Homemade Buttercream Frosting

Homemade Buttercream Frosting is one of the best basic recipes to have on hand. This classic recipe makes enough pillowy frosting for 24 cupcakes or a 9-inch layer cake.

Of all the recipes on My Baking Addiction, this Homemade Buttercream Frosting is definitely the recipe that I make the most in my kitchen. In fact, it’s probably the most requested recipe amongst family and friends – well, maybe the second most requested next to My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Whether I’m whipping up cupcakes, layer cakes, or cookies, this Homemade Buttercream Frosting is the perfect way to top just about anything. As much as I love cream cheese frosting, this is the frosting recipe I keep coming back to time and time again.

I can’t tell you how many times people have said, “I could eat this with a spoon!” And I’ve actually made this for my aunt’s co-worker to do just that. She would put a serving in a little bowl and snack on it while watching her favorite TV shows.

Guys, it’s THAT good!

Why this is the best homemade buttercream frosting

One of the most common questions that I get from my readers is about buttercream frosting.

Although I have made many frosting recipes over the years, this Homemade Buttercream Frosting is by far one of my favorite recipes due to its flavor, simplicity, and smooth texture.

• Perfect texture and flavor: This buttercream frosting has a silky smooth, light texture and a beautiful vanilla flavor. No heavy frostings here!
• No greasiness: A lot of folks debate about using shortening versus butter in frosting. I prefer unsalted butter for the fat component because I find it less greasy than buttercream made with shortening. You’re left with a silky mouthfeel without any residual oiliness.
• Easy to make: Anyone can make this frosting — seriously! If you can turn on a mixer, you’re golden.
• Easy to use: This buttercream flows smoothly through a variety of piping tips and holds its shape well, making it easy to decorate your favorite cakes and cupcakes. It also flows easily through a variety of piping tips. My favorite tips are the 1M from Wilton, large round and large French tips.
• Makes the perfect amount: This recipe makes enough to generously frost 24+ cupcakes, 9-inch layer cake, or a sheet cake.

With this basic buttercream recipe under your belt, you’ll be well on your way to creating cake and cupcake masterpieces.

Types of buttercream frosting

There are many variations of recipes for buttercream. And not just American vs Italian vs. Swiss meringue, etc. But even within American-style buttercream like this, there are all kinds of recipes!

Let’s talk about the three main types of buttercream:

American Buttercream Frosting – This buttercream is fast, simple and what you see on most grocery store cakes. It’s essentially fat (butter, margarine, or shortening), confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract whipped together.

The recipe in this post is for an American-style buttercream.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream – Swiss meringue buttercream is made by cooking egg whites and sugar together in a bowl placed over a pot of boiling water.

The mixture is continuously whisked while it reaches 140° F. The egg white and sugar mixture is then removed from the heat and whipped at high speed until it forms stiff peaks and has cooled.

Italian Buttercream – Italian buttercream is made by whipping eggs whites with sugar syrup and butter. Before adding the syrup to the egg whites, it is cooked to the soft-ball stage (240°F).

How to make my buttercream frosting

Our Homemade Buttercream Frosting is so easy to make, you’ll wonder why you ever bothered buying frosting.

Ingredients you’ll need

The ingredients for this homemade buttercream are pretty simple. For a full batch of this frosting (enough to frost 24 cupcakes or a 9-inch layer cake), you will need:

• 1 ½ cups softened unsalted butter: Make sure to use room temperature butter for the smoothest frosting. If you forget to set it out ahead of time, check out my tips for softening butter quickly.
• Tiny pinch fine sea salt: To balance out the sweetness.
• 1 ½ pounds (24 ounces/6 cups) powdered sugar, sifted: Sift your powdered sugar for the smoothest frosting. I also recommend weighing it instead of measuring it by volume. If you measure by volume, use the same fluff, scoop, and sweep method that you use when measuring flour. If you run out of powdered sugar, learn how to make powdered sugar from granulated sugar.
• 1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract: I like to use clear vanilla in my frosting to keep it a bright white, although I will occasionally use pure vanilla extract, especially if I am going to be adding food coloring anyway.
• 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk: You can use cream or milk in this recipe. I don’t really have a preference; I will use whichever I happen to have on hand! Both work great.

Making this recipe

All you need to make buttercream frosting is a large bowl, an electric mixer, and a rubber spatula. If you are using a stand mixer instead of a hand mixer, I recommend using the paddle attachment.

Cream the butter until it is very, very smooth. This is really the most important step in this entire recipe. I set a kitchen timer for 5-6 minutes and just let my stand mixer do all of the work.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add in the salt and slowly add in the powdered sugar, continuing to beat the mixture until it is well blended.

Add in the vanilla and cream or milk and beat on low speed until combined.

Once the vanilla and cream or milk are incorporated, turn up the mixer speed to medium-high and set another timer for an additional 6-7 minutes. This will ensure your Homemade Buttercream Frosting is ultra-fluffy and creamy.

You can add additional cream or milk if you want a softer consistency, but I recommend adding it just a couple of teaspoons at a time until it’s just right.

Now your frosting is ready to use or store for later!

Flavoring options

One of the best things about knowing how to make buttercream frosting is being able to make your own flavored buttercream!

There are lots of different ways to flavor this recipe. Of course there is always the classic vanilla extract, vanilla paste or vanilla beans. You guys know I am obsessed with vanilla everything and always use pure vanilla extract; however, this buttercream is the exception.

More often than not, I turn to Wilton’s Clear Vanilla Extract for this recipe. It keeps my homemade buttercream frosting super white and has the perfect, yummy, creamy vanilla flavor that is simply my favorite in buttercream.

You can also use any other flavor extract you like, such as peppermint extract.

Some of my other favorite variations include:

• For any citrus flavors, I like to reach for fresh citrus zest or juice like in my lemon buttercream frosting. Even though lemon is the most common, you could try lime, orange, or grapefruit instead.
• We can’t forget chocolate – you can add cocoa powder and melted chocolate to turn this into chocolate buttercream like I used on Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes.
• Fruit flavors are always a favorite. Use fresh fruit puree like in my strawberry frosting or my lemon blueberry buttercream, or use your favorite fruit preserves, like in my raspberry buttercream.
• And don’t forget about brown butter! My brown butter frosting is a perfect example of the magic that happens when you brown the butter for this recipe.

Using homemade buttercream

There are a million different ways to use homemade buttercream. The most obvious is for frosting cakes or cupcakes. This recipe will make enough frosting to generously cover 24 cupcakes, one 9-inch layer cake, or a 9×13-inch sheet cake.

You can also put your homemade buttercream inside your cupcakes! Try using one flavor as a cupcake filling and a second flavor on top.

If you’ve never filled cupcakes before, I have a whole post that walks you through the easiest ways to fill cupcakes.

It also makes a fantastic filling for sandwich cookies. Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies are perfection thanks to a buttercream filling.

Really, Homemade Buttercream Frosting can be used for anything that has frosting on top! Think Halloween rice krispie treats, for example.

Frequently asked questions