Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe (VIDEO)
Our favorite Vanilla Buttercream Frosting! This American buttercream recipe is creamy, fluffy, and has just the right amount of sweetness. It pipes beautifully on Vanilla Cake, our favorite Cupcakes, and even Sugar Cookies.
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Watch Buttercream Frosting Video Recipe:
This classic buttercream frosting is one of the easiest and most stable frostings you will make. Vanilla buttercream is perfect as is, but also works great for adding different colors and flavorings (see instructions below). Watch the video tutorial and you will realize just how easy it is.
What is American Buttercream?
American buttercream is essentially a combination of butter, confectioners sugar (or powdered sugar), adding a little milk or cream to lighten the texture with vanilla and salt for flavor. Most American buttercreams are overly sweet, but after testing this recipe over the years, we came up with the perfect proportion of butter to powdered sugar along with our tips for achieving the best buttercream texture.
The consistency is similar to our famous Swiss Meringue Buttercream, but there is no heating or cooking required because American Buttercream frosting doesn’t contain eggs.
Ingredients for Buttercream Frosting:
Butter: keep about 2 hours at room temperature or until butter is 65˚F to 67˚F on an instant-read thermometer, or until you can indent the butter with your finger. Choose a lighter-colored butter which is typically the cheaper butter. Avoid yellow-colored butter.
Vanilla Extract: Use the best quality vanilla extract.
Heavy Cream or milk: add it to desired consistency. Without it, the frosting will look dry and won’t pipe as smoothly. If it’s too thick, it can also get stuck in the piping tip. Start with adding 1 Tbsp of cream or milk at a time and add it to your desired consistency, mixing between each addition.
Powdered Sugar: sift to eliminate lumps so they don’t get stuck in your piping tips.
Can I add less sugar? You can add powdered sugar to taste but using more will make the frosting thicker and using less with make the frosting looser and taste more buttery. If using less sugar, you will likely need to add less cream or milk at the end.
How to Add Different Flavors to Buttercream:
To make flavored buttercream, just stir in your desired flavorings at the very end of mixing. Try these mix-ins:
- Chocolate Buttercream: Add 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, or add to taste.
- Coffee Buttercream: Dissolve 1 1/2 Tbsp instant espresso powder in 2 Tbsp warm water.
- Raspberry or Strawberry Buttercream: Add 1/2 cup seedless preserves and red fool coloring for a deeper color.
How to Add Color to Buttercream Frosting:
A white vanilla buttercream base is perfect for adding color because it doesn’t compete with other colors. If you plan to color the buttercream, start with a thicker frosting (add little or no cream at the end since the color can thin the frosting slightly).
- Set aside the amount of frosting you want to color in a separate dish.
- Add 1-2 drops at a time depending on frosting quantity then stir and add more as needed. Wilton has a great guide to achieving the right color.
Gel Color is best because it is thicker and more concentrated than liquid food coloring. You can add more color before your frosting gets too thin. We recommend the Wilton Color Right 8-piece (a great starter kit), or the Americolor 12-piece set (if you want more unique shades). Both sets work well for adding color to frostings.
Can I Make Buttercream Ahead?
If you aren’t using it right away, you can refrigerate buttercream frosting in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks or freeze up to 3 months. When ready to use the frosting, follow these steps:
- Thaw if frozen – Allow the buttercream frosting to thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- Room Temperature – let the chilled frosting to come to room temperature, or until no longer firm.
- Stir – use a spatula to fold and soften the frosting before using it.
More Frosting Recipes:
These are our best-loved frosting recipes and the ones we make most often to frost cakes and cupcakes. I hope they all become new favorites for you!
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting – the same one we used for our popular Chocolate Cake
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting – a stable cream often used on wedding cakes
- Cupcake Frosting – so simple and lightened up with cream cheese
- Chocolate Ganache – can be used as a glaze or whipped into a frosting
- White Chocolate Frosting – sturdy and pipes beautifully
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe
This American buttercream frosting recipe has just the right amount of sweetness and pipes beautifully and will cover a 9-inch layer cake, 24 cupcakes, and many sugar cookies!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 4 1/2 to 5 cups powdered sugar or added to taste
- 1/4 tsp fine salt or to taste
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3-4 Tbsp heavy cream or whole milk added to desired consistency
Instructions
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or handheld electric mixer), beat butter on high speed for 5 minutes or until lightened in color and whipped, scraping down the bowl as needed.
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Meanwhile, sift 4 1/2 to 5 cups of powdered sugar. Reduce mixer to medium-low speed and add powdered sugar one heaping Tablespoon at a time, letting it incorporate with each addition. Add powdered sugar to taste and beat until it is fully incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
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Add 1/4 tsp fine salt (or to taste), then add 4 tsp Vanilla Extract, beating until incorporated.
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Add 3 Tbsp heavy cream or milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, and adding it to the desired consistency. Beat another minute until whipped and well combined.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi Natasha
I live in uk and want to make your buttercream birthday cake. We don’t have the small butter blocks here. We have one block that we have to cut. Can you tell me the weight in grams so I can weigh the butter out. 1 2/2 cups and 1 cup.
Thanks
Hi Amar, this Ingredient Weight Chart can help. Also, our new recipes have gram conversions, you just have to click on Jump to recipe and click Metric to convert it.
how long will the frosting expire?
Hi Monie, please see this note: “Can I Make Buttercream Ahead?” in the recipe post. “If you aren’t using it right away, you can refrigerate buttercream frosting in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks or freeze up to 3 months. When ready to use the frosting, follow these steps:” I hope this helps.
Hi what Butter to use so it does not looks yellow the buttercream
Please help
Hi Ingrid, Some kinds of butter are more yellow in color and make this less white. I’ve tried organic unsalted by Simple truth brand and the long sticks from Costco by Kirkland signature unsalted butter, and both were very white in color.
Hi Natasha, my family loves this recipe. I have made it a few times but I can’t seem to pipe it. It is so watery and nothing holds when I pipe it. What am I doing wrong? Am I over mixing the icing? I do want to use this and learn how to work with it so I can pipe properly.
Hi Kul, make sure your butter isn’t overly soft which could make it difficult to pipe.
Hello Natasha. Can I add cocoa powder to make it chocolate flavored, if so what quantity? My daughter’s favorite cake is yellow cake with chocolate frosting so I’m dying to try it. Thanks to this pandemic I’ve made a ton of your recipes and all have been hits! Last night was your French onion soup!
Hi Tamara, I haven’t tried that yet to advise. I think it’s worth experimenting with! If you try it, please share with us how it goes.
Hi Natasha, when a recipe says to “mix or sti,” what equipment should I use? I always get confused when I come aross this. Do I use a whisk? A spatula? A beater or something else? When a recipe says to whisk, I know to use a whisk. When it says to mix or stir, I never know when to use.
Hi Penny, that is a great point. We will make a point of that in the future. We did include in this one in the first step: “In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or handheld electric mixer)” and the mixing is all done in the bowl with the whisk attachment. If I change out an attachment or use a different tool, I will note it in the recipe. I hope that is helpful to you.
Sorry about all that long speech, it was meant for the vanilla cake recipe. I paired it with this recipe though and it was deviiiiiiiiiine
Hello Natasha,!!! I am only 11 but I can bake pretty decently and everybody lovvvvvvvved this recipe. I made a few tweaks: I added some strawberries when I was assembling the cake (cake, frosting, strawberries, cake, frosting all around) and I used the strawberries and mashed them -not to much, eww-and used some for coloring. Perfect if u need some pink. If u don’t have food coloring this is helpful (also blueberries for blue/purple,) this also gives a strwberry flavor. I didn’t want a full on strawberry cake so this was perfect. I didnt have buttermilk on hand either just 1 tablespoon lemon (or lime or vinegar) in milk, and let curdle (5-10 min) still amazing! Most good moist ck recipes use cake flour but this one doesn’t and is still perfect! I don’t want to sound like one of those fake Happy-go-lucky reveiws/comments but this is actually GOOD👌👍🤯(plus earned me some compliments even from my mom who usually does not like sweet stuff🤷🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🍰🎂😇😇) Tx Natasha🙇🏾♀️🙇🏾♀️🙇🏾♀️
Very nice and great job to you! Thanks for your awesome feedback, and I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try.
Hi Natasha!!! This recipe looks good and I want to make it for my cake tomorrow but in big bold letters it says VIDEO and I wanted the video to help me because I’m kinda a visual learner and I know most of your recipes include a video pls tell me what the problem is. I am only 10 years old (but a great baker) and I want to pair this with your vanilla cake. help meeeee🥺😇😇🥺
nevermind my laptop was having issues and I reloaded the page and it worked!!!👍👍👌👌😇😇Thanks anyway though
I’m glad you found it, Abigail! I hope you love this recipe!
Hi, what’s the difference between heavy cream, heavy whipping cream, whipped cream, and whipping cream?
Hi Sunny, I would recommend checking out articles from google for the difference between each cream as I don’t have an article yet that would explain that.
Hi Natasha!
I love this recipe. I ‘m making this to pair with your vanilla cupcakes. I’ve just finished making it and I’m SO excited! I just had a little bit and it tasted so good. I transferred it to a piping bag but I don’t really know how to pipe frosting. I’m a newbie. I piped it onto the first cupcake, but for some reason, the frosting stopped in the middle. Like, when you try to swirl it up and up and up, it breaks in the middle. Could you teach me step by step how to pipe?
Thank you so much!
Hi Emily, I would recommend watching how I pipe in our vanilla cupcakes video. I hope that helps! If the frosting is breaking, it may be easier to work with a large piping tip as shown in the video.
Hi Natasha, would this recipe be enough frosting for your chocolate cake (https://natashaskitchen.com/chocolate-cake/)? I really liked the chocolate cake but I want to try a buttercream frosting like this one, and want to know if the quantity matches. Thank you!
Hi Max, yes this would be enough frosting to cover a 9-inch 2-layer cake. I hope you lvoe it!
Hi Natasha…
Am a relatively new one of your many fans. I tried this recipe and love the cake but find the frosting a bit too sweet and I used only 4 cups of the powdered sugar. If I were to reduce it further, would it still work in terms of spreadability?
Hi Sandra, it will still work but won’t be quite as fluffy. Adding the salt definitely helps to cut the sweetness.
Best frosting I’ve ever made.
Natasha, I absolutely love your videos, they’re so fun to watch! I was wondering if you could add weights along side your measurements to your recipes?
Thank you,
Thanks for your comments and suggestion, Sharon.
Natasha. Just did your vanilla cake and buttercream frosting gluten-free. It came out moist and delicious. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
This is literally my go to recipe now for buttercream. Love how thick and creamy it is, I have never frosted a cake so fast. Had to double recipe and was scared it wouldnt work, and it turned out just as great. 💕💕
Super! Thanks for sharing that with us, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
My husband is a very traditional guy, so I used this frosting for his birthday cake (yellow cake) instead of a fancier Swiss meringue or cooked frosting. Less work for me, too! We like things on the less sweet side, so I cut down the sugar to about 4 cups. So delicious and easy to spread on the cake. The vanilla flavor really comes through. Thanks!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe Antonine!!
I love watching your blog. I have made many of your recipes and all are awesome. Been looking for a good icing recipe. So I think its gonna be great! Thank you!!
I hope you enjoy this recipe, Rita! Thank you for sharing this great review!
I made the vanilla cake shown on this website, as well as the vanilla buttercream. Both recipes worked out fantastic!!!! The cake was moist and the buttercream was not sickly sweet as some buttercreams can be. Will definitely be keeping both recipes for future use. Thanks Natasha for sharing.
Hi Ashlynn, that is super great! I’m so happy to be reading your comments and good feedback, thanks for sharing your experience with us!
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for sharing your awesome recipes.
I was wondering, is there a trick to make buttercream taste less like powdered sugar? I used Domino 10x powdered sugar.
Hi Andrea, try this method. The way the powdered sugar is added slowly makes the final product not taste like powdered sugar. Also, don’t reduce the amount of vanilla.
Hi!
This makes alot of frosting. How much measurements if I want to do for 12 cupcakes? I Wanna try your vanilla cupcakes recipe. Thanks!
Hi Samantha, if you’re at the recipe just click Jump to Recipe and click on the number of servings, you can adjust the ingredients from there. I hope that helps!
Hi!
How much ingredients and measurements should I use if I want to frost 12 cup cakes? This recipe seems alot. Wanna try your vanilla cupcakes!
Hi Samantha, in the recipe please click on Jump to Recipe and click the number of servings to adjust the ingredients. I hope that helps!
Thanks! Will the frosting Harden after pipping? Like once I place in refrigerator?
Hi Samantha, as with most buttercream recipes, it will firm up when refrigerated and soften at room temperature.
Just completed, looks delicious
Thank you for sharing that feedback with me Nancy! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this recipe.
Oh my..this frosting is SO delicious and super easy to make! I added about 1/2-2/3 cups less sugar than the recipe calls for and it was perfect for my sweet tooth
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe Vika! Thank you for your lovely review and comment!
thanks i dont know that you love bigger bolder baking i love it to
You are most welcome!
This is hands down the best buttercream recipe I have ever made. I got so many compliments and it kept its shape and was delicious.
Super! Thank you for your wonderful feedback, we appreciate it!
Hi- Can you please give me the link for your measuring spoons please.
Hello Judy, you can see the kitchen tools that I am using here in our Amazon Page.
I tried it but it really comes too hard when I put it in the refrigerator
The butter which I used is Kerrygold and I followed the steps as in the recipe
Hi Lana, Kerrygold is a great butter but a cheap butter will work better here for color. All buttercreams firm up in the refrigerator and soften at room temperature. That is normal.
Love how easy this is. Definitely a staple recipe when it comes to baking!
Thank you for your great comments, Trang. We appreciate it!
We love this icing! It’s so delicious and just the right amount of sweetness added! Can’t wait to make this again!
Sounds like you found a new favorite Beth! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
So simple, yet so delicious. THANK YOU 🙂
Hi Aimee, I’m so glad to hear that you loved the buttercream frosting.
Please give metric for ingredients for vanilla cakeI
If you are at the recipe, you may click on “Jump to recipe” and click “Metric” to see the ingredients converted to grams.
I look forward every day to Natasha’s blog. The recipes are excellent. I am 89 and still love to cook.
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you!
can you use salted butter & leave out the salt?
Hi Karen, I haven’t tested that but I bet that could work! If you experiment please let me know how you like that.
hi natashsha can you use granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar?
Hi Koniah, this recipe works best with powdered sugar and granulated sugar would take a really long time to blend in without feeling gritty. There are some easy tutorials on how to make powdered sugar online.
tankes natashaand i did not know you love bigger bolder baking
Hi Koniah, Gemma is a friend of mine – we met in Hollywood at a conference. She is a gem of a person.
Hi Natasha!
The frosting looks amazing and I think pretty simple to make too . I will be baking a Vanilla cake with this buttercream frosting for my husband’s birthday in 2 days. Unfortunately I don’t have an oven , I have a microwave with me. Can I bake this cake in a microwave and still have a moist and a light cake ?? Please help.
Hi Neetha, I can’t say this will work in a microwave and without testing that I’m unable to advise. If you experiment though I would love to know how you like that.
Hi , I enjoy many of your recipes. My problem is serving size is not listed. It makes calculating for calories and sugars very difficult. Please add the serving size to nutritional information. Thanks Margaret
Hi Margaret, we have the servings towards the top of the recipe card. In this case, the frosting makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes so the nutrition card is per cupcake.
Omg! I can’t wait to try this recipe. I’ve tried some buttercream recipes and they went a total disaster. I have a feeling that this will be a perfect one! Everything from @Natashaskitchen turns out perfect!
Aww, you’re so nice! Thank you for that wonderful review, Monica! I’m so happy you’re enjoying our recipes!