How to Make the Best Buttercream Icing that's perfectly creamy, sweet, and can be made ahead of time. Plus tons of flavor customizations listed and a step-by-step video! Download my free Buttercream guide here!
Yield:
3 cups
Prep Time:5minutes
Cook:10minutes
There’s nothing worse than the sickeningly sweet and artificial-tasting frosting that comes prepacked or that’s loaded onto grocery store birthday cakes.
I seriously despise that stuff and would rather eat nothing (which is saying something for this sweet toothed girl). That’s why making buttercream from scratch is the only way to go. It may seem complicated but it’s actually ridiculously easy and this post is all you’ll need to not just learn how make the best buttercream, but how to make it ahead of time and how to customize it with over a dozen flavor options.
Check out the step-by-step video below so you can actually see what every step looks like, which if you’re a visual learner like myself you’ll find super helpful. The flavor ideas and full printable recipe are just below, plus some more links to other posts you’ll love.
Flavor Ideas:
You may need to adjust the powdered sugar ratio depending on your flavor preferences and adjust the cream ratio depending on your texture preferences.
Chocolate
Add 1/2 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
Strawberry
Add 1/3 cup seedless strawberry preserves and a few drops of red food coloring
Raspberry
Add 1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves and a few drops of red food coloring
Mocha
Add 1/2 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder and 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Use 3/4 light brown sugar in place of all powdered sugar, add 1 1/4 cups flour, and garnish with mini chocolate chips
Chocolate Malt
Add 1/2 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 cup malted milk powder, and use 1/4 cup milk, plus more if needed
Peanut Butter
Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter and reduce the powdered sugar to 2 1/2 cups
Irish Cream Buttercream
Use Bailey’s Irish Cream instead of cream
Kahlua
Add in 1/2 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder and 1/2 cup Kahlua in place of the cream
Mint
Add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract and a few drops of green food coloring
Nutella
Add in 2/3 cup Nutella and reduce powdered sugar to 2 cups
Lemon (or any other citrus)
Add in 2 tablespoons lemon zest and 3 tablespoons lemon juice and increase powdered sugar to 3 1/2 cups
Coconut
Add in 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
Cinnamon
Add 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Pumpkin
Add in 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, remove cream
Salted Caramel
Add in 1/3 cup caramel topping and increase salt to 1 teaspoon, remove cream
4.95 from 17 votes
How to make
the Best Buttercream
Yield:3cups
Prep Time:5minutes
Cook Time:10minutes
Total Time:15minutes
How to Make the Best Buttercream Icing that's perfectly creamy, sweet, and can be made ahead of time. Plus tons of flavor customizations listed and a step-by-step video! Download my free Buttercream guide here!
Ingredients
3cups(375 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
8ounces(227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4teaspoonfine salt
2teaspoonspure vanilla extract
1 to 2tablespoonsheavy or whipping cream
Directions
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the salt, vanilla, and cream and beat on medium for 1 minute, adding more cream if needed.
STORAGE:
Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature and re-whip in the stand mixer until light and fluffy again. Add a tablespoon or 2 of powdered sugar if it needs to thicken.
I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)
I’m sorry but I think THREE cups of sugar and TWO sticks of butter is way too much. How can something with 3 cups of sugar NOT be really way too sweet?
Mindy – powdered sugar isn’t as dense as regular sugar so it may LOOK like more than it actually is. Some buttercream recipes actually call for 4 cups of powdered sugar so this is relatively conservative! Feel free to also adjust the sugar ratio to your preferences.
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness — January 28, 2015 at 5:29 am
I LOVE all your baking how-tos! I am the worst buttercream maker. So I just never make it…which is sad because buttercream is the bomb!
Thanks for the great tutorial! Pinned!
Carol- Do you have an actual stick of butter in your fridge? If so, go look at it!
The recipe is correct – Each stick of Butter is 8oz so 2 sticks is 16 oz or 1 cup.
Other than that, the recipe looks great and I look forward to trying it.
Have a great day
Lei- Can’t we all just get along and be nice? 2 tablespoons = 1 oz. 8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup or 1 cube = 4 oz.
On a happier note, love Handle the Heat, Tessa. Your slow cooker pork carnitas are cooling in the the slow cooker as I type. Also, do you like Italian Meringue Buttercream? Less sweet, but they both definitely have their advantages.
Arrgh, I was hoping it was the swiss meringue buttercream!!! 🙂 I have a problem with it, especially with the lemon one, because once it just split and I was sooooooo sad ;-(
Can I hope to see it here soon or late?
I’m so happy I found this post!! Sounds like just the right buttery sweetness and consistency I’ve been searching for…this doesn’t sound too sweet at all. Most of my recipes call for at least 4-5 cups of powdered sugar per 2 sticks of butter, which is more sweetness than my family can handle most days. And I’m really looking forward to trying some of the flavor additions you posted as well. Thanks, Tessa 🙂
This is brilliant and so convenient! Now I can make butter cream with everyone’s favorite flavor on their birthday. When do I add the flavor in the beginning or at the end? Thank you!
I have a quick question…I’ve done a cake recipe, which calls for cool butter and the cake looks beautiful at first but them completely sinks. I’ve done it twice and the same thing happened both times. Can it be the cold butter? I’ve done a number of cakes and they always come out perfect. Thanks for your help!
It may be your that you leavener is expired (baking soda or baking powder), that the butter and sugar were over-beaten, or that the oven temperature was off (use an oven thermometer). It may also just be the recipe, some cakes are ultra moist and tend to sink a little bit (my favorite chocolate cake does this).
Thanks! I love your recipes and guides! I agree 3 cups is both conservative and laudable!
Almost all recipes assume posession of a standing mixer. I’ve made icings in the past without them. In your opinion, are standing mixers really necessary for frosting? Any tips to ensure one with a hand mixer doesn’t screw it up? I’m fairly conservative with my counter space, but don’t want to sacrafice good cupcakes. 🙂
I love you blog! I’ve made many of your recipes. I think it’s completely hilarious how people want to correct you on your butter cream recipe. Lol! I’m not sure if people know this, but, butter cream isn’t meant to be low calorie/low sugar. Ha! I make my mine with the same exact measurements. And it’s delicious! Keep doing what you’re doing.
this recipe is awesome! I used salted butter and added the additional salt on accident. It was ok but too salty. If you use salted butter don’t add any salt! I need to pay a little bit more attention! I remade it with salted butter and no additional salt and it was amazing!
He…he…I had to giggle at a lot of the ‘fix your recipe’ requests:) I used to have a cupcake business and this is very similar to the recipe I used for buttercream (except I added 2 tbsp. of heavy whip cream at the end and beat on high for 2 minutes- exceptional fluffy!). Your recipe looks spot on and perfect:) Best wishes!
not sure what kind of butter you are using Lei, but I have a 1 pound package of Land O Lakes butter. It has 4 sticks and it states: “1 stick equals 1/2 cup, 1 pound equals 2 cups or 4 sticks”. One pound has always been 16 ounces and if a 16 ounce package of butter has 4 sticks in it then 2 sticks equals 1 cup of butter, 4 sticks equals 2 cups. A cup is 8 ounces……or 2 sticks of butter. Each stick has 8 tablespoons…..not 8 ounces.
Hello Tessa, thank you for all your awesome recipes!!!
I made the valentine’s cake with this butter cream, but as soon as i added the strawberry preserve to the mixture it split (i think that’s the right work for it) the oil or fat from the preserve was flooding on the top, it tasted very good. i followed the recipe just like you listed. What did i do wrong?? I had to use regular store bought butter cream. Please help.
anxious to give this a try. do you measure the powdered sugar before or after you sift it? looks likes this pipes well??? will it crust? ……. thank you so much….. sue
If it says 3 cups of sifted powdered sugar, then you sift and then measure 3 cups. This recipe calls for 3 cups of powdered sugar, sifted. So you measure and then sift. Hope that helps.
Made the Nutella version – outstanding! Got rave reviews at work, too! Followed the recipe to the letter. Sooooo yummy! Definitely a keeper 🙂
Thank you!
Hi there. Quick question. I’m having a cupcake decorating table at my daughters upcoming birthday. I was going to ice the cupcakes and they will just add the sprinkles etc. I will ice the cupcakes the morning of the party. Will this buttercream icing be soft enough that sprinkles will stick to it a few hours after it is piped? I have a great buttercream icing but I know that it will not go hard but certainly harden 2 or 3 hours after it is piped and sprinkles can not be applied after this. I look forward to hearing from you. Many thanks, Penny.
I love this blog! I can’t believe it has everything i want to know about! I love your you tube vids and this blog! Can’t wait to try the butter cream recipe!!!
Penny: the buttercream will crust over after a while therefore the sprinkles will not stick. it’s best to ice them at the time the kids will be making them. hope that helps.
What is the weight of powdered sugar? (We don’t usually use cup measures in the UK) I assume powdered sugar is what we call icing sugar, I’ve always made buttercream with just icing sugar, butter and flavouring, does adding real cream mean that cakes have to be refridgerated once decorated?
I saw your video on how to frost cupcakes and I was just wondering what you use to hold the nozzle.. I just place mine into the bag but yours looks different.
@Melani
Yes! Buttermilk CAN be homemade! The recipe I’ve seen is 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar and milk. What you do is you add the lemon juice to the measuring cup, then fill to the correct amount. If this is wrong, please correct me!
This really is the best buttercream icing recipe. i’ve tried others and you can really taste the powdered sugar in them — not good. This is creamy and sweet (but not too sweet) and delicious! Also, I didn’t have any cream, so I put in a big dollop of whipped cream (haha). Worked beautifully! Can’t wait to try the variations!
Robin @thebakingexchange — June 22, 2015 at 7:03 pm
Hi Tessa, I once made cupcake icing with normal white sugar (not powdered sugar) and it was horrible, all grainy and gritty. I was surprised to see you list brown sugar as the sugar for the cookie dough variation. Wouldn’t that also have a gritty texture or is it different? Thanks!
Hey Tessa! I am obsessed with your buttercream recipe. I usually make the chocolate and it is ridiculously good. Seriously amazing! However, I am curious about your cookie dough buttercream. Wouldn’t the brown sugar make the buttercream quite grainy? Thanks!
In the video I did not see you add the salt. Is that a step to omit or did you just not show it in the video. I’m not trying to be picky, I want to make sure I get the best buttercream due to the fact yours look so delicious.
I’m going to regret giving away my secrets. Using Crisco instead of butter will keep your frosting from melting in warm weather.Use 2 pounds of powdered sugar for each cup of shortening and beat the daylights out of it. It takes at least 5 minutes in the mixer before it’s properly incorporated.
Hi, are the cup measures, US cups or UK cups? Also can you please provide gram amounts for the icing sugar and all the flavour variations ? It’s more accurate to measure in grams than cups.
Hi Tessa, thanks for the help, the measuring guide is really helpful! Just a couple more things: firstly what’s pumpkin pie spice? Don’t think we have anything like that in the UK, are there any spices I can mix to make my own version?
Also what about a banana buttercream? Some extracts either aren’t available in the UK or they taste nothing like what they’re supposed to… I was thinking about using banana milkshake (nesquick) to make some banana buttercream.. any idea how I’d do that? Want the buttercream to be smooth…
And also coconut… carnt seem to find coconut extract, what about coconut milk? How much do I add/ how do I change the recipe?
I’ve never had banana milkshake powder so I really can’t say! Also, I’m not sure coconut milk would provide a whole lot of coconut flavor because you’d be using such a small amount. If you like the texture of shredded coconut, I’d add some either in the buttercream or sprinkle with toasted coconut on top.
Laura
– 1 stick = 4oz = 113 grams of butter. Check out Tessa s measuring guide, it has all the ingredients listed and the gram and oz conversions for each ingredient… https://handletheheat.com/ultimate-guide-measuring/
Hi
I have a doubt.i have done many cakes,it come out very well soft and fluffy,after icing it,I’ll store in fridge,but when we cut it its getting hard.
How to store a buttercream cake.
How many days can I store buttercream cake and fondant cake and how to store them.
Waiting for your reply
Regards
Saranya
This is a beautiful recipe. I have just used it….buttercream seems to be my Achilles heel! This one was masterful and so very easy!! Can’t wait to pipe it onto my 12 dozen cupcakes later this week.
I’ve tried making it and it’s still too sweet and rough. and when i pipe it it wont hold. I guess it depends on the powdered sugar, my cousin says powdered sugar differ in every country. So now i tried crisco shorthening 1 can and added little powdered sugar, just to make it enough sweet. Can this be a frosting or it is not good to have too much veg shortening? i never saw recipe like this in the internet but the taste is familiar to other cakes i have tasted before.
I have used this recipe which is great,But I have used other creamers to do other flavors which are very tasty,Plus have used other flavored extract and colors. This is a truly great tasting butter cream recipe
This post is much appreciated as I have yet to find “the perfect buttercream ” (I haven’t tried this yet). My question is, in the directions, it says powdered sugar, sifted, but in your video you say sifted powdered sugar. How it’s said/written makes a difference, as one means sift first and then measure, and the other means measure first and then sift. Which do I do for this recipe? Thanks much.
In order to print your recipe I have to print all the comments that I do not want. My favorite on line recipes are condensed and concise without any comments.
Hi Janice! Are you clicking on the print icon near the recipe? That should pull up a condensed version of the post without comments. Please let me know if that works for you!
I am looking for a frosting that hardens to use on “cake pops”. They need a hard shell like dipping them in chocolate candy melts provides, but I would prefer to have some flavor options. Thank you. I love this blog.
I am looking for a frosting that hardens to use on “cake pops”. They need a hard shell like dipping them in chocolate candy melts provides, but I would prefer to have some flavor options. Thank you. I love this blog.
Hello I wanted to know if this recipe melts. I make an awesome buttercream but i add shortening and it doesnt taste greasy it has a wonderful taste (per my customers) in the past i have tried making buttercream with out shortening but it eventually melts
Well since butter and sugar are the primary ingredients, yes it will taste sweet and buttery. You can always reduce the amount of sugar and use shortening instead of butter if you prefer.
I loved watching you Demonstrate how to simply make your frosting. I look forward to more Info and amazing recipes. I love to bake but get frustrated when things don’t turn out the way you think they should etc… I feel as though all that’s about to change with watching your video.
I was up in the wee hours of the morning very sick with cough and cold. Now I’m glad I was. I found you, your video, and many lovely ideas of how to make my baking much more rewarding.
Tessa God Bless my question is what could I use instead of heavy whipping cream cause I hate to throw the rest away if I only use a few tablespoon of I how good will this hold up in very hot weather after making cupcakes can they be left on the kitchen counter ?
My only question is regarding refrigeration after icing your cake/cupcakes because of the cream. If I’m making a cake for a party chances are it’s not going to be able to fit in the fridge until it’s served. I’ve always been concerned about this. And my buttercream has always turned out sickeningly sweet based on general BC recipes I’ve tried. I’ll try this one with less sugar and hope for the best.
Loved watching the Valentine’s cake video and this one on the buttercream frosting too.
Can’t wait to make them both!
You do a fantastic job with this site.
Keep up the good work!
Hi Tessa love love you buttercream, plus all the ideas you can do with is I am love to bake even though I have no training I just take the recipes and follow the instructions correctly. I have a question in your comment on the buttercream recipe you stated that this recipes can be double for an 8 and 9 in cake when it comes to doubling recipes I am NOT good at it. could you please help how to double this for a cake without me making to separate buttercream. Oh also for a 10 in cake. Thanks and keep it up.
Hi. Enjoyed watching your video. I will be trying to make regular buttercream hopefully it comes out. Can I substitute the whipping cream for something else?
Hi Tessa love love you buttercream, plus all the ideas you can do with is I am love to bake even though I have no training I just take the recipes and follow the instructions correctly. I have a question in your comment on the buttercream recipe you stated that this recipes can be double for an 8 and 9 in cake when it comes to doubling recipes I am NOT good at it. could you please help how to double this for a cake without me making to separate buttercream. Oh also for a 10 in cake. Thanks and keep it up.
Hi Tessa, I just tried your frosting recipe and it was great! Ive tried another one that required to cook sugar,flour,cornstarch, over stovetop and it was also very good. I love both recipes and will use these ones all the time. Will have to try the different flavors as well. For your recipe I used vanilla bean paste and it turned out just as good as extract. I love that you can see the little specks of bean in it. You can buy this online or I bought it at a bulk store in Canada. I have yet to try the REAL vanilla bean. Next time. Thanks for the recipe and video.
I just tried this buttercream and it is delicious. I used salted butter and left out the additional salt and 2 TBS of whipping cream. If I added more cream would it make it lighter/fluffier?
I have never made buttercream before and would like to use it to frost a large number of cupcakes. But since it will be a busy day tomorrow, can I frost them today and will they be ok out of the fridge until tomorrow afternoon?
Hi Tessa, I was looking for a less sweet buttercream for my gluten free chocolate cupcakes and was drawn to this recipe because of the added whipping cream. It is just delicious! I’d look to try to salted caramel but wasn’t clear on directions. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
I have made buttercream and trust me you need all the sugar and butter to make it perfect, absolutely love it and have now made the plain buttercream twice and everyone loved it. Now I’m guna start with the flavoured buttercream looking forward to trying the peanut butter one especially 🙂 thank you for your tips 🙂 xx
Hmmm…this was interesting. I decided to move from canned frosting to fresh. I used to make frosting before canned, but I couldn’t remember the recipe. I remembered my mother making frosting from scratch. Now I see that the recipe can be made with variations, crisco, butter, etc.
After watching a kids cupcake bake-off my daughter (age 10 ) got inspired to “create” her own cupcakes from scratch. I’m not a baker and never made anything from scratch. She is so daring and we checked out a basic vanilla cake receipt last night. She made pineapple vanilla cupcakes and wants to now add coconut frosting (from scratch of course) I’m embarrassed to say I really had no idea how one makes frosting from scratch. I’ve only ever made a glaze for a cookie from powdered sugar, food coloring and water. I saw your blog and it looks pretty easy. Like the video, a good tool for teaching an inpatient young cook who doesn’t always like to read all the directions. excited to try it out. Looks like a nice receipt we can reuse and tailor
How much Wilton concentrated gel icing colors do I need to look like baby blue color? You put 1/4 teaspoon to yours. People seems to use tooth picks to test out the colors. I am afraid to put too much. Thanks!
Tessa good evening .I am living in south Amerika where the temperature is always warm or hot its always summer over here.How can i make a thikker buttercream that will not melt easily.
thank you
Question, I found this recipe randomly while trying to find the perfect buttercream frosting for a cake I’m making and I was just wondering, do you think this recipe would go well under fondant? Have you tried it under fondant?
I have been looking for, and trying, different buttercream recipes. This is now my go-to recipe! The texture is great and holds it shape. I am Phoenix, where it’s hot, I will have to see how this holds up for a park party I have planned for my son’s birthday next month. I have tried the chocolate and peanut butter variations and the flavors are excellent. I did omit the cream from the peanut butter recipe, I didn’t want it too thin. So far, so good! Thank you for sharing this recipe along with the other flavor options.
For a long time I’ve been trying to find the best buttercream – something not to sweet and easy to pipe until I found this and it’s great! You can really taste the difference between the american wilton buttercream and this all butter recipe. It’s by far the best recipe I’ve come across 🙂 Oh and the flavour options are incredible.
Tessa how long at room temperature can a cake with buttercream be left. I have made buttercream in the past using water instead of cream. I’m making a wedding cake for my niece. If I use cream will the icing be ok for 5-6 hours at room temp – or longer. Thanks I like your website!
What if you don’t have a mixer. My sisters birthday is coming up soon and I can barely afford the ingredients to make it let alone a mixer. Please help!
You can use a hand-held mixer! You do need something electric for light and fluffy buttercream. Maybe borrow a had held one from a neighbor or friend? Good luck!
Making this frosting in Cotton Candy flavor to top Confetti Cupcakes for 6-year-old’s birthday party. Two questions: Will it melt easily? Florida heat & humidity melts most frosting so subbing butter-flavor Crisco for some of the real butter makes frosting hold up longer.
How to make Cotton Candy flavoring? Can’t find Cotton Candy Extract, no time to order bulk cotton candy floss sugar from Amazon or Webstaurant. Help!!
TYVM for your time & AWESOME recipes!!!
Hi Jean! Although I really prefer the flavor and texture of butter, if you’re worried about melting then of course Crisco can be a good way to offset that. I’d also refrigerate the cupcakes until the party so they don’t melt as quickly. I have no clue how to make cotton candy flavor unfortunately! Never tasted or tried that before.
I am planning on using buttercream as a filling for my daughter’s birthday cake however I want to use fondant to decorate the the iutside which can not be refrigerated. Will filling the cake with the buttercream the day before or two and not refrigerate it be ok as the receipe calls for cream?
Just made this! There was a certain taste I wanted and after researching several recipes I went with this one and it’s AWESOME! Thanks so much for sharing this! I looooove cooking but baking is new territory for me. This went great with the scratch cupcakes I made tonight for my daughters birthday!
Hi Tessa!! I was wondering if this buttercream consistency is only for cupcakes or will it stay consistent enough to fill and frost a fondant covered cake? I just love all the flavors suggestions btw!!!
Hey there and thank you for this WONDERFUL recipe!!! It is the best I have ever made… I ALWAYS double the recipe song can freeze the rest so I’ll always have it… The only change I made the second time I made it was instead of 2 sticks of butter I used 1 stick of butter and 1 stick of crisco shortening… I think it pipes much easier and holds the shape better… My kids are always asking me to just make the icing because they love it so much… I tend to lick the bowl myself… And it also stays better in the heat… Move over processed immatation frosting!!!!
How far in advance can the cake be iced with this if there is cream? I’m looking to decorate my cake 1 or possibly 2 days in advance (fondant would be fine but I’m considering using buttercream).
I live in Arizona which is hot almost always and I bake cakes as a hobbies however I made a cake using buttercream frosting and it melted. It went some completely smooth and creamy to a soft melting mess. How can I help this without using shortening? Your frosting look beautiful but can it with stand high temperatures of heat?
I live in AZ too! Buttercream will basically melt at the melting point of butter, which is around 90°F. So any cakes exposed to that heat for longer than a few minutes will start to melt. One way to combat that is to fully refrigerate the cake before you plan to serve it. Then, it will warm up with the high outside temps to be ready for serving and will take longer to melt. Does that make sense?
Wow! This recipe was great! I had made a buttercream frosting for some cupcakes i baked the other day and the recipe that came with the cupcakes was simply way to thin… It dripped all over my cupcakes and made it very messy to eat. Later I had found this recipe, made it, and loved it! It was the perfect consistency and when I it onto my cupcakes, it held it’s shape! This recipe is simply delicious and I will definitely make it again. Five Stars all the way!
I made this tonight and it was incredible. I’ve been trying different vanilla buttercream recipes for a while now trying to find this exact combination. The taste and texture were spot on and no fancy ingredients! My search is over. Thank you for posting this.
(Also, half of this recipe was the perfect amount of frosting to frost the top of a 9×13.)
I’ve made your basic buttercream and it came out absolutely perfect. Just the right amount of sweet for my strawberry filled cupcakes. I can’t wait to try the other flavor combinations. Just one question…..what suggestions would you have for a peach flavored buttercream? Thank you for your great recipes, ideas and tips. Love em!!
Thanks so much, Kathy! Happy to hear that. I haven’t tried peach flavored buttercream before, but I think peach jam or preserves should work nicely (like the strawberry or raspberry flavor variation listed above).
Hi Tessa, your butter cream recipe sounds awesome ! I can’t wait to try it .I have two questions 1) In the UK here we have whipping cream and pouring cream which one do I use? 2) can I use this buttercream to cream coat a cake that I intend to cover with fondant which would need to stay out in room temperature until it’s ready to eat in two days ? Worried the cream in the butter cream would go off ! Help !
Hi! I’m not sure what pouring cream is, but whipping cream should work. This buttercream works under fondant and should last for that amount of time as long as it’s a cool room temp. The sugar in the recipe actually helps to act a preservative and prevents bacteria from growing.
Hi Tessa,
First of all, awesome video !
I’ve got a question, can I use this recipe for piping flowers like roses and ranunculus ? I live in Malaysia and find that italian or swiss buttercream melts real quick even with 30% shortening added into the recipe.
Thank you.
This looks delicious and I am going to give it a try! I have a quick question about the chocolate chip cookie dough flavoring. It states to use 3/4 brown sugar in place of all powdered sugar. Does this mean I use 3/4 cup powdered sugar with 2 1/4 cups brown sugar? I just want to make sure I have the measurements correct and that you didn’t mean to use only 3/4 cup of brown sugar…thanks!
No, you replace ALL of the powdered sugar called for with only 3/4 cup brown sugar. I’m not sure how else to state that. Brown sugar weighs much much more than powdered sugar, so by volume it may seem like a lot less but that’s the correct amount. Make sense?
I typically just keep the cake in the fridge until the party / picnic / event or whatever begins. That way the it starts cold and will warm to room temperature when it’s ready to be served. Anything that may keep it from melting will likely be an artificial preservative that will negatively impact the flavor and/or texture.
Wow, this is awesome frosting!! I just made THREE batches! One was raspberry buttercream and the other two were Baileys Irish Cream Raspberry buttercream. So delish!! And to answer the person who was worried about the sweetness – I made the regular buttercream with the sugar and butter and it was sweet, but by adding the baileys to it – believe it or not it was less sweet, and with just the raspberry all fruit jam it was also less sweet. So good and easy to use!! Thanks for these ideas!
What the best brand of confectioners sugar and butter? Because no matter what kind I use, I still think it tastes bad! It could be the recipes I’ve been using but I was just wondering if maybe the brands I’m using were the issue!
Hi!!! Just came to your page since your recipe for buttercream seems to be the easiest one in the Internet – I am a total newbie, it’s gonna be my first time making it!
I saw in some pages that it can be added some food colorant in order to obtain colourful buttercream, but I don’t know how it would affect the consistency, neither I know how much colorant I should add to it or if it would require any modification of the recipe.
I would be extremely thankful if you could help me with this.
Best wishes from Spain!!!
Hi Lucia! The food coloring will completely depend on the type you use: liquid, gel, or paste. The more liquid the food coloring is, the less cream you should add to your buttercream. I like high quality gel food colorings because a little goes a long way, and they won’t interfere too much with the texture of the frosting. Start with a few drops then add more until you get your desired color. If you end up adding so much coloring that it thins the frosting, simply add a few more tablespoons of powdered sugar until it’s the right consistency 🙂
Hi, Tessa, I love your video on making buttercream. According to your instructions, to frost an 8″ cake the recipe needs to be doubled. However, this is my question. When it comes to making “other” flavors, do I also double the amounts listed on your recipe? For example, your recipe to make peanut butter buttercream said to add (1) C of peanut butter and reduce the powdered sugar to 2 1/2 C – if I make a batch for an 8″ cake, do I increase the peanut butter to (2) cups? That sounds like a lot of peanut butter so I just want to make sure. Many thanks! Looking forward to your response.
Yep, that would be right! You might be able to get away with using less frosting, but in my experience the more frosting you have the more beautiful the cake will turn out 🙂 And feel free to play around with the amount of peanut butter. I prefer my frostings to be more intensely flavored, but you might prefer less.
This looks amazing!! I’m planning to use this recipe on a lemon rosette cake and flavor the buttercream with key lime, what I want to know is, how much buttercream will I need to frost and pipe rosettes for a 3.5- 4 inch high cake?
Hi Christina, I’m not entirely sure! When I’m working on a decorative cake like that I usually just double the recipe. This gives me room to experiment and have fun without worrying about being stingy. You can always freeze the rest 🙂
I used this buttercream tonight for my son’s christening cake, and it is wonderful. I actually made two batches. The first one frosted the 13″ x 9″ cake, and the second was tinted two shades of blue for decoration. I had extra blue buttercream (both shades), and so far, I have it stored in the refrigerator. It is so easy to make and delicious. It is quite sweet, so I added an extra 1/8 teaspoon of salt to offset the sweetness. This is definitely going to be my go-to frosting recipe when it comes to decorating. I love the versatility, too, with the different flavor variations. I’m looking forward to experimenting with it in the future.
It tastes and looks so good! I made it today, just because I really wanted icing… whoops! I had to make more for a couple of my cupcakes, and not just my stomach! Thanks for this so much!
Hi Tessa, 2 questions, if making a cake ahead to take somewhere, how long would the Swiss meringue buttercream be ok on the cake in fridge? (Not covered) I know I can’t freeze once on cake.Also I tried flavouring some with passion fruit pulp, it just seemed runny. Any ideas on this?
I would say 1 day. Then the quality may start to lessen. As for flavorings, if it seems runny you can always add more sugar. However, then you may not enjoy the level of sweetness. You may have better luck using jam, preserves, or jelly.
Can’t wait to try these different variations out. I have recently began baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes and have found that after 38 years on this earth, I have a great deal of passion and talent for it that I never knew existed! This will help me out tremendously when searching for new things to try! Thank you so much for sharing! God bless!!
Quick question!… Can the regular buttercream be made ahead and then stored in the fridge and then the variations be added when ready to use? I know you said it can be stored for up to a week in the fridge but was curious if I could add the variations after storage and remix!
THE BEST!!!! Usually I use 2:1 ratio (powdered sugar and butter) and u would taste the grittiness which wasn’t nice. This however is so creamy, fluffy, delicious and can’t fault it. Best ever!
Just a couple of comments…
One, powdered sugar is ground very fine and is mixed with cornstarch, so is not as sweet as regular sugar, and if you sift it, getting rid of the lumps, it will be more aerated. I’ve never really seen a recipe that wasn’t 3 cups or more!
Two: If you frost cupcakes in the morning and cover them, they will not crust over, so you can sprinkle or decorate any way you want. I make small piping bags in different colors so the kids can squeeze out designs on top, then different sprinkles in party theme colors, mini chips, and mini m&m’s go on top. Kids love to squeeze frosting!
Three: For cream cheese icing, substitute 8 oz. cream cheese and one stick of butter (room temperature on both) and add 3-1/2 cups confectioners sugar and 1-2 tsps. vanilla. Leave out the cream.
First time making this… I’m SO used to the super sweet Wilton recipe, so it’s a big change for me. I would make theirs, then add an extra 1/2 stick of butter to try and make it creamy. This is sooo creamy, which with Crisco, I have a hard time achieving. I made some for work and they are my test group, we will see what they have to say. I did add a tad more sugar to mine. The fiancée approves. Thumbs up…. can’t wait to experiement with flavors!
This is seriously, hands down, THE BEST Buttercream Frosting EVERRRRRRRR!!!!!!! This has now become my favorite buttercream and also the most requested frosting by everyone! Thank you!!!
Tessa – I’m so glad I found this recipe. Can’t wait to try out the different variations!
I was wondering: I made a mocha layer cake with a chocolate ganache filling. I want to make a pink buttercream and would love for it to have a bit of flavor, but I’m not sure how strawberry or raspberry will pair with the other flavors of the cake? Should I just leave the buttercream plain?
Thanks:)
Thank you very much Chef, for taking the time to share your professional knowledge with me. I find your website extremely helpful. I am making my own wedding cake for my reception and I have struggled with finding the perfect recipe. I look forward to trying yours. I hope you will continue to bestow your knowledge upon us. Again, Thank you, Chef.
I’ve been searching for sometime as to how to make a fantastic, not too sweet buttercream, which I can flavour easily – and I found it finally on your site! Thank you!! Me and my 5 year old daughter made the raspberry flavour buttercream and it was soooooo good.. her and her father were fighting over the cup cakes with it on!
I would like to know how much cream cheese would you add to make it a cream cheese buttercream frosting and keep the cream. I had a recipe but it has gotten lost. Thank you.
Tessa-I love this recipe, made it the other day and received so many compliments on how good it tasted. I just have one question-it was too soft to make roses, they just fell..Should I leave out the heavy cream next time to make it stiffer?
Hello Teresa, I would like to know what is the thing that you put is jelly? I will be trying to make it, looks really good. Please tell me what else is after the color. Thanks
Hi Tessa! I just want to say that I LOVE all your recipes, I have tried many of them.. and your buttercream recipe is my go-to for decorating, everyone always compliments me on how good it is. I have a question though, how would I make the buttercream into a thicker consistency? I want to try some Russian piping flower tips and from what I have read it says these are best used with a thick consistency buttercream
Love your buttercream recepies. Used strawberry one for m daughters 1st birthday cake and was a huge hit. Today made the chocolate buttercream for my father in-laws 75th birthday cake. Tastes awesome. Thanks
Hey,
if I would make my cupcakes a day before I would hand them out, and I did this as well with te Buttercream, could I decorate them in the morning (7am) to hand them out around 10 am?
Thank you !
Axelle
Hi Tessa, I was wondering if you could assist and tell me if this buttercream recipe is stiff enough to use with Russian Piping tips?
I would appreciate a reply as your time allows.
Thank you, Yvonne
Hi Yvonne, I haven’t tried using a Russian piping tip but you can easily thicken this recipe by omitting all or part of the cream or adding in more powdered sugar if needed 🙂
Hello Tessa! I want to thank you for this recipe. I have tried many frosting ones before and never liked the taste…it being too sweet. Also, the consistency wasn’t thick enough for all the decorations I wanted to do. Your Buttercream Recipe is incredible! I use it everyone I need frosting now. I had bought Russian Decorating Tips and it is the ONLY frosting that will work with them. It has made me love decorating even more! Thank you so much, Tessa!
This looks a great idea. I’ve got a recipe at home that forever melts on me, no matter how much sugar I put in. I also prefer to use a vegetable fat substitute for butter as I find that a bit sickly. Has anyone tried this recipe not using butter??? How did it come out?
Thanks
Hi! I just wanted to say THANKS TESSA! I may be only 12, but I just made this superb buttercream on a vanilla cake and it was awesome!!!! I made the lemon flavoured buttercream frosting , and I just got to say WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!l!!! My dad wouldn’t stop licking it! I was sure I would have to triple the batch! I’m going to bring it to my great uncle’s 4th of July celebration! I’ m so excited! I know all the people will love it ! Lemon + Old black people + my black family = SUCCESS! 😉 4th of July 2017!!!! Thanks again, bye!
Hello, Tessa. I have a big problem with buttercream recipes and have some questions. So, I’ve been doing the buttercream for more than a year, and it’s always impossible to eat. So much powdered sugar was so sweet that anybody could eat it and had to through the buttercream away. It also tastes like a real butter (which I don’t really like and eat) Other recipes, for instance, Cupcake Jemma add much more powdered sugar. However, there are lots of positive feedbacks in the internet and I think, that all these issues exist only in my kitchen(((( Look, 375 gr of powdered sugar is a bit more than 250 ml cup, isn’t it? There’s no vanilla extract in my country but I’ve bought powdered sugar mixed with natural vanilla. Maybe powdered sugar is less sweet in the USA than in my country. Please, help me solve my problem ’cause I wanna decorate cupcakes with roses.
P.S. Thanks in advance 🙂
I still cannot believe in the 21st century that we are arguing about butter measurements in recipes. 1/4 pound or one stick = 4 oz = 1/2 cup = 4 fluid oz. – You are correct, fluid ounces does not ALWAYS equate with weight ounces…. however, with butter, IT DOES! 16 oz = one pound and it is also 2 cups of butter = 16 fl.oz.
Where is the Crisco in your recipe? My Wilton recipe is half Crisco and half butter.
Really good recipe! Can’t wait to try it. I was interested on doing the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough but it requires 1 1/4 cup of flour… Am I supposed to serve uncooked flour? I don’t get it. Any tips about that?
Made your buttercream frosting recipe to frost my daughters homemade “funfetti” birthday cake!
It was delicious! I replaced the vanilla with almond extract and everyone loved it! They all wanted seconds!
I love to bake and make my family feel special, thank you Tessa for making it so easy to do!!
Great recipe but wish you would stop using cups as a measure and use properly weighed ingredients as most chefs do, shame this American measures are not accurate.
Hi Tessa would you have a recipe for marshmallow buttercream.?I wonder if I could simply add marshmallowfluff to your already awesome buttercream recipe? Thanks.
Your videos are great! Thank you sooooo much for making them. I made regular and chocolate buttercream and used your swirl technique from another of your videos. They turned out amazing! The butter cream was the best I’ve used and the Chocolate was beyond great. Other chocolate recipes use melted chocolate chips which I didn’t like…..then I found yours and used ghiradelli cocoa….amazing! Thanks again!
This might be a silly question: what is a good way to do a test run with gel coloring? I am trying to match my buttercream (which this recipe is so delicious) to party invite but I don’t want to waste a bunch of buttercream. Thanks!
Thank you so much! I have made buttercream many times and, while for the most part I was able to achieve good results with a bit of ingredient adjusting, your simple ratio for the base is spot on. This morning I made peanut butter, raspberry, and fresh strawberry buttercreams for mini cupcakes that I need for a shower later today. Just a reminder (I hope you don’t mind) that all that all ingredients need to be near room temperature or you may end up with “broken” buttercream that is hard to fix.
Just a quick question. I tried to scroll to see if it had been asked already, but didn’t see anything, so please forgive me if it has been asked and/or answered already.How much does this yield per recipe? Also, how stiff is this? Medium, stiff like royal or thin?
I made the cookie dough version of the frosting and it got rave reviews! My first frosting (different recipe) was gritty and too sweet. I made this frosting the morning of my daughter’s birthday party and it saved the whole dessert! This is bookmarked for life! Thanks so much!!!
Bless your heart people ask the same questions that have already been answered always have comments that should be kept to theirselves . Please everyone enjoy this blog and do not try to change what she has wrote it is ignorant. This is a great recipe it is how true buttercream is made.
So far I’ve made the peanut butter buttercream and the mint. All I can say is WOW! So creamy, fluffy and not too sweet at all. I could have eaten a bowl of the peanut butter buttercream by itself it was that good. I plan on making a white cake with the strawberry buttercream topped with chocolate covered strawberries this weekend for my Grandson’s birthday. Love your recipes!
Hello! New baker here.. I was wondering if it’s possible to use a hand mixer with a whisk attachment for this in place of the paddle attachment? Thank you!
I was wondering do you need to have a stand up mixer? Is the process different for a hand mixer? I made some frosting with a handmixer and it came out clumpy.
I don’t like it super sweep ,can I use less sugar ? Also what can I substitute milk for the cream ,if I want to make it on the spur of the moment and I don’t have cream available? Thank you
OMG! I made the lemon buttercream to go with the lemon cupcakes that are April’s baking challenge. This buttercream is beyond delicious. So smooth and full of lemon flavor, When I made mine I only added 1 teaspoon vanilla and no cream. If I added the cream it would have been too loose. A definite winning recipe.
Hi…I made this buttercream frosting last night and it was excellent.
Despite the comments that are negative, this worked out fantastic. Just read properly and follow the steps everyone….it is an excellent recipe. I added Nutella as an addition.
Hello. I have a couple of questions….for making the cookie dough variation, wouldnt the brown sugar make the frosting grainy? I dont see where the frosting is cooked to dissole yhe brown sugar?
Will using 1/2 shortening make it more stable and better crusting?
Also, for frosting an 8 x 3,, 10 x 3, and 12 x 3, how many recipes of the frosting do i need for frosting and filling?
Thank you! Cant wait to try it. Doing a baby shower cake for 80 and im freaking out!
Hey Tessa… I was just wondering if this recipe would work for hot humid places…i have tried few other buttercream frosting recipes which were very difficult to handle while frosting cupcakes
Love this buttercream recipe. It’s my go to EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Have you ever made a floral buttercream? Would be interesting to see you take on these. I’m winging it with lavender.
Hello! I am hoping to use this recipe for a set of wedding cakes but it will be outside in July, under a cover in shade of course but how well does this hold up to heat? And I need a yield of 21 cups so how well doesn’t this recipe work in bulk? It would be really nice to have a buttercream that is easy to work with, isn’t too sweet, and will hold up for a couple days while I make the 4 cakes.
This is my go to frosting for when I make the chocolate cake recipe on the Hershey’s baking cocoa container.
I never fail to receive raving compliments when I bring a cake to meals at church or work. There are never any leftovers.
I have been using this recipe for years and it works perfectly every time! I have tried it with all different flavors and combinations and everyone always enjjoys it. Thank you!
I have made this recipe many, many times and it’s the best recipe I have come across. People always tell me how good it is with just the right amount of sweetness. The only thing I do a bit differently is I don’t add the cream right away. I mix it up, store it in the fridge and then when I go to use it I whip the cream in.
Nothing special here. Another tooth achingly sweet American buttercream. Any other type of buttercream- Swiss Meringue, Italian Meringue, French, Creme Anglaise, Ermine, etc. is well worth learning how to make.
This recipe sounds great! I have a question though, sorry if this sounds silly. I’m wanting to make the chocolate buttercream for my son’s birthday cake this weekend. But I don’t want the color of the frosting to be too dark because of how I’m going to be decorating the cake. Would you say the chocolate buttercream is a fairly dark brown? Or is there any way to lighten the color while still getting the good chocolate flavor? Help! TIA!
Hi, I have to make a blue (darker blue) train for my son’s party (it’s 3D) and I’m concerned about the food coloring taste (my husband declares it as soapy). Would a chocolate buttercream help cover the taste or is there another trick? It’s for a bunch of 3 year olds so negotiating a different color is out of the question.
Also – does this recipe pipe well? I’m decorating with hundreds and hundreds of tiny stars….It will be decorated 2 days before the party.
Chocolate buttercream is really hard to color. I have to say… most kids don’t notice the taste of food coloring 😉 You can try using vanilla paste to help improve the flavor. You can make any recipe pipe well – just be sure the butter is not too warm and add extra powdered sugar for more stiffness for more intricate designs 🙂
I love this buttercream, so nice and smooth! But I hate having to use so much butter. Bite Sized Kitchen has a recipe for a buttercream like frosting without the butter! https://bitesizedkitchen.com/powdered-sugar-vanilla-frosting/ Do yo think this will work as a faux buttercream for those limiting their butter intake?
I loved it soo easy to make I just made standard vanilla butter cream for a pumpkin loaf I had made. I love all your recipes. I bought your cookie book. I love baking I’m not a pro but do love seeing people devour the bakes and the complements I get. So thank you!!! I love it! Thank you for all your efforts.
Did the lemon iteration for the lemon cupcakes. The icing is great. Spreads/pipes well, doesn’t crust too much when the air hits, and the flavour is absolutely outstanding. Creamy enough yet as sweet as I like it. I’ll go to this recipe for any buttercream in the future..
As a trained chef and cookbook author, I share trusted baking recipes your friends & family will love alongside insights into the science of sweets. I help take the luck out of baking so you *always* have delicious results! Learn more here.
Order your Ultimate Cookie Handbook Hardcopy!
Over 200 pages with 50+ cookie recipes that'll make you a COOKIE PRO. Discover how to turn your biggest cookie flops into WINS by mastering the sweet science of baking. Even learn how to customize your own recipes! Beautiful, hardcopy, full color, photos of every recipe so you know EXACTLY how your cookies should look. Order now to have the book delivered to your doorstep!
Do you want a more delicious life? Instead of digging through cookbooks and magazines and searching the internet for amazing recipes, subscribe to Handle the Heat to receive new recipe posts delivered straight to your email inbox. You’ll get all the latest recipes, videos, kitchen tips and tricks AND my *free* Cookie Customization Guide (because I am the Cookie Queen)!
I’m sorry but I think THREE cups of sugar and TWO sticks of butter is way too much. How can something with 3 cups of sugar NOT be really way too sweet?
Mindy – powdered sugar isn’t as dense as regular sugar so it may LOOK like more than it actually is. Some buttercream recipes actually call for 4 cups of powdered sugar so this is relatively conservative! Feel free to also adjust the sugar ratio to your preferences.
I LOVE all your baking how-tos! I am the worst buttercream maker. So I just never make it…which is sad because buttercream is the bomb!
Thanks for the great tutorial! Pinned!
Wow! Can’t wait to try your recipe! I love all the flavor variations!
A good recipe to keep on hand. Thank you and have a great day.
16oz. of butter is 4 sticks or 2 cups. 8oz. Of butter is 2 sticks or 1 cup. Which is the correct amount for recipe?
Please correct the amount of powdered sugar. Thank you.
It was never incorrect!
Carol- Do you have an actual stick of butter in your fridge? If so, go look at it!
The recipe is correct – Each stick of Butter is 8oz so 2 sticks is 16 oz or 1 cup.
Other than that, the recipe looks great and I look forward to trying it.
Have a great day
Lei- Can’t we all just get along and be nice? 2 tablespoons = 1 oz. 8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup or 1 cube = 4 oz.
On a happier note, love Handle the Heat, Tessa. Your slow cooker pork carnitas are cooling in the the slow cooker as I type. Also, do you like Italian Meringue Buttercream? Less sweet, but they both definitely have their advantages.
Arrgh, I was hoping it was the swiss meringue buttercream!!! 🙂 I have a problem with it, especially with the lemon one, because once it just split and I was sooooooo sad ;-(
Can I hope to see it here soon or late?
I had no idea buttercream could be made ahead! I’m sooo going to try it. Thank you!
Great demo.I am going to make it for tonight. Looks so creamy. MaryAnn B
I’m so happy I found this post!! Sounds like just the right buttery sweetness and consistency I’ve been searching for…this doesn’t sound too sweet at all. Most of my recipes call for at least 4-5 cups of powdered sugar per 2 sticks of butter, which is more sweetness than my family can handle most days. And I’m really looking forward to trying some of the flavor additions you posted as well. Thanks, Tessa 🙂
This is brilliant and so convenient! Now I can make butter cream with everyone’s favorite flavor on their birthday. When do I add the flavor in the beginning or at the end? Thank you!
You can add flavorings anytime after the butter + sugar have been beaten together.
I have a quick question…I’ve done a cake recipe, which calls for cool butter and the cake looks beautiful at first but them completely sinks. I’ve done it twice and the same thing happened both times. Can it be the cold butter? I’ve done a number of cakes and they always come out perfect. Thanks for your help!
It may be your that you leavener is expired (baking soda or baking powder), that the butter and sugar were over-beaten, or that the oven temperature was off (use an oven thermometer). It may also just be the recipe, some cakes are ultra moist and tend to sink a little bit (my favorite chocolate cake does this).
Thanks! I love your recipes and guides! I agree 3 cups is both conservative and laudable!
Almost all recipes assume posession of a standing mixer. I’ve made icings in the past without them. In your opinion, are standing mixers really necessary for frosting? Any tips to ensure one with a hand mixer doesn’t screw it up? I’m fairly conservative with my counter space, but don’t want to sacrafice good cupcakes. 🙂
I love you blog! I’ve made many of your recipes. I think it’s completely hilarious how people want to correct you on your butter cream recipe. Lol! I’m not sure if people know this, but, butter cream isn’t meant to be low calorie/low sugar. Ha! I make my mine with the same exact measurements. And it’s delicious! Keep doing what you’re doing.
this recipe is awesome! I used salted butter and added the additional salt on accident. It was ok but too salty. If you use salted butter don’t add any salt! I need to pay a little bit more attention! I remade it with salted butter and no additional salt and it was amazing!
I love all of your recipe guides, and this buttercream frosting looks perfect!
He…he…I had to giggle at a lot of the ‘fix your recipe’ requests:) I used to have a cupcake business and this is very similar to the recipe I used for buttercream (except I added 2 tbsp. of heavy whip cream at the end and beat on high for 2 minutes- exceptional fluffy!). Your recipe looks spot on and perfect:) Best wishes!
How long should I keep the butter out so it is at cold room temperature, please help!
Thank you!!!
Btw your website is awesome!!!!!!
not sure what kind of butter you are using Lei, but I have a 1 pound package of Land O Lakes butter. It has 4 sticks and it states: “1 stick equals 1/2 cup, 1 pound equals 2 cups or 4 sticks”. One pound has always been 16 ounces and if a 16 ounce package of butter has 4 sticks in it then 2 sticks equals 1 cup of butter, 4 sticks equals 2 cups. A cup is 8 ounces……or 2 sticks of butter. Each stick has 8 tablespoons…..not 8 ounces.
Hello Tessa, thank you for all your awesome recipes!!!
I made the valentine’s cake with this butter cream, but as soon as i added the strawberry preserve to the mixture it split (i think that’s the right work for it) the oil or fat from the preserve was flooding on the top, it tasted very good. i followed the recipe just like you listed. What did i do wrong?? I had to use regular store bought butter cream. Please help.
anxious to give this a try. do you measure the powdered sugar before or after you sift it? looks likes this pipes well??? will it crust? ……. thank you so much….. sue
Sue–the recipe has all the clues you need..
If it says 3 cups of sifted powdered sugar, then you sift and then measure 3 cups. This recipe calls for 3 cups of powdered sugar, sifted. So you measure and then sift. Hope that helps.
Made the Nutella version – outstanding! Got rave reviews at work, too! Followed the recipe to the letter. Sooooo yummy! Definitely a keeper 🙂
Thank you!
Hello, I really love the frosting color on the cupcakes. Would love to know what colors you used to get that result.
Thanks
what type of cream?
Hi Tessa! I think its brilliant! though! I would need a cream version as well… and thn i am going to treat this page as my frosting bible!! :D:D
cream cheese version*
Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to post this awesome recipe. It is very kind of you and helpful to the rest of us. Best wishes….
Hi there. Quick question. I’m having a cupcake decorating table at my daughters upcoming birthday. I was going to ice the cupcakes and they will just add the sprinkles etc. I will ice the cupcakes the morning of the party. Will this buttercream icing be soft enough that sprinkles will stick to it a few hours after it is piped? I have a great buttercream icing but I know that it will not go hard but certainly harden 2 or 3 hours after it is piped and sprinkles can not be applied after this. I look forward to hearing from you. Many thanks, Penny.
I’m sorry Penny but I don’t know the answer to your question as I’ve never been in that particular scenario with this recipe.
I love this blog! I can’t believe it has everything i want to know about! I love your you tube vids and this blog! Can’t wait to try the butter cream recipe!!!
Penny: the buttercream will crust over after a while therefore the sprinkles will not stick. it’s best to ice them at the time the kids will be making them. hope that helps.
When you say cream does that mean heavy whipping cream?
Yes that works fine!
Can I add fruit color to this recipe
What is the weight of powdered sugar? (We don’t usually use cup measures in the UK) I assume powdered sugar is what we call icing sugar, I’ve always made buttercream with just icing sugar, butter and flavouring, does adding real cream mean that cakes have to be refridgerated once decorated?
I saw your video on how to frost cupcakes and I was just wondering what you use to hold the nozzle.. I just place mine into the bag but yours looks different.
Hi Tessa! I just found your blog and i love it!. I have a question, Buttermilk can be homemade?
@Melani
Yes! Buttermilk CAN be homemade! The recipe I’ve seen is 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar and milk. What you do is you add the lemon juice to the measuring cup, then fill to the correct amount. If this is wrong, please correct me!
I wish I came across this webpage before St. Patrick’s Day! I made some cupcakes then and ended up having to use a glaze instead.
This really is the best buttercream icing recipe. i’ve tried others and you can really taste the powdered sugar in them — not good. This is creamy and sweet (but not too sweet) and delicious! Also, I didn’t have any cream, so I put in a big dollop of whipped cream (haha). Worked beautifully! Can’t wait to try the variations!
Yay!
Hi Tessa, I once made cupcake icing with normal white sugar (not powdered sugar) and it was horrible, all grainy and gritty. I was surprised to see you list brown sugar as the sugar for the cookie dough variation. Wouldn’t that also have a gritty texture or is it different? Thanks!
Hey Tessa! I am obsessed with your buttercream recipe. I usually make the chocolate and it is ridiculously good. Seriously amazing! However, I am curious about your cookie dough buttercream. Wouldn’t the brown sugar make the buttercream quite grainy? Thanks!
Well cookie dough is slightly grainy. It is basically replicating the exact taste and texture of cookie dough, just without the eggs!
What type of cream is used?
In the video I did not see you add the salt. Is that a step to omit or did you just not show it in the video. I’m not trying to be picky, I want to make sure I get the best buttercream due to the fact yours look so delicious.
I’m going to regret giving away my secrets. Using Crisco instead of butter will keep your frosting from melting in warm weather.Use 2 pounds of powdered sugar for each cup of shortening and beat the daylights out of it. It takes at least 5 minutes in the mixer before it’s properly incorporated.
Hopefully this will clarify the butter cube measurement question. Our hostess is correct.
Amount:
2 stick of butter
Equals:
8 ounce – oz
http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/butter_converter.html
Do you also have this in grams?
When you say cream do you mean whipping cream? Sorry I’m just clueless here
For the chocolate chip cookie flavor idea: you say to add flour, it won’t make you sick eating the flour that way (uncooked)? Just wondering.
Hi, are the cup measures, US cups or UK cups? Also can you please provide gram amounts for the icing sugar and all the flavour variations ? It’s more accurate to measure in grams than cups.
This is an American blog so all cup measurements are US. Please use my measuring guide to assist you: https://handletheheat.com/ultimate-guide-measuring/
Hi Tessa, thanks for the help, the measuring guide is really helpful! Just a couple more things: firstly what’s pumpkin pie spice? Don’t think we have anything like that in the UK, are there any spices I can mix to make my own version?
Also what about a banana buttercream? Some extracts either aren’t available in the UK or they taste nothing like what they’re supposed to… I was thinking about using banana milkshake (nesquick) to make some banana buttercream.. any idea how I’d do that? Want the buttercream to be smooth…
And also coconut… carnt seem to find coconut extract, what about coconut milk? How much do I add/ how do I change the recipe?
Thanks!
Sorry I meant banan milkshake powder, which I’d mix with a little milk ( so I could make it really banana-ry)
I’ve never had banana milkshake powder so I really can’t say! Also, I’m not sure coconut milk would provide a whole lot of coconut flavor because you’d be using such a small amount. If you like the texture of shredded coconut, I’d add some either in the buttercream or sprinkle with toasted coconut on top.
How many grams of butter is in your butter sticks?
Laura
– 1 stick = 4oz = 113 grams of butter. Check out Tessa s measuring guide, it has all the ingredients listed and the gram and oz conversions for each ingredient…
https://handletheheat.com/ultimate-guide-measuring/
Do you need to put food coloring in the mix? If just put the strawberry preserves in, will the mixture still be as pink ?
The food coloring is totally optional, but your buttercream will definitely not be as pink without it.
wats the difference between powdered sugar and normal sugar :-/
If I add oreos crumbs on it, do I need to add or take other ingredients of the recipe? thanks
Hi
I have a doubt.i have done many cakes,it come out very well soft and fluffy,after icing it,I’ll store in fridge,but when we cut it its getting hard.
How to store a buttercream cake.
How many days can I store buttercream cake and fondant cake and how to store them.
Waiting for your reply
Regards
Saranya
This is a beautiful recipe. I have just used it….buttercream seems to be my Achilles heel! This one was masterful and so very easy!! Can’t wait to pipe it onto my 12 dozen cupcakes later this week.
Hi Tessa!
I love this buttercream recipe and I was wondering if there is any way to make an eggnog buttercream with this recipe? Thanks so much!
I’ve tried making it and it’s still too sweet and rough. and when i pipe it it wont hold. I guess it depends on the powdered sugar, my cousin says powdered sugar differ in every country. So now i tried crisco shorthening 1 can and added little powdered sugar, just to make it enough sweet. Can this be a frosting or it is not good to have too much veg shortening? i never saw recipe like this in the internet but the taste is familiar to other cakes i have tasted before.
What kind of cream is this (1 to 2 tablespoons cream)?
I was wondering if you could just add plain milk instead of cream?
You could, though it wouldn’t exactly be buttercream 😉 It just won’t be as thick.
What kind of cream?
I have used this recipe which is great,But I have used other creamers to do other flavors which are very tasty,Plus have used other flavored extract and colors. This is a truly great tasting butter cream recipe
This post is much appreciated as I have yet to find “the perfect buttercream ” (I haven’t tried this yet). My question is, in the directions, it says powdered sugar, sifted, but in your video you say sifted powdered sugar. How it’s said/written makes a difference, as one means sift first and then measure, and the other means measure first and then sift. Which do I do for this recipe? Thanks much.
Hi Kris! The way it’s written in the recipe is correct 🙂
What type of cream?
[email protected]
Love your recipes thanks I’m going to try them !!
In order to print your recipe I have to print all the comments that I do not want. My favorite on line recipes are condensed and concise without any comments.
Hi Janice! Are you clicking on the print icon near the recipe? That should pull up a condensed version of the post without comments. Please let me know if that works for you!
I am looking for a frosting that hardens to use on “cake pops”. They need a hard shell like dipping them in chocolate candy melts provides, but I would prefer to have some flavor options. Thank you. I love this blog.
I am looking for a frosting that hardens to use on “cake pops”. They need a hard shell like dipping them in chocolate candy melts provides, but I would prefer to have some flavor options. Thank you. I love this blog.
Hello I wanted to know if this recipe melts. I make an awesome buttercream but i add shortening and it doesnt taste greasy it has a wonderful taste (per my customers) in the past i have tried making buttercream with out shortening but it eventually melts
hi,
just wondering if this taste like super butter? and is it too sweet? i want icing with less buttery and sweet. please help. thanks
Well since butter and sugar are the primary ingredients, yes it will taste sweet and buttery. You can always reduce the amount of sugar and use shortening instead of butter if you prefer.
I loved watching you Demonstrate how to simply make your frosting. I look forward to more Info and amazing recipes. I love to bake but get frustrated when things don’t turn out the way you think they should etc… I feel as though all that’s about to change with watching your video.
I was up in the wee hours of the morning very sick with cough and cold. Now I’m glad I was. I found you, your video, and many lovely ideas of how to make my baking much more rewarding.
Thanks again,
Kim
Tessa God Bless my question is what could I use instead of heavy whipping cream cause I hate to throw the rest away if I only use a few tablespoon of I how good will this hold up in very hot weather after making cupcakes can they be left on the kitchen counter ?
My only question is regarding refrigeration after icing your cake/cupcakes because of the cream. If I’m making a cake for a party chances are it’s not going to be able to fit in the fridge until it’s served. I’ve always been concerned about this. And my buttercream has always turned out sickeningly sweet based on general BC recipes I’ve tried. I’ll try this one with less sugar and hope for the best.
Tessa, you have the patience of a saint ;). AND a great recipe. Thank you!
Loved watching the Valentine’s cake video and this one on the buttercream frosting too.
Can’t wait to make them both!
You do a fantastic job with this site.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed!
What if you don’t have a paddle attachment.
Hi Tessa love love you buttercream, plus all the ideas you can do with is I am love to bake even though I have no training I just take the recipes and follow the instructions correctly. I have a question in your comment on the buttercream recipe you stated that this recipes can be double for an 8 and 9 in cake when it comes to doubling recipes I am NOT good at it. could you please help how to double this for a cake without me making to separate buttercream. Oh also for a 10 in cake. Thanks and keep it up.
Hi. Enjoyed watching your video. I will be trying to make regular buttercream hopefully it comes out. Can I substitute the whipping cream for something else?
Hi Tessa love love you buttercream, plus all the ideas you can do with is I am love to bake even though I have no training I just take the recipes and follow the instructions correctly. I have a question in your comment on the buttercream recipe you stated that this recipes can be double for an 8 and 9 in cake when it comes to doubling recipes I am NOT good at it. could you please help how to double this for a cake without me making to separate buttercream. Oh also for a 10 in cake. Thanks and keep it up.
Hi Tessa, I just tried your frosting recipe and it was great! Ive tried another one that required to cook sugar,flour,cornstarch, over stovetop and it was also very good. I love both recipes and will use these ones all the time. Will have to try the different flavors as well. For your recipe I used vanilla bean paste and it turned out just as good as extract. I love that you can see the little specks of bean in it. You can buy this online or I bought it at a bulk store in Canada. I have yet to try the REAL vanilla bean. Next time. Thanks for the recipe and video.
16oz WEIGHT is not the same as 16oz VOLUME. You can’t compare a rock that weighs 16oz to 16oz of orange juice! Butter dispute settled…5th grade math.
Love this recipe. Best I’ve found so far,from someone who wants wedding cake for last meal on Earth!
I just tried this buttercream and it is delicious. I used salted butter and left out the additional salt and 2 TBS of whipping cream. If I added more cream would it make it lighter/fluffier?
Yes, absolutely. Cream accepts more bubbles of air as it’s being beaten so the result is lighter and fluffier.
I have never made buttercream before and would like to use it to frost a large number of cupcakes. But since it will be a busy day tomorrow, can I frost them today and will they be ok out of the fridge until tomorrow afternoon?
Hi Tessa, I was looking for a less sweet buttercream for my gluten free chocolate cupcakes and was drawn to this recipe because of the added whipping cream. It is just delicious! I’d look to try to salted caramel but wasn’t clear on directions. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
I have made buttercream and trust me you need all the sugar and butter to make it perfect, absolutely love it and have now made the plain buttercream twice and everyone loved it. Now I’m guna start with the flavoured buttercream looking forward to trying the peanut butter one especially 🙂 thank you for your tips 🙂 xx
I was wondering if you could use regular strawberry preserves? I couldn’t find seedless strawberry preserves.
Hmmm…this was interesting. I decided to move from canned frosting to fresh. I used to make frosting before canned, but I couldn’t remember the recipe. I remembered my mother making frosting from scratch. Now I see that the recipe can be made with variations, crisco, butter, etc.
Yes, lots of ways to make frosting! This is definitely my favorite, I hope you’ll try it soon.
After watching a kids cupcake bake-off my daughter (age 10 ) got inspired to “create” her own cupcakes from scratch. I’m not a baker and never made anything from scratch. She is so daring and we checked out a basic vanilla cake receipt last night. She made pineapple vanilla cupcakes and wants to now add coconut frosting (from scratch of course) I’m embarrassed to say I really had no idea how one makes frosting from scratch. I’ve only ever made a glaze for a cookie from powdered sugar, food coloring and water. I saw your blog and it looks pretty easy. Like the video, a good tool for teaching an inpatient young cook who doesn’t always like to read all the directions. excited to try it out. Looks like a nice receipt we can reuse and tailor
Thanks so much Judy! How awesome that your daughter wants to create her own cupcakes 🙂
Can use milk?
Will it be different?
Maybe just slightly less rich and creamy, but milk should still work.
Hello Tessa,
How much Wilton concentrated gel icing colors do I need to look like baby blue color? You put 1/4 teaspoon to yours. People seems to use tooth picks to test out the colors. I am afraid to put too much. Thanks!
Definitely start with less and work your way up until you get your desired color!
You should have creamed the butter before you added the sugar. Just my $0.02.
Tessa good evening .I am living in south Amerika where the temperature is always warm or hot its always summer over here.How can i make a thikker buttercream that will not melt easily.
thank you
Question, I found this recipe randomly while trying to find the perfect buttercream frosting for a cake I’m making and I was just wondering, do you think this recipe would go well under fondant? Have you tried it under fondant?
Yep! It should work just fine under fondant 🙂
I have been looking for, and trying, different buttercream recipes. This is now my go-to recipe! The texture is great and holds it shape. I am Phoenix, where it’s hot, I will have to see how this holds up for a park party I have planned for my son’s birthday next month. I have tried the chocolate and peanut butter variations and the flavors are excellent. I did omit the cream from the peanut butter recipe, I didn’t want it too thin. So far, so good! Thank you for sharing this recipe along with the other flavor options.
Wonderful, Christy! Let me know how it holds up at your son’s party 🙂
For a long time I’ve been trying to find the best buttercream – something not to sweet and easy to pipe until I found this and it’s great! You can really taste the difference between the american wilton buttercream and this all butter recipe. It’s by far the best recipe I’ve come across 🙂 Oh and the flavour options are incredible.
Thrilled you love the recipe, Mona!
Tessa how long at room temperature can a cake with buttercream be left. I have made buttercream in the past using water instead of cream. I’m making a wedding cake for my niece. If I use cream will the icing be ok for 5-6 hours at room temp – or longer. Thanks I like your website!
This is my favorite buttercream frosting recipe ever! Thank you so much!! 🙂
What if you don’t have a mixer. My sisters birthday is coming up soon and I can barely afford the ingredients to make it let alone a mixer. Please help!
You can use a hand-held mixer! You do need something electric for light and fluffy buttercream. Maybe borrow a had held one from a neighbor or friend? Good luck!
For the strawberry one, does it have to be preserved seedless strawberries or can it work with fresh strawberries?
Fresh strawberries are too watery. It works best with preserves!
I was also wondering, could I use this buttercream to crumb-coat my cakes and cover with fondant?
Yes!
How long can I leave the frosted cupcakes out at room temperature?
My detailed advice for serving & storing cupcakes is in this post towards the bottom, I think you’ll find it helpful: https://handletheheat.com/how-to-make-perfect-cupcakes/
How would the conversions be to do a maple buttercream? I have the maple extract.
Can’t wait to make some awesome butter cream!
Quick question. Can you make any flavor you want even if you don’t have the recipe?
Thanks BOB
Making this frosting in Cotton Candy flavor to top Confetti Cupcakes for 6-year-old’s birthday party. Two questions: Will it melt easily? Florida heat & humidity melts most frosting so subbing butter-flavor Crisco for some of the real butter makes frosting hold up longer.
How to make Cotton Candy flavoring? Can’t find Cotton Candy Extract, no time to order bulk cotton candy floss sugar from Amazon or Webstaurant. Help!!
TYVM for your time & AWESOME recipes!!!
Hi Jean! Although I really prefer the flavor and texture of butter, if you’re worried about melting then of course Crisco can be a good way to offset that. I’d also refrigerate the cupcakes until the party so they don’t melt as quickly. I have no clue how to make cotton candy flavor unfortunately! Never tasted or tried that before.
I am planning on using buttercream as a filling for my daughter’s birthday cake however I want to use fondant to decorate the the iutside which can not be refrigerated. Will filling the cake with the buttercream the day before or two and not refrigerate it be ok as the receipe calls for cream?
You have a phenomenal video presence, I already make buttercream but I enjoyed watching your video regardless. <3 yay baking
Wow, thank you so much Meg! That means so much to me 🙂
Just made this! There was a certain taste I wanted and after researching several recipes I went with this one and it’s AWESOME! Thanks so much for sharing this! I looooove cooking but baking is new territory for me. This went great with the scratch cupcakes I made tonight for my daughters birthday!
Hi Tessa!! I was wondering if this buttercream consistency is only for cupcakes or will it stay consistent enough to fill and frost a fondant covered cake? I just love all the flavors suggestions btw!!!
Thanks! It should work for just about any use! And you can always tweak the consistency by adding more cream or powdered sugar. T
Thank you! You are an awesome resource!
I like the video very well
For the malt flavor variation, do you omit the whipping cream and use milk instead? Or do you use both?
You could do one or the other – whichever you prefer!
Can this recipe of butter cream stand sitting outside in the heat for a birthday party or should i put it in a cooler .
Hey there and thank you for this WONDERFUL recipe!!! It is the best I have ever made… I ALWAYS double the recipe song can freeze the rest so I’ll always have it… The only change I made the second time I made it was instead of 2 sticks of butter I used 1 stick of butter and 1 stick of crisco shortening… I think it pipes much easier and holds the shape better… My kids are always asking me to just make the icing because they love it so much… I tend to lick the bowl myself… And it also stays better in the heat… Move over processed immatation frosting!!!!
How far in advance can the cake be iced with this if there is cream? I’m looking to decorate my cake 1 or possibly 2 days in advance (fondant would be fine but I’m considering using buttercream).
I live in Arizona which is hot almost always and I bake cakes as a hobbies however I made a cake using buttercream frosting and it melted. It went some completely smooth and creamy to a soft melting mess. How can I help this without using shortening? Your frosting look beautiful but can it with stand high temperatures of heat?
I live in AZ too! Buttercream will basically melt at the melting point of butter, which is around 90°F. So any cakes exposed to that heat for longer than a few minutes will start to melt. One way to combat that is to fully refrigerate the cake before you plan to serve it. Then, it will warm up with the high outside temps to be ready for serving and will take longer to melt. Does that make sense?
Half of the recipe minus the whipping cream made me more than enough to fully frost 12 cupcakes! Dont waste your ingredients, and half the recipe!
Wow! This recipe was great! I had made a buttercream frosting for some cupcakes i baked the other day and the recipe that came with the cupcakes was simply way to thin… It dripped all over my cupcakes and made it very messy to eat. Later I had found this recipe, made it, and loved it! It was the perfect consistency and when I it onto my cupcakes, it held it’s shape! This recipe is simply delicious and I will definitely make it again. Five Stars all the way!
Wonderful, Haley!! Happy to hear it 🙂
I made this tonight and it was incredible. I’ve been trying different vanilla buttercream recipes for a while now trying to find this exact combination. The taste and texture were spot on and no fancy ingredients! My search is over. Thank you for posting this.
(Also, half of this recipe was the perfect amount of frosting to frost the top of a 9×13.)
Great, Michelle! So happy to hear it!
I’ve made your basic buttercream and it came out absolutely perfect. Just the right amount of sweet for my strawberry filled cupcakes. I can’t wait to try the other flavor combinations. Just one question…..what suggestions would you have for a peach flavored buttercream? Thank you for your great recipes, ideas and tips. Love em!!
Thanks so much, Kathy! Happy to hear that. I haven’t tried peach flavored buttercream before, but I think peach jam or preserves should work nicely (like the strawberry or raspberry flavor variation listed above).
Hi Tessa, your butter cream recipe sounds awesome ! I can’t wait to try it .I have two questions 1) In the UK here we have whipping cream and pouring cream which one do I use? 2) can I use this buttercream to cream coat a cake that I intend to cover with fondant which would need to stay out in room temperature until it’s ready to eat in two days ? Worried the cream in the butter cream would go off ! Help !
Hi! I’m not sure what pouring cream is, but whipping cream should work. This buttercream works under fondant and should last for that amount of time as long as it’s a cool room temp. The sugar in the recipe actually helps to act a preservative and prevents bacteria from growing.
Hi Tessa,
First of all, awesome video !
I’ve got a question, can I use this recipe for piping flowers like roses and ranunculus ? I live in Malaysia and find that italian or swiss buttercream melts real quick even with 30% shortening added into the recipe.
Thank you.
This looks delicious and I am going to give it a try! I have a quick question about the chocolate chip cookie dough flavoring. It states to use 3/4 brown sugar in place of all powdered sugar. Does this mean I use 3/4 cup powdered sugar with 2 1/4 cups brown sugar? I just want to make sure I have the measurements correct and that you didn’t mean to use only 3/4 cup of brown sugar…thanks!
No, you replace ALL of the powdered sugar called for with only 3/4 cup brown sugar. I’m not sure how else to state that. Brown sugar weighs much much more than powdered sugar, so by volume it may seem like a lot less but that’s the correct amount. Make sense?
Omg I wasn’t even close lol! I’m not sure how I got that quite so wrong, but thank you for taking the time to respond. You saved my frosting!
Phew!!
Do you have any suggestions to help this icing withstand heat? I’ve read a few different things can be added if the cake will be outside.
I typically just keep the cake in the fridge until the party / picnic / event or whatever begins. That way the it starts cold and will warm to room temperature when it’s ready to be served. Anything that may keep it from melting will likely be an artificial preservative that will negatively impact the flavor and/or texture.
Wow, this is awesome frosting!! I just made THREE batches! One was raspberry buttercream and the other two were Baileys Irish Cream Raspberry buttercream. So delish!! And to answer the person who was worried about the sweetness – I made the regular buttercream with the sugar and butter and it was sweet, but by adding the baileys to it – believe it or not it was less sweet, and with just the raspberry all fruit jam it was also less sweet. So good and easy to use!! Thanks for these ideas!
That’s awesome, Cindy! Thanks for sharing 🙂
What the best brand of confectioners sugar and butter? Because no matter what kind I use, I still think it tastes bad! It could be the recipes I’ve been using but I was just wondering if maybe the brands I’m using were the issue!
What about the taste don’t you like?
Hi!!! Just came to your page since your recipe for buttercream seems to be the easiest one in the Internet – I am a total newbie, it’s gonna be my first time making it!
I saw in some pages that it can be added some food colorant in order to obtain colourful buttercream, but I don’t know how it would affect the consistency, neither I know how much colorant I should add to it or if it would require any modification of the recipe.
I would be extremely thankful if you could help me with this.
Best wishes from Spain!!!
Hi Lucia! The food coloring will completely depend on the type you use: liquid, gel, or paste. The more liquid the food coloring is, the less cream you should add to your buttercream. I like high quality gel food colorings because a little goes a long way, and they won’t interfere too much with the texture of the frosting. Start with a few drops then add more until you get your desired color. If you end up adding so much coloring that it thins the frosting, simply add a few more tablespoons of powdered sugar until it’s the right consistency 🙂
Hi, Tessa, I love your video on making buttercream. According to your instructions, to frost an 8″ cake the recipe needs to be doubled. However, this is my question. When it comes to making “other” flavors, do I also double the amounts listed on your recipe? For example, your recipe to make peanut butter buttercream said to add (1) C of peanut butter and reduce the powdered sugar to 2 1/2 C – if I make a batch for an 8″ cake, do I increase the peanut butter to (2) cups? That sounds like a lot of peanut butter so I just want to make sure. Many thanks! Looking forward to your response.
Yep, that would be right! You might be able to get away with using less frosting, but in my experience the more frosting you have the more beautiful the cake will turn out 🙂 And feel free to play around with the amount of peanut butter. I prefer my frostings to be more intensely flavored, but you might prefer less.
This looks and sounds amazing! I look forward to trying it! Thanks for sharing. ☺️
Hi Tessa!!
This looks amazing!! I’m planning to use this recipe on a lemon rosette cake and flavor the buttercream with key lime, what I want to know is, how much buttercream will I need to frost and pipe rosettes for a 3.5- 4 inch high cake?
Thanks so much, keep up the great work!
Looking forward for your response 😀
Hi Christina, I’m not entirely sure! When I’m working on a decorative cake like that I usually just double the recipe. This gives me room to experiment and have fun without worrying about being stingy. You can always freeze the rest 🙂
Hi Tessa —
I used this buttercream tonight for my son’s christening cake, and it is wonderful. I actually made two batches. The first one frosted the 13″ x 9″ cake, and the second was tinted two shades of blue for decoration. I had extra blue buttercream (both shades), and so far, I have it stored in the refrigerator. It is so easy to make and delicious. It is quite sweet, so I added an extra 1/8 teaspoon of salt to offset the sweetness. This is definitely going to be my go-to frosting recipe when it comes to decorating. I love the versatility, too, with the different flavor variations. I’m looking forward to experimenting with it in the future.
So happy to hear that, Sherri! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
It tastes and looks so good! I made it today, just because I really wanted icing… whoops! I had to make more for a couple of my cupcakes, and not just my stomach! Thanks for this so much!
Hi Tessa, 2 questions, if making a cake ahead to take somewhere, how long would the Swiss meringue buttercream be ok on the cake in fridge? (Not covered) I know I can’t freeze once on cake.Also I tried flavouring some with passion fruit pulp, it just seemed runny. Any ideas on this?
I would say 1 day. Then the quality may start to lessen. As for flavorings, if it seems runny you can always add more sugar. However, then you may not enjoy the level of sweetness. You may have better luck using jam, preserves, or jelly.
Can’t wait to try these different variations out. I have recently began baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes and have found that after 38 years on this earth, I have a great deal of passion and talent for it that I never knew existed! This will help me out tremendously when searching for new things to try! Thank you so much for sharing! God bless!!
Quick question!… Can the regular buttercream be made ahead and then stored in the fridge and then the variations be added when ready to use? I know you said it can be stored for up to a week in the fridge but was curious if I could add the variations after storage and remix!
I don’t see why not! Just bring back to room temp and use an electric mixer to add your flavorings 🙂
THE BEST!!!! Usually I use 2:1 ratio (powdered sugar and butter) and u would taste the grittiness which wasn’t nice. This however is so creamy, fluffy, delicious and can’t fault it. Best ever!
Just a couple of comments…
One, powdered sugar is ground very fine and is mixed with cornstarch, so is not as sweet as regular sugar, and if you sift it, getting rid of the lumps, it will be more aerated. I’ve never really seen a recipe that wasn’t 3 cups or more!
Two: If you frost cupcakes in the morning and cover them, they will not crust over, so you can sprinkle or decorate any way you want. I make small piping bags in different colors so the kids can squeeze out designs on top, then different sprinkles in party theme colors, mini chips, and mini m&m’s go on top. Kids love to squeeze frosting!
Three: For cream cheese icing, substitute 8 oz. cream cheese and one stick of butter (room temperature on both) and add 3-1/2 cups confectioners sugar and 1-2 tsps. vanilla. Leave out the cream.
First time making this… I’m SO used to the super sweet Wilton recipe, so it’s a big change for me. I would make theirs, then add an extra 1/2 stick of butter to try and make it creamy. This is sooo creamy, which with Crisco, I have a hard time achieving. I made some for work and they are my test group, we will see what they have to say. I did add a tad more sugar to mine. The fiancée approves. Thumbs up…. can’t wait to experiement with flavors!
Excellent, Kate! Let me know which flavors you try first 🙂
This is seriously, hands down, THE BEST Buttercream Frosting EVERRRRRRRR!!!!!!! This has now become my favorite buttercream and also the most requested frosting by everyone! Thank you!!!
Yay, Genny!! So thrilled to hear that 🙂
How should I adjust the recipe to get enough frosting for two 7″ cakes ?
Does this icing foamy looking???
Tessa – I’m so glad I found this recipe. Can’t wait to try out the different variations!
I was wondering: I made a mocha layer cake with a chocolate ganache filling. I want to make a pink buttercream and would love for it to have a bit of flavor, but I’m not sure how strawberry or raspberry will pair with the other flavors of the cake? Should I just leave the buttercream plain?
Thanks:)
I would probably leave it plain and use food coloring.
Is it possible to make these buttercreams if you don’t have a stand or hand mixer? Can it be made just by hand and strong arms lol?
Thank you very much Chef, for taking the time to share your professional knowledge with me. I find your website extremely helpful. I am making my own wedding cake for my reception and I have struggled with finding the perfect recipe. I look forward to trying yours. I hope you will continue to bestow your knowledge upon us. Again, Thank you, Chef.
I’ve been searching for sometime as to how to make a fantastic, not too sweet buttercream, which I can flavour easily – and I found it finally on your site! Thank you!! Me and my 5 year old daughter made the raspberry flavour buttercream and it was soooooo good.. her and her father were fighting over the cup cakes with it on!
Tessa, do you have any tips for making this buttercream as white as possible?
If that’s your concern over flavor, use half shortening half butter and a clear vanilla extract. Won’t taste as good, but it’ll be much whiter.
I would like to know how much cream cheese would you add to make it a cream cheese buttercream frosting and keep the cream. I had a recipe but it has gotten lost. Thank you.
So does this buttercream work well for flowers like roses? I am making a Valentine birthday cake and really need to know
And can I use regularly beaters I do not have a paddle for my mixer
Tessa-I love this recipe, made it the other day and received so many compliments on how good it tasted. I just have one question-it was too soft to make roses, they just fell..Should I leave out the heavy cream next time to make it stiffer?
Glad to hear that! And, yep! Leave out the cream for a stiffer consistency. Or, you can always add more powdered sugar if you’ve already added cream 🙂
Hello Teresa, I would like to know what is the thing that you put is jelly? I will be trying to make it, looks really good. Please tell me what else is after the color. Thanks
Hi Tessa! I just want to say that I LOVE all your recipes, I have tried many of them.. and your buttercream recipe is my go-to for decorating, everyone always compliments me on how good it is. I have a question though, how would I make the buttercream into a thicker consistency? I want to try some Russian piping flower tips and from what I have read it says these are best used with a thick consistency buttercream
Add more powdered sugar! If that’s not thick enough, substitute 1/4 or 1/2 of the butter with shortening.
Love your buttercream recepies. Used strawberry one for m daughters 1st birthday cake and was a huge hit. Today made the chocolate buttercream for my father in-laws 75th birthday cake. Tastes awesome. Thanks
Hey,
if I would make my cupcakes a day before I would hand them out, and I did this as well with te Buttercream, could I decorate them in the morning (7am) to hand them out around 10 am?
Thank you !
Axelle
Hi Tessa, I was wondering if you could assist and tell me if this buttercream recipe is stiff enough to use with Russian Piping tips?
I would appreciate a reply as your time allows.
Thank you, Yvonne
Hi Yvonne, I haven’t tried using a Russian piping tip but you can easily thicken this recipe by omitting all or part of the cream or adding in more powdered sugar if needed 🙂
Hello Tessa! I want to thank you for this recipe. I have tried many frosting ones before and never liked the taste…it being too sweet. Also, the consistency wasn’t thick enough for all the decorations I wanted to do. Your Buttercream Recipe is incredible! I use it everyone I need frosting now. I had bought Russian Decorating Tips and it is the ONLY frosting that will work with them. It has made me love decorating even more! Thank you so much, Tessa!
So happy to hear that, Melissa!
Hi,
This looks a great idea. I’ve got a recipe at home that forever melts on me, no matter how much sugar I put in. I also prefer to use a vegetable fat substitute for butter as I find that a bit sickly. Has anyone tried this recipe not using butter??? How did it come out?
Thanks
Hi! I just wanted to say THANKS TESSA! I may be only 12, but I just made this superb buttercream on a vanilla cake and it was awesome!!!! I made the lemon flavoured buttercream frosting , and I just got to say WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!l!!! My dad wouldn’t stop licking it! I was sure I would have to triple the batch! I’m going to bring it to my great uncle’s 4th of July celebration! I’ m so excited! I know all the people will love it ! Lemon + Old black people + my black family = SUCCESS! 😉 4th of July 2017!!!! Thanks again, bye!
Hello, Tessa. I have a big problem with buttercream recipes and have some questions. So, I’ve been doing the buttercream for more than a year, and it’s always impossible to eat. So much powdered sugar was so sweet that anybody could eat it and had to through the buttercream away. It also tastes like a real butter (which I don’t really like and eat) Other recipes, for instance, Cupcake Jemma add much more powdered sugar. However, there are lots of positive feedbacks in the internet and I think, that all these issues exist only in my kitchen(((( Look, 375 gr of powdered sugar is a bit more than 250 ml cup, isn’t it? There’s no vanilla extract in my country but I’ve bought powdered sugar mixed with natural vanilla. Maybe powdered sugar is less sweet in the USA than in my country. Please, help me solve my problem ’cause I wanna decorate cupcakes with roses.
P.S. Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Sofya, it may be a difference in the sugar available to you, or simply a personal preference. If you find American-style buttercream too sweet and sugary, you’ll probably love Swiss Meringue Buttercream! https://handletheheat.com/how-to-make-perfect-swiss-meringue-buttercream/
I still cannot believe in the 21st century that we are arguing about butter measurements in recipes. 1/4 pound or one stick = 4 oz = 1/2 cup = 4 fluid oz. – You are correct, fluid ounces does not ALWAYS equate with weight ounces…. however, with butter, IT DOES! 16 oz = one pound and it is also 2 cups of butter = 16 fl.oz.
Where is the Crisco in your recipe? My Wilton recipe is half Crisco and half butter.
I just found this fabulous recipe. I was wondering what I could add to make it maple flavored?
Maple extract would be your best bet for lots of maple flavor without thinning the texture too much!
Really good recipe! Can’t wait to try it. I was interested on doing the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough but it requires 1 1/4 cup of flour… Am I supposed to serve uncooked flour? I don’t get it. Any tips about that?
Yep! That’s what cookie dough is 😉
Made your buttercream frosting recipe to frost my daughters homemade “funfetti” birthday cake!
It was delicious! I replaced the vanilla with almond extract and everyone loved it! They all wanted seconds!
I love to bake and make my family feel special, thank you Tessa for making it so easy to do!!
Great recipe but wish you would stop using cups as a measure and use properly weighed ingredients as most chefs do, shame this American measures are not accurate.
Did you not see the gram measurements in the recipe…?
How many cupcakes is this recipe for? Do you still need cream for making plain buttercream?
Hi Tessa would you have a recipe for marshmallow buttercream.?I wonder if I could simply add marshmallowfluff to your already awesome buttercream recipe? Thanks.
what brand of whipping cream or heavy you refer?
I just tried this recipe & it was PERFECTION!!! Everyone loved how delicious it was & most of all that it wasn’t disgustingly over sweet!
Your videos are great! Thank you sooooo much for making them. I made regular and chocolate buttercream and used your swirl technique from another of your videos. They turned out amazing! The butter cream was the best I’ve used and the Chocolate was beyond great. Other chocolate recipes use melted chocolate chips which I didn’t like…..then I found yours and used ghiradelli cocoa….amazing! Thanks again!
Hello,Tessa
Your recipe is just awesome. What if I use the icing sugar instead regular sugar.
Thanks.
Can I use milk in place of heavy cream.
This might be a silly question: what is a good way to do a test run with gel coloring? I am trying to match my buttercream (which this recipe is so delicious) to party invite but I don’t want to waste a bunch of buttercream. Thanks!
Hi Tessa,
Is your buttercream recipe stiff enough to make roses or other flowers?
hi tessa how if i wanna make coffee buttercream
Thank you so much! I have made buttercream many times and, while for the most part I was able to achieve good results with a bit of ingredient adjusting, your simple ratio for the base is spot on. This morning I made peanut butter, raspberry, and fresh strawberry buttercreams for mini cupcakes that I need for a shower later today. Just a reminder (I hope you don’t mind) that all that all ingredients need to be near room temperature or you may end up with “broken” buttercream that is hard to fix.
Just a quick question. I tried to scroll to see if it had been asked already, but didn’t see anything, so please forgive me if it has been asked and/or answered already.How much does this yield per recipe? Also, how stiff is this? Medium, stiff like royal or thin?
Thank you kindly.
Totally the best buttercream recipe. I always get compliments on my baking. Thank you for sharing
Does this recipe keep it’s hold in heat or over long periods of time?
I made the cookie dough version of the frosting and it got rave reviews! My first frosting (different recipe) was gritty and too sweet. I made this frosting the morning of my daughter’s birthday party and it saved the whole dessert! This is bookmarked for life! Thanks so much!!!
I’m so happy to hear that! Hope your daughter had a great birthday.
How well does this recipe hold up to heat? My daughter needs a frosting recipe that won’t melt for the county fair. Thanks.
Bless your heart people ask the same questions that have already been answered always have comments that should be kept to theirselves . Please everyone enjoy this blog and do not try to change what she has wrote it is ignorant. This is a great recipe it is how true buttercream is made.
Would this hold up in a4 hour drive in a car?
So far I’ve made the peanut butter buttercream and the mint. All I can say is WOW! So creamy, fluffy and not too sweet at all. I could have eaten a bowl of the peanut butter buttercream by itself it was that good. I plan on making a white cake with the strawberry buttercream topped with chocolate covered strawberries this weekend for my Grandson’s birthday. Love your recipes!
Hello! New baker here.. I was wondering if it’s possible to use a hand mixer with a whisk attachment for this in place of the paddle attachment? Thank you!
A huge Thanks from Down Under, love love love this recipe use it always & everyone loves it. it is perfect <3
I was wondering do you need to have a stand up mixer? Is the process different for a hand mixer? I made some frosting with a handmixer and it came out clumpy.
I had no idea buttercream could be made ahead! I’m sooo going to try it. Thank you!
I don’t like it super sweep ,can I use less sugar ? Also what can I substitute milk for the cream ,if I want to make it on the spur of the moment and I don’t have cream available? Thank you
Hi Tessa! Can I lessen the amount of powdered sugar? I feel that it’s a bit too sweet using 3 cups of powdered sugar.
If I make the butter cream icing and put it on cupcakes do they need to be refrigerated?? Thanks
OMG! I made the lemon buttercream to go with the lemon cupcakes that are April’s baking challenge. This buttercream is beyond delicious. So smooth and full of lemon flavor, When I made mine I only added 1 teaspoon vanilla and no cream. If I added the cream it would have been too loose. A definite winning recipe.
Hi…I made this buttercream frosting last night and it was excellent.
Despite the comments that are negative, this worked out fantastic. Just read properly and follow the steps everyone….it is an excellent recipe. I added Nutella as an addition.
Thanks again Tessa for a terrific recipe !!!!
Hello. I have a couple of questions….for making the cookie dough variation, wouldnt the brown sugar make the frosting grainy? I dont see where the frosting is cooked to dissole yhe brown sugar?
Will using 1/2 shortening make it more stable and better crusting?
Also, for frosting an 8 x 3,, 10 x 3, and 12 x 3, how many recipes of the frosting do i need for frosting and filling?
Thank you! Cant wait to try it. Doing a baby shower cake for 80 and im freaking out!
Hey Tessa… I was just wondering if this recipe would work for hot humid places…i have tried few other buttercream frosting recipes which were very difficult to handle while frosting cupcakes
Love this buttercream recipe. It’s my go to EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Have you ever made a floral buttercream? Would be interesting to see you take on these. I’m winging it with lavender.
Hello! I am hoping to use this recipe for a set of wedding cakes but it will be outside in July, under a cover in shade of course but how well does this hold up to heat? And I need a yield of 21 cups so how well doesn’t this recipe work in bulk? It would be really nice to have a buttercream that is easy to work with, isn’t too sweet, and will hold up for a couple days while I make the 4 cakes.
This recipe seems like a simple Buttercream recipe. Nothing different for the other buttercream recipe. So why this one can handle the heat?
This is my go to frosting for when I make the chocolate cake recipe on the Hershey’s baking cocoa container.
I never fail to receive raving compliments when I bring a cake to meals at church or work. There are never any leftovers.
I have been using this recipe for years and it works perfectly every time! I have tried it with all different flavors and combinations and everyone always enjjoys it. Thank you!
I have made this recipe many, many times and it’s the best recipe I have come across. People always tell me how good it is with just the right amount of sweetness. The only thing I do a bit differently is I don’t add the cream right away. I mix it up, store it in the fridge and then when I go to use it I whip the cream in.
Nothing special here. Another tooth achingly sweet American buttercream. Any other type of buttercream- Swiss Meringue, Italian Meringue, French, Creme Anglaise, Ermine, etc. is well worth learning how to make.
This recipe sounds great! I have a question though, sorry if this sounds silly. I’m wanting to make the chocolate buttercream for my son’s birthday cake this weekend. But I don’t want the color of the frosting to be too dark because of how I’m going to be decorating the cake. Would you say the chocolate buttercream is a fairly dark brown? Or is there any way to lighten the color while still getting the good chocolate flavor? Help! TIA!
Hi Tessa how much is 1/2 cup cocoa in grams please and at what point do you add it in? Thanks!
Hi, I have to make a blue (darker blue) train for my son’s party (it’s 3D) and I’m concerned about the food coloring taste (my husband declares it as soapy). Would a chocolate buttercream help cover the taste or is there another trick? It’s for a bunch of 3 year olds so negotiating a different color is out of the question.
Also – does this recipe pipe well? I’m decorating with hundreds and hundreds of tiny stars….It will be decorated 2 days before the party.
Chocolate buttercream is really hard to color. I have to say… most kids don’t notice the taste of food coloring 😉 You can try using vanilla paste to help improve the flavor. You can make any recipe pipe well – just be sure the butter is not too warm and add extra powdered sugar for more stiffness for more intricate designs 🙂
Hi, thanks for the recipe.
do i need to re whip it if i store it in the fridge and for how long??
Thank you
Always turns out perfect!
What if we don’t have any heavy whipping cream can we use whipped cream?
Hi. The brown sugar variation say flour is in it. When do I add the flour?
I love this buttercream, so nice and smooth! But I hate having to use so much butter. Bite Sized Kitchen has a recipe for a buttercream like frosting without the butter! https://bitesizedkitchen.com/powdered-sugar-vanilla-frosting/ Do yo think this will work as a faux buttercream for those limiting their butter intake?
Hi is this recipe good for humid hot days? Like will it collapse like a normal buttercream mixture.
Any suggestions on how to make an oreo version?
Is there a substitute to cream?
I loved it soo easy to make I just made standard vanilla butter cream for a pumpkin loaf I had made. I love all your recipes. I bought your cookie book. I love baking I’m not a pro but do love seeing people devour the bakes and the complements I get. So thank you!!! I love it! Thank you for all your efforts.
Wish I was a baker
Ooh pumpkin loaf with vanilla buttercream sounds heavenly! So glad you bought the cookie book, too! Thanks so much for the kind comment, Stephanie.
Did the lemon iteration for the lemon cupcakes. The icing is great. Spreads/pipes well, doesn’t crust too much when the air hits, and the flavour is absolutely outstanding. Creamy enough yet as sweet as I like it. I’ll go to this recipe for any buttercream in the future..
Lemon buttercream is divine, isn’t it?! I’m so glad you found your go-to buttercream recipe!