This Vanilla Buttercream is creamy, light, and fluffy, and best of all it's not overly sweet. It's the perfect frosting for cupcakes, cakes and so much more!
Say goodbye to overly sweet frosting and hello to the perfect balance of flavor and texture with my Vanilla Buttercream recipe!
I would say as an Asian person, and if you're reading this and you are Asian you would understand and believe me when I say that this vanilla buttercream recipe isn't overly sweet. Most American buttercream frosting recipes have a 2 to 1 ratio of powdered sugar to butter. Even though this does create a more stable and firmer buttercream it's too sweet for my taste.
This Vanilla Buttercream is made with simple ingredients like real butter, powdered sugar, and a splash of heavy cream. Don't get intimidated by making buttercream and using store-bought frosting instead.
Why You'll Love This Vanilla Buttercream:
- Unlike most American buttercream frostings, my recipe isn’t too sweet! This is a buttercream that isn’t too overly sweet and is still perfectly stable, buttery, and delicious.
- This classic vanilla buttercream is perfect to pipe, as it holds its shape beautifully, but is still soft and creamy too.
- Easy recipe to make and fix if something goes wrong.
- I will show you how to get the whitest buttercream! I use two methods, and you can choose which is better for you to make pure white buttercream frosting
Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients
Full recipe with measurements is listed below.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted butter will work fine, but if you use salted butter, consider leaving out any added salt later in the recipe.
- Confectioners Sugar- To sift or not to sift? Truthfully I hardly ever sift my powdered sugar, because I spend so much time mixing it, that I don’t ever have a grainy texture. That being said, sifting powdered sugar can absolutely help you avoid a grainy texture.
- Vanilla Extract -For the best possible flavor, make sure you’re using a high-quality pure vanilla extract, not the imitation stuff! A good vanilla buttercream has to have a quality vanilla extract. If you're feeling extra fancy I love Vanilla Bean paste also.
- Heavy Cream - You can substitute it with milk, but using heavy whipping cream helps produce a light and fluffy texture.
- Salt- A pinch of salt goes a long way
Vanilla Buttercream Instructions:
The perfect buttercream can be made with a hand mixer or a stand up electric mixer. Hand mixer will require a lot more time and patience.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
It should change from a yellow to a pale yellow.
Butter is whipped to a lighter yellow.
Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing on low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure all ingredients are well combined.
Add the vanilla extract and heavy cream to the butter mixture, then increase to medium-high speed. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
If the frosting is too thick, add additional heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency.
Once the frosting is smooth and fluffy, it's ready to use! Spread or pipe onto your favorite treats, such as vanilla cupcakes, cakes, or sugar cookies.
Storage
- Store any leftover Vanilla Buttercream in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days. It can also be frozen for up to 6 months and refrigerated for up to 1 week.
Flavor Variations:
- Lemon buttercream – Add 1 teaspoon lemon extract, as well as the lemon zest from one lemon.
- Strawberry buttercream – For strawberry buttercream I would recommend using freeze dried strawberries and grinding it into a powder and mixing it with the buttercream.
- Coffee buttercream – Dissolve some instant coffee powder with the vanilla extract and add it to the buttercream. You can also dissolve the instant coffee in the smallest amount of cream and add that.
- Chocolate buttercream – For a simple Chocolate buttercream you can simpy add ¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to the buttercream. Frost on chocolate cupcakes for a double chocolate cupcake!
- Peanut Butter Buttercream: Add 1 cup of your favorite peanut butter. You may want to make a double batch of this one!
Food Coloring:
Gel based food colors are best as they don't change the consistency of the overall buttercream. Powdered ones are also great to use, they are very vibrant and require just a little bit. But they can be quite expensive depending on where you purchase it from.
How can I make my buttercream extra white?
- Method 1: One of the easiest ways is to whip the buttercream longer. It will not be a pure white as butter is yellow and the better-quality butter you buy the less white it will be. Organic powdered sugar will also turn your buttercream beiger versus regular powdered sugar.
- Method 2: Add the smallest drop of violet food coloring or white food coloring
There are air bubbles in my frosting.
I love fluffy frosting when it comes to decorating cake layers. It's so much easier to fill and crumb coat the cakes. But when your fluffy vanilla frosting has air bubbles in it while piping details on a cake it's terrible.
- Method 1: Don't overbeat your frosting. beating your vanilla buttercream on speed 10 in your kitchenaid mixer is only going to give you more air bubbles. Instead don't mix it any higher than speed 8 and at the very end when your buttercream is done mix on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes to allow the air bubbles to release resulting in a silky smooth buttercream.
- Method 2: Not my favorite method but it's the easiest when you're on-crunch time. Take ½ cup of your buttercream and melt it in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds. Your buttercream should not be like melt and be liquidy. It should be shiny and not flufy. Add that into your KitchenAid bowl and mix on low speed. You should begin to see your buttercream just turn into a smoother texture.
Way to use Vanilla Buttercream
I've used this recipe so many times and I get so many compliments as it's not overly sweet. I pair this vanilla buttercream with chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and some sprinkles.
Raspberry Cupcakes
A whisk attachment is not recommended when make an American buttercream. It will incorporate too much-unneeded air bubbles into the frosting. A Swiss meringue buttercream or Italian meringue buttercream requires a whisk attachment.
Use unsalted butter and make sure it's butter and not margarine. Salted Butter works fine too but you would have to use a mix of unsalted and salted butter.
Yes! Double, triple, make as much as you want.
12 cupcakes depending on decor
6-inch two layered cake
Perfect Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 1.5 cup confectioners' sugar see notes
- 2 tablespoon Heavy Cream see notes
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the room temperature butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. It should change from a yellow to a pale yellow.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing on low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure all ingredients are well combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and heavy cream to the butter mixture, then increase to medium-high speed. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes.
- If the frosting is too thick, add additional heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Once the frosting is smooth and fluffy, it's ready to use!