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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I want to teach you how to make the BEST buttercream frosting you’ve ever had.
There’s nothing worse than the sickeningly sweet and artificial-tasting store-bought frosting that comes in tubs or is loaded onto grocery store birthday cakes. I usually scrape that stuff off whenever I’m served something like that – which is saying something for this sweet-toothed girl!
But not this recipe! Perfectly balanced in sweetness, silky smooth and creamy in texture, and an absolute dream to both frost with and eat.
Free Buttercream Guide!
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Making homemade buttercream is super easy. I’ll teach you how to make perfect buttercream step-by-step, so there’s no need to feel intimidated.
This recipe is the easiest way to level up your homemade cupcakes and cakes – and it’s so much fun to customize the flavors, too. Check out all my flavor suggestions below.
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Buttercream Frosting
What is American Buttercream?
American-style Buttercream Frosting is made of butter and powdered sugar, whipped together with a little cream and some flavoring (such as vanilla extract).
Some American buttercream recipes will contain shortening or a combination of butter and shortening, but I prefer an all-butter mixture. Shortening leaves a slightly greasy film behind on the palate and has a slight aftertaste that I don’t prefer.
The Butter
Use high-quality butter since it’s the base of the recipe. I prefer to use unsalted butter in all my baking so I’m in control of the salt. Also, be cautious that your butter isn’t too warm or too cold. Your butter should ideally be about 67°F.
Heavy Cream (and alternatives)
You can use milk or half-and-half if that’s all you have, but I highly recommend using heavy cream if possible for its creaminess and maximum richness.
The Sugar
Always use powdered sugar in American-style buttercream – other types of sugar simply won’t work the same way.
Sift powdered sugar before adding it to your buttercream. Most recipes (including mine) are written like this: “3 cups powdered sugar, sifted” which means you measure the sugar first, then sift it before adding it in.
For the absolute smoothest buttercream frosting, I recommend investing in organic powdered sugar that contains tapioca starch instead of cornstarch because it dissolves much more readily to remove grittiness. This is the brand of organic powdered sugar I usually use, though Trader Joe’s also has a great option available too.
The Vanilla
I recommend using a high-quality pure vanilla extract (not an imitation vanilla flavor) when making a buttercream, especially if you’re making a vanilla buttercream, as it’s the star of the show.
Feel free to use vanilla bean paste instead, for a pretty speckled look and heavenly flavor.
How to Tell When Buttercream is Properly Creamed
Look for smooth, fluffy buttercream that’s light and bright in color. If your frosting still looks a bit yellow or feels dense, it’s probably not creamed enough. Check out the photos below for a visual guide:
Ways to Use Buttercream Frosting:
- Fill and frost cake, like my Chocolate Cake
- Pipe onto cupcakes, like my Chocolate Cupcakes or Lemon Cupcakes
- Easily spread on cookies, like my Sugar Cookies
- Use as decoration for any treat you like!
Must-Have Tools:
Buttercream Frosting 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 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.
- Coconut: Add 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract.
- Cinnamon: Add 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon.
- 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).
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: Use 3/4 cup light brown sugar in place of all powdered sugar, add 1 1/4 cups flour*, and garnish with mini chocolate chips. *To make the raw flour safer, we need to kill bacteria. Treat the flour by baking it at 350°F for 10 minutes or microwaving in 30-second bursts until it reaches 165°F. Use an instant-read thermometer to guarantee it hits the temperature at which bacteria dies. Heating the flour in the oven also toasts it slightly, giving it a slightly nutty caramelized flavor.
More Buttercream Recipes You’ll Love:
The Best Buttercream
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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 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.
Recipe Notes
This post was published in 2021 and updated in 2023 with new photos and recipe improvements. Photos by Joanie Simon.
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.
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
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.
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.
How long should I keep the butter out so it is at cold room temperature, please help!
Thank you!!!
Btw your website is awesome!!!!!!
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!
I love all of your recipe guides, and this buttercream frosting looks perfect!
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 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.
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 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).
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.