frosting (or any dessert really) will always contain even a small amount of salt to balance out the sweetness.
- Only add the milk or heavy cream in very small increments. Only use enough to thin out the frosting and smooth it out. If you add too much, sprinkle in additional powdered sugar to thicken it back up.
- If you want a buttercream that is lighter in texture, use the whisk attachment instead of the paddle attachment and beat on high for a longer period of time. This will beat air into the buttercream for a more whipped cream texture.
Storage
If not using immediately, store the buttercream in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Allow to come back to room temperature and re-whip to use.
Recipes to pair with vanilla buttercream frosting
MORE RECIPES FROM BAKER BETTIE!
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might like to try these other frosting ideas.
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Simply the Best Buttercream Frosting (made with mascarpone!)
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
This simple homemade vanilla buttercream results in a silky smooth frosting that is easy to pipe. This style of buttercream is known as American buttercream and is the easiest type to make. Use to frost cakes and cupcakes!
Ingredients
- 454 grams (2 cups, 4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 600 grams (5 cups) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 56-84 grams (4-6 tablespoons) milk or heavy cream
Instructions
Prep:
- At least 30 minutes before making the buttercream, take the butter (454 grams/ 2 cups) out of the refrigerator to soften at room temperature.
- Measure out the rest of the ingredients.
To make the buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute, until fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add the powdered sugar (600 grams/ 5 cups) into the mixing bowl and start mixing on low until the sugar starts to combine with the butter. Turn the mixing speed up to medium-high and beat for about 3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla extract (2 teaspoons) and salt (½ teaspoon).
- Add a bit of milk or heavy cream if needed to thin out the texture, only 1 tablespoon at a time. If the texture becomes too thin, you can add a bit more powdered sugar until you get a spreadable consistency.
- If not using immediately, store the buttercream in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Allow to come back to room temperature and re-whip to use.
Notes
This recipe is enough to frost 24 cupcakes, a 3-layer 8-inch (20 cm) cake, or a 2-layer 9-inch (23 cm) cake. Divide the recipe in half for a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) sheet cake.
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24 Comments on “Homemade Vanilla Buttercream Frosting”
What if I only have salted butter? Will that be ok?
Yes. The frosting will be a bit salty, which I do personally like. Just be aware of that! But you can use it!
I made the frosting with my grand daughters & it was delicious! I love your site! Thank you!!!
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it Barb!
Hi, is this frosting consistency suitable for birthday cakes?
Yes it is! It can be used for sheet cakes as well as layered cakes.
Hi i was wondering…can i use margarine instead of butter?
I do not recommend it. Butter is really the shining star in a buttercream recipe.
Does that mean it is a ‘no go area’? Can it be used though?
Would a 1:1 ABC be too soft to use under fondant?
Yes, I suspect it would be too soft.
What if one has a hand mixer can it be used since it doesn’t have paddle attachment for the traditional texture
It can! The whipping beater will create a nice light airy buttercream as opposed to the paddle which will be less airy but smoother. But will be equally as delicious!
I’ve tried other recipes & always was a failure until now! The way you explained the recipe was very easy to follow. I used the whisk attachment and the frosting turnout perfect. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
Can you mix it with any fruit preserve? Will it affect any consistency?
You can however it will be a little thinner. I would use that for a filling but not as an exterior frosting on a cake.
Hello Bettie!
I’m making this American Buttercream as I write this, and was wondering if it’s possible to make different flavored buttercreams? Such as chocolate, or almond, any extract flavor really!
I’m wanting to play around with flavors (I’m a novice baker, but learning) and was wondering if any flavor change beyond a simple extract, if it would upset the entire balance of the recipe. Will adding Cacao powder work?
Thank you so much, I just discovered (and subscribed!) to your YouTube channel, you are an amazing inspiration! ❤️
Absolutely! You can add any extract that you’d like without worrying about stability. Just use enough until you get the taste you are looking for. For chocolate, add a tablespoon at a time of cocoa powder and you should have no problem.
The only thing to be wary of is adding liquids. For example, if you add strawberry jam or too much lemon juice it will be much looser and you won’t be able to frost the outside of a cake however, it would make for a delicious filling flavor! For citrus, you could add just a few splashes of lemon juice as well as lemon zest or extract to get that flavor. Hope this helps!
Love your recipes and all the info. I want to send my niece a bunch of plain sugar cookies and tubs of frosting through the mail, Which frosting would be the best but it does not need to be refrigerated. Thank you for any help.maureen
I would guess American buttercream b/c it doesn’t contain eggs however I am unsure if it will hold up in the warm weather. It may melt!
Hi mam..wo derfull ur explanation s really helpful and gives me confidence to try.planning to make a bday fr my son’s bday.wonder if I follow the vanilla but cream frostin receipe i will get leftover. Hw to store leftover butter cream.can I use same buttercream to make cake pops
Yes, you can use this buttercream to make cake pops! You can store leftover buttercream in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and in the freezer up to 3 months.
Hi, I just wanna say a big thank you for your simple and clear instruction in explaining your recipe, which somehow sheds light on the reason why my buttercream always failed, turning up runny or soupy all the time. It’s to do with my butter:sugar ratio! I used much less powdered sugar, in fact too less to achieve the correct consistency for piping! Thank you so much, now I know I must increase my powdered sugar level in order to achieve the results!
This is a very good base icing. I made the 1:1 ratio. I was looking for information for the least amount of sugar to butter I can use and this was it! I added some cream cheese to taste. No measuring. Enough to make it even less sweet. Thank you very much! I’m going to use this as a base for my oreo cookie icing. Thank you for all the tips!