The Best Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
This is The Best Vanilla Buttercream Frosting! It’s rich and creamy, and is super easy to whip up. It pipes beautifully, and is the perfect way to finish off all of your cakes and cupcakes!
We celebrated our daughter’s fifth birthday last week and even as I type this, I find myself still sitting here in a state of denial!
It seems like just yesterday I was sharing a tutorial on how to make her 1st birthday smash cake. But in reality, it was actually FOUR years ago!!!
When people say “the days are long but the years are short,” that is the absolute truth. I sure wish time would slow down with these babies of mine.
Our princess’s request for her birthday cake was a “pink cake with a ballerina on top.”
I was able to provide the pink frosting just fine, but after realizing my construction efforts are pretty subpar, I turned to Etsy for a ballerina cake topper. Which was GORGEOUS by the way! If you’re interested, this is the one I ordered.
As for the frosting, I made this one (and dyed it pink). This is my go-to frosting recipe, and in my opinion, is The BEST Vanilla Buttercream Frosting ever!
I’ve been making it for AGES so I’m surprised I haven’t shared it before!
I have another recipe for buttercream here on my site that I use a lot as well, but this one right here is my favorite because it doesn’t require shortening, and it’s SO SO delicious!
I add plenty of vanilla to give it really good flavor and it pipes onto cakes and cupcakes so well, and holds its shape beautifully! I think y’all are really going to love it!
If you share this Vanilla Buttercream Frosting or any other recipe from my site on Instagram, tag #belleofthekitchen so I can see what you’ve made! And follow me @thebelleofthekitchen, too!
Recipe: The Best Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks),, softened
- 4.5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 4-5 Tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk
Instructions
- Beat the softened butter over medium speed with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Continue to beat over medium speed as you gradually add the powdered sugar. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed to fully incorporate all of the sugar.
- Once butter and sugar have come together, add the vanilla. Beat in the heavy cream or milk 1 Tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. This frosting is perfect for piping, or for simply spreading onto cakes and cupcakes!
Notes
If you like this recipe for The Best Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, then you might also like:
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I absolutely love this recipe!! The only thing is to use less sugar. I added a cup less and it was still too sweet. I personally don’t like very sweet but if you do I would still recommend at least a half cup less. Otherwise very delicious! Also, very true to the time. 🧁
deliciously fluffy and rich. is a little thick but you can thin it out. If you have a delicate cake definitely do
Delicious and very easy to make!
SUPER SWEET!! I recommend using 2 or 2.5 cups of powder sugar instead of 4.5 for me it was way to sweet and over powered by the powder sugar. I have a sweet tooth but this was just over board. However the texture and consistency was very nice for piping!
sounds delicious! Would this “hold up” to the addition of fresh or canned pineapple? I have an abundance of tangerines and plan to make “pea/pig pickin’ cake” which has whipped cream & pineapple filling & frosting-hoping to sub this buttercream instead of whipped cream with a package of vanilla pudding as recipe is written.
Hello i am making some mini cupcakes for my sons birthday party on friday, i was wondering if this icing could be made ahead of time and refridgerated and frost my cupcakes the day of the party. Thank you.
Yes it can be made in advance and refrigerated. Take it out and let it sit on the counter for about 20-30 minutes before you frost your cupcakes so that it can soften up; it hardens in the fridge.
Best buttercream recipe ever!! It is honestly sooo good and everyone raved about my cupcakes for days!
I’m wondering what I could add to make this chocolate flavoured?? Thank you!
Add some Hersheys Powdered Cocoa, a couple of heaping tablespoons or more, and you will turn it into chocolate frosting.
Best buttercream I have ever made and I have tried many. This is PERFECT.
Good
How much frosting should I make for 3-layer, 9-inch chocolate cake? And, is it ok to use whole milk instead of heavy cream? Please let me know. Thanks!
If you are using thin layers of frosting between the cake layers, this amount should be enough. If you want thicker layers or will be piping a lot of designs, you may want to increase the recipe to 1.5x.
Without fail, hands down the best buttercream frosting recipe.
This was my first time making icing, and this recipe was a breeze! The icing comes out so soft and delicious, and it’s so easy to make. It also yields a TON of icing! I was able to ice 24 cupcakes with just one batch! Will definitely be making it again.
Best one I’ve made quana(thank you)
I love this recipe and I now am using it on every cake or cupcake I make
yes! exactly I loved it too it was so easy for me
Great frosting recipe! My husband isn’t huge on frosting and this was a winner! Even my in-laws loved it that I had to share the recipe!
Can this be used on Christmas Sugar Cookies? Love this frosting for cakes and cupcakes and would love to try it on cookies.
I would use royal icing for sugar cookies. This recipe is great on cakes though.
Yes. I use this same type of frosting on my annual Christmas sugar cookies. I lay them unstacked in a single layer of a big gift box since this frosting doesn’t harden like royal icing would. My family insists on these cookies and frosting every year. After frosting them let them sit as long as you can (overnight or for a few hours) and then put them in the box and off you go. So delicious!
I use this recipe every time I make cakes! Is there a chocolate version?