This Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe is the perfect frosting for your cakes and cupcakes. It whips up to smooth and creamy perfection with a wonderful vanilla flavor. It is great for piping and holds its shape well.
Table of contents
😋 Cakes, Cupcakes, and More!
Our silky smooth Vanilla Buttercream is perfect for all your delicious baked treats.
Whether you’re making an everyday cake, a fancy cake, cupcakes, or another type of baked good, you can’t go wrong with this easy frosting recipe.
I often use this frosting recipe for birthday cakes where the frosting is going to be piped on because the frosting holds its shape so well.
If you are using this frosting at an event where your cake or cupcakes will be outside in the heat for a significant amount of time, I suggest substituting half of the butter with Crisco shortening.
The shortening has a higher melting point than butter so this will help the frosting stay lofty longer.
🔑 Pro Tips
1. Use real butter, not margarine – I prefer to use salted butter but unsalted butter works as well.
2. Speaking of salt, if your frosting is too sweet for your taste you can add a pinch or two of salt. I add salt almost every time.
3. A bit of heavy cream will make the frosting so silky and smooth.
This recipe makes enough frosting to generously frost a two-layer cake.
🌈 Coloring the Frosting
It is very easy to color this frosting in any shade that you desire using gel food coloring.
I recommend the Americolor gel food coloring to tint this Buttercream Frosting your favorite color.
Americolor has kits that allow you to get multiple colors at a discounted price.
I often use the Americolor Student Kit that has 12 basic colors. This kit covers a wide range of uses.
With gel food coloring, you only need a few drops to tint an entire batch of frosting so they last a long time.
📌 Get the Printable Recipe for Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
We have used this Vanilla Buttercream Frosting for pretty pink Sweet 16 Birthday Cupcakes.
We also used it on a fancy LEGO Minecraft birthday cake where we colored the buttercream green and used it to pipe grass on the top of the cake.
And we used it to decorate Witch Hat Cupcakes for Halloween.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt optional
- gel food coloring optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer beat the butter until light and fluffy.
- Gradually add in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well on medium speed after each addition.
- Add in heavy cream a little at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Add in vanilla and salt or gel food coloring, if using, and beat until light and fluffy.
Equipment
Nutrition
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You can also try our Chocolate Buttercream Frosting if you need a wonderful chocolate frosting recipe.