Your New Favorite Homemade Vanilla Buttercream
This vanilla buttercream is super easy to whip up. Whether you want to pipe it onto cupcakes or slather it onto a cake, this will become your new favorite homemade vanilla buttercream.
- Time for Cold Ingredients to Reach Room Temperature: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1.25 hours
- Yield: About 4.5 cups 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 sticks (227 grams) of room temperature butter
- 1/3 cup (80 grams) of room temperature milk, heavy cream, or whipping cream
- 6-7 cups (720 - 840 grams) of powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp of vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp of salt
Optional:
- White vinegar or lemon juice to counterbalance sweetness (I add about 1/4 tsp*)
- You may want to include 3-4 more tablespoons of butter, depending on what you're decorating. See notes for additional information on achieving your desired consistency for frosting.
Instructions
- Cream Your Butter: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat two room temperature sticks of butter on medium high for 3-4 minutes; they should be much creamier and a paler yellow when you’re done.
- Add the remaining ingredients: Pause your mixer and add your salt and vanilla extract, with half of your confectioners’ sugar and half of your cream or milk. Start your mixer again on a low setting at first to incorporate the powdered sugar so it doesn't fly everywhere! Bump your mixer up to to medium-high speed and beat for 2 full minutes. Stop and add your remaining sugar and cream or milk. Beat again for another minute, starting on a low setting initially and increasing as ingredients combine.
- Taste test and tweak: At this stage, you can pour additional cream or sugar as needed, depending on your ideal taste and consistency. Also add and mix your lemon juice or distilled white vinegar if you want to reduce the sweetness.
- Put your buttercream to good use: Start piping or spreading your frosting on a cake! If not using, store in refrigerator for a month or freezer for up to three months in a tightly sealed container.
Notes
- This recipe provides enough buttercream to frost about 24 cupcakes.
- This recipe provides enough frosting for covering a three-layer 6" cake. You can read more about frosting ratios here.
- This recipe is particularly great for piping a sturdy design onto cake and cupcakes, as it is a thick buttercream. If you need frosting that's very easily spreadable onto a cake for your base or crumb coat, add a few additional tablespoons of butter to your bowl or stand mixer when you're first creaming your butter. This, and using your frosting when it's room temperature, will help you apply it to your cake more easily.