Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe

My Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe is one of the easiest and best frosting recipes – this is my GO-TO for every cake I make. I’ve been making it for years and have a secret ingredient that makes it extra fluffy.

If you need a simple buttercream for any cake or batch of cupcakes, this is the one to use!

This is an American Buttercream recipe – fluffy and sweet with butter and powdered sugar. It’s my favorite frosting for cakes, cupcakes and cookies and it’s easy to color too!

Ingredients in Vanilla Frosting

There are just FIVE simple ingredients in a basic frosting.

Since this is such a simple recipe with not too many ingredients, you want to use the BEST ingredients possible. Let’s talk about each one separately:

Butter: use a good one for best flavor. Also, use REAL butter, not margarine or any substitutes. My favorite butter is, as always, Challenge. Just use a good one; I don’t recommend cheap store brands when butter is an integral ingredient, like in frosting. Make sure the butter is softened before making the frosting.

Powdered Sugar, also called confectioners sugar, is the building block of this frosting. There are no substitutions for this. Some people sift their sugar, but I just scoop it from the container – be sure NOT to pack it or your frosting will be too sweet.

Salt seems like something that doesn’t belong in frosting but I always add it to deepen the flavor as well as cut or enrich the sweetness of the frosting.

If you’re using UNSALTED butter, you need to add 1/2 teaspoon. If you use SALTED butter you can reduce that to 1/4 teaspoon or omit and add after the fact, to taste.

Vanilla Extract: only use PURE vanilla. Please, in general, never buy imitation. My favorite vanilla to use in frosting is actually Vanilla Bean Paste, which has those little bean flecks but is cheaper than buying actual vanilla beans. Use what you have, but always buy PURE vanilla.

How to make Vanilla Buttercream

Making this classic frosting recipe is easy.

My favorite way to make this frosting is in a stand mixer, but you can also use a hand mixer. (See the bottom of this post for links to my favorite products.)

You’re going to want to start with softened butter. (If you’ve forgotten this step, read how to soften butter quickly.)

1. Beat the butter for a few seconds first, to get it nice and smooth.
2. Add some powdered sugar. Don’t add all your powdered sugar at once; I like to add it one cup at a time, mixing between each, because if you add too much it will fly everywhere.
3. Continue mixing adding more powdered sugar.
4. Mix in the salt and vanilla.
5. At this point your mixture will be crumbly if you’re using a hand mixer. It might me more smooth if you’re using a stand mixer.
6. Add a bit of heavy whipping cream. You’ll see that I list a range of tablespoon amounts for the cream and that is because the amount of cream you use depends on the texture you want and it also depends on how soft your butter is when you start. I usually use about 2 tablespoons.

I like to beat the frosting on medium speed until it’s nice and smooth and the heavy whipping cream is mixed in, making the frosting nice and fluffy.

Note: it’ll take longer on a stand mixer, and you may need to add the cream while it’s still crumbly because it takes longer to mix with a hand mixer.

Expert Tips

• Be sure to measure your powdered sugar correctly (spoon and level it). I prefer weighing it if you have a scale. It doesn’t really matter if you have more powdered sugar in your frosting, but it means you may need more cream, and your frosting will be sweeter.
• Use salted or unsalted butter in frosting, but you need to add salt regardless (add more if using unsalted butter).
• The heavy whipping cream makes a whipped buttercream frosting that’s fluffy and sweet. I’ll never use milk in frosting again!
• This vanilla frosting recipe is perfect for piping on cupcakes or cake or using on sugar cookies.
• If you want to color your buttercream frosting, I suggest using GEL food coloring instead of water-based (grocery store) food coloring. Gel colors are richer, more vibrant, and won’t thin the frosting.

FAQ about this Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Uses for Buttercream

Other than eating it with a spoon, here are a few ways we love to use this frosting:

• Yellow Cake with vanilla frosting is my favorite!
• Chocolate Cake is great with vanilla buttercream too!
• Sugar Cookie Cake with a bit of easy vanilla frosting and sprinkles!
• Piñata Cupcakes with a swirl of whipped buttercream frosting hiding the opening with sprinkles.
• Funfetti Cake is great with vanilla buttercream – just add sprinkles to the icing.
• Sugar Cookies are a favorite, especially with this vanilla buttercream recipe!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

5 from 2 votes

This is the BEST Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe and perfect to use on any layer cake, sheet cake or cupcakes. It's easy with just 5 ingredients and absolutely delicious.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Yield 16 servings

Serving Size 1 serving

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Ingredients

  

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• 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter softened
• 4 cups (452g) powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt (see note)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2-3 tablespoons (30-45ml) heavy whipping cream see note

Instructions

• Beat butter with a hand or a stand mixer until smooth, then add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing in between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add the salt and vanilla, mix until smooth.
• Add 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream and beat on medium high speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy and the desired consistency.
• Note on mixing: if you’re using a hand mixer it’ll stay crumbly for quite some time; add the heavy whipping cream to help it come together.
• If you feel like you need a little more to get to the consistency you like, you can add up to another 1 tablespoon, adding a teaspoon at a time. This differs each time you make it depending on what mixer you’re using or how hot it is (the buttercream comes together easier in summer, for example, when the kitchen is warmer).
• Frost as desired; will frost one 9×13-inch cake or a 9-inch layer cake or 24 cupcakes. If you like extra frosting for decorating, make a double batch.
• Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days and allow to come to room temperature before using; you may need to add some extra cream to thin it.
• You can freeze the frosting too for up to a month. Just let it defrost in the refrigerator then at room temperature before using.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

If using salted butter, reduce salt to 1/4 teaspoon or omit the salt and add it to taste (if the frosting seems bland or too sweet, add salt).

In place of heavy whipping cream you can use whipping cream, half and half, any milk, or non-dairy milk but the less fat in the milk the thinner the frosting will be, so use less (start with 1 Tbsp). To make vegan frosting, substitute non-dairy milk and Earth’s Balance Vegan Butter Sticks.

This recipe works best with gel food coloring for tinting.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 3mg | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 382IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Dorothy Kern

Keyword frosting

Don’t forget to share a pic of what you made!

Tag me @crazyforcrust on Instagram

Favorite Equipment and Tools

• KitchenAid Stand Mixer
• Disposable Pastry Bags
• 1M Rose Tip
• Offset spatula

This is the best Vanilla Buttercream frosting recipe! It’s so easy to make and tastes way better than the container at the store. You’ll never need to shop for buttercream again!

Last Updated on June 17, 2022