A staple in any baker’s kitchen, vanilla buttercream frosting is deliciously soft, creamy, and sweet. My favorite recipe for American vanilla buttercream is simple to make and is easily piped onto cakes and cupcakes for a truly memorable dessert.
Finally! A completely separate post for the most common recipe in any baker’s repertoire: vanilla buttercream frosting. This is my favorite vanilla buttercream recipe. There’s nothing fancy, crazy, or complicated about it, but the flavor and texture will certainly taste like you added something special.
But guess what? You didn’t. It’s our little secret.
How to Make American Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
American vanilla buttercream is incredibly simple and much easier than, say, Swiss meringue buttercream. From mixing bowl to decorating cupcakes in less than 10 minutes! Here’s how to make it:
- Beat butter until creamy. Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature before beginning. Use a hand or stand mixer to beat until smooth and creamy.
- Add sugar, cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until these ingredients are incorporated, then bump up the mixer to medium-high speed. At this point, you can add more confectioners’ sugar if the frosting is too thin or a splash of heavy cream if it’s too thick.
- Taste and salt. Add a pinch of salt to offset the sweetness. Trust me on this one!
Buttercream Frosting Ingredients
Buttercream ingredients hardly differ between recipes, but the ratio of ingredients does vary. I’m here to tell you that this careful buttercream formula works EVERY time—my recipe is perfection.
- Butter: We can’t have buttercream without butter. Though salted is fine, I recommend using unsalted butter so you can control the added salt. Whichever you use, make sure you are using room temperature butter.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Sweetens vanilla buttercream and adds stability and pipe-ability to the frosting.
- Heavy Cream: Though whole milk or half-and-half are perfectly acceptable, use heavy cream for maximum creaminess and richness.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Adds that glorious vanilla flavor. And if you use homemade vanilla extract, even better.
- Salt: Offsets the sweetness and adds that little something extra.
This recipe also serves as the jumping point for strawberry buttercream frosting and the cinnamon-swirl frosting from snickerdoodle cupcakes.
For something lighter and less sweet, I recommend this whipped frosting.
Decorating with Buttercream Frosting
The word “creamy” doesn’t even do this stuff justice. But even though it’s supremely creamy, this vanilla buttercream holds its shape beautifully. It’s perfect for piping even the most complicated and intricate designs. When decorating cakes and cupcakes, I gravitate towards the following 5 piping tips. Each creates a completely different look, so that’s why it’s a great collection if you’re just starting out. And these tips won’t break the bank—they’re each pretty inexpensive.
- Wilton 1M (Rose) – a classic piping tip and the easy buttercream rose is a staple decoration. This same tip can also produce a decoration that resembles soft serve ice cream.
- Wilton 8B – one of my all-time favorites.
- Ateco 849 – it’s a pretty wide piping tip. You can make a rose, a soft-serve swirl, or a super easy ruffled look.
- Wilton 12 small round – since it doesn’t have any detailed edges, I love using this tip for silky creamy frostings such as salted caramel frosting and cream cheese frosting.
- Ateco 808 large round – it’s also a round tip, but it’s much larger. Its decoration looks like a big fluffy cloud!
Want to see how to decorate cupcakes? Here’s my how to use piping tips video. And here is how we use this frosting to decorate easy Halloween cupcakes!
How to Rid Vanilla Buttercream of Air Bubbles
Over-whipping vanilla buttercream creates air bubbles. The taste is no different, but the buttercream is no longer smooth and velvety. Here’s how to get rid of air bubbles in your frosting:
Ditch the mixer. Grab a wooden or metal spoon and begin stirring the buttercream by hand. Mash the frosting up against the side of the bowl to “pop” the bubbles. Do this until most of the air bubbles pop, about 1–2 minutes. This trick requires a lot of arm muscle!
Yes, absolutely! You can add various extracts, in addition to the vanilla extract. If doing so, I recommend reducing the vanilla extract to 1 teaspoon. Extracts you can add include 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract, 1/2 teaspoon maple extract, 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract, 1/2 teaspoon orange extract, or 1/4 teaspoon almond extract. Taste the buttercream, and, if desired, beat in an extra splash of extract. Instead of adding extracts, you can keep the vanilla extract as 2 teaspoons, and beat in 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. You could also try this Lemon Buttercream, Chocolate Buttercream, Chai Spice Buttercream, or White Chocolate Buttercream.
Yes, this is American-style buttercream and it’s sweet. If you’re looking for a less-sweet option, try this Whipped Frosting or Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
There are 2 options. You can freeze the buttercream for up to 3 months, and those detailed instructions are in the recipe card below. You can also make it up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it. Remove from the refrigerator and use a mixer to beat it with a splash of room-temperature heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk to help make it creamy and smooth again.
You can keep the buttercream white or tint it with food coloring. To color it, beat in a drop of gel food coloring. (Here is my favorite brand.) I recommend gel food coloring instead of liquid food coloring because liquid can throw off the consistency. For lighter tints, I recommend using the tip of a toothpick to add color, rather than squeezing a whole drop into the bowl of frosting.
Buttercream frosting is typically fine at room temperature for up to 1 day. After that, it’s best to refrigerate it. That said, do what you feel comfortable with; if your kitchen is particularly warm, you may want to refrigerate it on day 1.
Ways to Use Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
I’ve used this vanilla buttercream more times than I can even fathom, but I love it most paired with chocolate cupcakes or vanilla cupcakes. If you scale it up (slightly) you can use it to frost a layered cake, like I do with my white cake recipe (use this how to assemble a layer cake post as a guide). If you add slightly more heavy cream, you can use this as the base for whipped buttercream, as I recommend with my vanilla sheet cake. It also tastes delicious with:
- Lemon Cupcakes
- Confetti Cupcakes
- Vanilla Cake
- Soft Cakey Sugar Cookies
- Brown Sugar Butterscotch Cupcakes
- Checkerboard Cake
- Sugar Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Piñata Cupcakes
- Sugar Cookie Cake
By the way, if you make my homemade vanilla extract, this buttercream tastes even more fantastic. 🙂
Print
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2.5 cups
- Category: Frosting
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is my favorite vanilla buttercream. It’s the perfect vanilla frosting that’s simple, creamy and smooth and tastes unbelievable on vanilla cupcakes!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 – 5 cups (480-600g) confectioners’ sugar (see note)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 4 and 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, the heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed and beat for 2 full minutes. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. I always add 1/8 teaspoon.
- Adjust if needed: You can control the consistency at this point—add up to 1/2 cup more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or more heavy cream if frosting is too thick (add only 1 Tablespoon at a time, beat together, then taste and add more if desired).
- Use immediately or cover tightly and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it’s creamy again. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will help thin the frosting out again, if needed.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it’s creamy again. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of room temperature heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk will help thin the frosting out again, if needed.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer)
- Quantity: This recipe is enough to frost 12-16 cupcakes or a thin layer on a 9×13 inch quarter sheet cake. Follow the ratios written in this white cake for a two layer cake, or for a three layer cake use the ratios in this confetti cake.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: If your confectioners’ sugar is particularly lumpy, I recommend sifting it 1-2x before measuring and using.
- Heavy Cream: I love using heavy cream for the creamiest consistency. You can use half-and-half or whole milk instead if needed. The lower the fat, the less creamy your buttercream will be. Whichever you use, make sure it’s at room temperature. Otherwise your frosting could separate or appear grainy.
- Decorating Tips: Be sure to check out my post on how to use piping tips (with video tutorial!), and my recommendations for essential cake baking & decorating tools.
Reader Comments and Reviews
There use to be a bakery where I was from Th at made the best cakes, the frosting truly made it, this frosting is EXACTLY that frosting! I am so happy I found this recipe. Thank you so much Sally!
NOT GOOD I WAS MAKING CUPCAKES AS A GIFT AND THE FROSTING LITERALLY COMPLETELY SEPARATED really annoyed right now.
I just made some Easter cupcakes with frosting and they turned out great!! Thank you for a tasty treat!
I’ve made this many times!! And it’s everyone’s favorite!! Thank you!!
Were your ingredients at the room temperature? i.e the butter should be soft enough to poke your finger into, but it shouldn’t leave a greasy slick on your finger. if your butter is super soft, then its too warm and needs to be chilled up a bit. If your butter and cream/milk weren’t at room temp. that could cause the buttercream to separate. Try chilling it a bit and then beating again if that happens. it might fix your issue. I’ve made this recipe more times than i can count and i’ve never had it separate. I hope you give it another go. it really is a great frosting. i’m making it again tonight for my sons 9th birthday tomorrow.
I’ve made this recipe at least 40 times and it’s never seperated. Not an issue with the recipe. Check ingredients – especially temp of butter vs temp of heavy whipping cream.
Do the fristed cupcakes need to be refrigerated, or can they be kept out in a covered container for a couple of days? Looking forward to making these!
Hi Carolyn, after decorating anything with buttercream, it’s typically fine for 1 day at room temperature. After that, we would refrigerate it.
I used this recipe on cupcakes that I made for a charity auction. I refrigerated it up until using it but it started melting when I piped it on. I was extremely disappointed in this recipe.
Hi, I’ve been trying new recipes for buttercream, but when i make it i feel its too sweet. What can i add to make it a little less sweet?
Hi Mikayla, You can add an extra pinch of salt to help offset the sweetness. Or for different frosting recipes that are not as sweet you can try this easy Whipped Frosting or Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
Hi, Sally! What can I do to change the color to a blue frosting?
Hi Mi, You can use food coloring (we use and recommend gel food coloring) with this frosting – we do it all the time!
Thank you!
Hi Sally can you use just normal double cream instead of heavy cream for your buttercream?
Hi Rebecca, Heavy cream (approximately 36% milk fat) may also be sold as whipping cream. Light whipping cream (30% milk fat), or double cream (48% milk fat) may be substituted.
I topped the very vanilla cupcakes with this and they were delicious!! I do have frosting left over that I’d like to use for something else. How long will the frosting last in a tupperware in the fridge? Or in the freezer?
Hi Daryl, We are so happy you enjoyed this recipe! You can cover the frosting tightly and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. See the last step in the recipe directions for more details.
Very good Icing I just didn’t realise that I couldn’t substitute the heavy cream for mayonnaise and I was just devastated when I tried it. Maybe mention that next time but other than that it was delicious.
Is this a joke? You were surprised you couldn’t replace heavy cream with a whipped egg and lemon sauce? Please please please tell us this was a joke.
Hi! The links for the larger batch recipes are broken. Where can I find them?
Hi Lizzy, Thank you so much for letting us know! The links are fixed now!
I have made this so I can snack off it for Lunch. Thanks Sally
I made this frosting yesterday. And it turned out beautifully however, when we had my daughters cake last night, it was sickenly sweet. I’ve always used this recipe without fail. I doubled it, and added all the correct adjustments, but no one really liked the frosting 🙁 What could I do the next time if I run into this issue? We love this recipe
Hi Becky, If you have enjoyed it in the past, then it’s possible that something like the salt simply didn’t get doubled this time. If you ever try this again (with any frosting!) and it’s too sweet, adding extra salt can help balance it out.
I’ve made this frosting and put it on boxed cake mix for my students’ birthdays and they go nuts every time! It is SO good-especially with homemade vanilla extract!
Hey Sally! Do you have a frosting recipe using shortening instead of butter? My cottage laws don’t allow buttercream with butter because of fridgeration.
Hi Vanessa, While you can replace half of the butter with shortening for a more stable “crusting buttercream” we don’t recommend replacing all of the butter. You could experiment with butter flavored shortening but we’ve never tested it.
Hi . Is there a good dairy alternative when making buttercream instead of heavy cream or 1/2 & 1/2 ? I never get a good consistency .
Hi Tee, you can try whole milk!
Thanks for the recipe. I tried this out without the cream / the milk as I was scared to dilute the consistency.
The buttercream turned out amazing but it tasted a bit buttery.
Any advice on how to remove the butter taste ?
Can I use food coloring and if so what type? Also, do you have a frosting that has almond extract in it? Can I replace the vanilla extract in this recipe with almond?
Hi Terisal! You can definitely color this buttercream, we always suggest gel food coloring for the most vibrant colors. Use 1 teaspoon of almond extract and 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract for almond flavor. Enjoy!
Hello! I’m wondering, if I need some cream, can I use vanilla Siggi’s yogurt? Has anyone tried? Thank you!
One alternative I tried to using more sugar to thicken the consistency (I used 4c.) was adding 1/4c. of butter powder. I just frosted a couple of cookies with this (wanted something tastier than Royal Frosting) and it seems to hold up well.
A question…my butter (the regular kind, not the powder) turns the frosting color just slightly yellow, although I suppose it appears white “enough” on the cookies; is there some trick with food coloring to neutralize the yellow? I’ve read that Royal frosting can appear a tad gray but can be whitened with a tiny bit of blue food coloring, so I thought there might be something similar for buttercream. If not it’s close enough but one never stops learning!
Hi Terry! Similar to your trick to royal icing, a *very* tiny drop of purple food gel food coloring will whiten your frosting!
Hi Sally
So hard to find a good buttercream recipe. This one is amazing! Would you be any chance have the ratios to frost 100 cupcakes?
Thanks!
Hi Tanya, we’re so glad you’ve been enjoying this buttercream! This recipe yields enough to frost 12-16 cupcakes, depending on how heavily you’d like to frost them. Feel free to scale up for your needs (doubling should work just fine, but after that you’ll likely want to make separate batches so as not to overwhelm your mixer).
Do you have to refrigerate the cupcakes if you use this frosting?
Hi Laura! After decorating anything with buttercream, it’s fine for 1 day at room temperature. After that, we would refrigerate it. But, use your best judgment and whatever you are comfortable with- we’ve never had any problems leaving frosted desserts at room temperature for a day
it was amazing, I just wanted to eat it from the bowl with a spoon
Hi Sally! Does the heavy cream need to be room temperature or should I leave it cold?
Hi Jessica, cold is *fine* but room temperature is best. Butter can separate if using cold cream.
How could I make it so a diabetic can have it too?
Hi Angela! We’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a frosting recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes or low sugar options. Thank you!
Love all of your recipes! I’m not a big fan of super sweet desserts, so I only used 3 cups of powdered sugar and the consistency was perfect to frost my cupcakes! Tasted like frosting bought at high end bakeries. I’m now a fan of buttercream frosting. Thank you!
Too sweet
I Live in south florida, its very hot and humid, will this hold its shape when piping cupcakes in 80 degrees? What kind of heat does it hold.up to well? Should i be usiing shortening if it doesnt hold up? Also is this sweeter than SMBC? I usually make a easy smbc but it doesnt hold up.
Hi Cassie, this buttercream is pretty stable, but you can certainly swap some of the butter for shortening for a “crustier” buttercream that will hold shape even longer. Yes, this is sweeter than Swiss meringue buttercream.
Hi Sally, how many cupcakes can you frost with this recipe? I’ve baked 36 cupcakes. Do I need to double this recipe?
Hi Kate, This recipe is enough to frost 12-16 cupcakes. You can definitely double the recipe for more.
For the pistachio cake do you beat the egg whites stiff before adding to the batter?
Hi Maryam, no, you do not need to beat the egg whites before adding to the batter. See step 4 in the pistachio cake recipe for more details.
I am decorating 100 cupcakes for an event. Can I freeze these after decorating? I want them to be fresh as possible on the day, but I need some time to work at it ahead of time – I can’t make them the day of. The cupcakes are coming to me frozen. Alternatively, how long will they stay fresh if not freezable?
Thanks!
Hi Linda! Frosted or unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. You can also make this buttercream ahead of time, freeze, and top the cupcakes the day of the event – see step 3 for details.
Hi,
I just wanted to let you know that my cupcakes turned out beautifully and the icing was delicious. I didn’t end up freezing them as we put fresh blueberries on top, but having the cupcakes frozen before frosting worked out perfectly. Thanks for another great recipe!
This butter cream is so delicious and easy to make. I have a question, I don’t have piping bag or tips. How can I make a professional look without using a piping bag?
Hi Lily, We often just use a knife or small spatula to simply swipe the frosting on top of cupcakes – then add a few sprinkles if you wish! One example is the photos of these vanilla cupcakes.
use a large freezer bag
Or you can use a ziplock bag and snip the bottom corner
Hello! This is the best frosting! Quick question…do you think it’s ok to halve the recipe?
Does a cake with this frosting need refrigerated? I’m donating it to an event.
Hi Judy, cake with a buttercream frosting like this is usually okay at room temperature for about a day, then we recommend storing in the refrigerator. Depending on the weather and where you live, it might be best stored in the refrigerator before that point. Hope this helps!
perfection – like all Sally’s recipes!