Tessa's Recipe Rundown
TASTE: Perfect level of sweetness without being cloyingly sweet.
TEXTURE: I love how creamy this frosting is! It has a velvety, silky texture that can’t be beat.
EASE: Super easy. This frosting comes together in just a few minutes.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: With so many customization options, your cakes and cupcakes are about to be more delicious than ever.
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This is my go-to best buttercream recipe for layer cakes and cupcakes: smooth, creamy, and easy to pipe without being overly sweet or gritty.
It’s a classic American buttercream frosting recipe made with simple ingredients, a carefully balanced ratio, and kitchen tested troubleshooting tips so it works every single time.
American buttercream gets a bad reputation for being too cloying or hard to pipe. But that’s usually a ratio or technique problem.
After testing multiple batches with different butters, brands of sugar, and mixing methods, my version consistently produces a smooth, pipeable frosting that tastes balanced instead of sugary.
Reader Love
Made this buttercream for my niece’s fifth birthday–it was perfect. Tripled it and was able to frost 50 cupcakes! Didn’t realize how important sifting the powdered sugar was–texture was so smooth! Definitely my go-to recipe!
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Sprinkle of Science
Buttercream Types: Which One Should You Use?
Before diving in, it helps to know not all buttercream is the same.
- American Buttercream (this recipe): Made with butter and powdered sugar. Sweet, quick, and sturdy. Best for beginners and decorative piping.
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Egg whites + sugar cooked and whipped, then butter added. Silky and less sweet, but more technical.
- Italian Buttercream: Hot sugar syrup whipped into egg whites, then butter. Very stable, great for warm conditions.
- French Buttercream: Uses egg yolks for richness. Softer and custard-like.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Not exactly a buttercream, but made of rich dairy product and sugar all the same.
If you want the easiest, fastest option, American buttercream is the best place to start.
Ingredient Notes
There’s only a handful of ingredients, so each one matters!
Powdered sugar: Also called confectioners’ sugar. For the smoothest texture, choose an organic powdered sugar with tapioca starch instead of cornstarch, which can add a gritty texture. Sifting is essential for a smooth texture!
Unsalted butter: Use butter that’s cool but pliable (about 67°F). Too warm = greasy frosting; too cold = dense instead of fluffy. If using salted butter, cut the salt in the recipe in half.
Salt: Don’t skip! It balances flavor.
Vanilla extract: Use real vanilla for the best flavor. For an upgrade, try using vanilla bean paste!
Heavy cream or milk: Cream creates a richer mouthfeel, while milk makes a slightly lighter frosting. Either will help smooth out the buttercream for easier spreadability.
How to Make the Best Buttercream (Step-by-Step)
- Cream the butter. Beat the butter on medium speed with the paddle attachment (not the whisk — that’ll create more air bubbles!) until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. It should look pale and spreadable, not shiny or greasy.
- Add the powdered sugar gradually. Add the sugar on low speed in batches to prevent is from making a mess.
- Adjust the consistency. Add cream or milk a tablespoon at a time until the frosting is smooth and pipeable. The frosting should form soft peaks that hold their shape.
- Flavor and finish. Add vanilla and salt, then beat on low to medium speed until fluffy.
Storage & Make Ahead
Room temperature:
Buttercream can sit out safely for up to a day, if your kitchen is cold.
Refrigerator:
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature and re-whip before using.
Freezer:
Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then beat until smooth.
Flavor Variations
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 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 1/2 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder and 1/2 cup Kahlua in place of the cream.
- Mint: Add 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract and a few drops of green food coloring.
- Nutella: Add 2/3 cup Nutella and reduce powdered sugar to 2 cups.
- Lemon (or any other citrus): Add 2 tablespoons lemon zest and 3 tablespoons lemon juice and increase powdered sugar to 3 1/2 cups.
- Pumpkin: Add 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, remove cream.
- Salted Caramel: Add 1/3 cup caramel sauce, remove cream, and increase salt to 1 teaspoon (if your caramel sauce isn’t salted).
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Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter, at a cool room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy or whipping cream
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add 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 speed 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.
Notes
More Recipes You’ll Love:
This post was published in 2021 and updated in 2023 with new photos and recipe improvements. Photos by Joanie Simon.
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 🙂
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.
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!!
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?
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.
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.
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).
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!
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 🙂
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!
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?
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).