The Best Vanilla Buttercream – light and fluffy, creamy and delicious, but this vanilla buttercream is not only delicious, it’s easy to make and a breeze to frost with.
The Best Vanilla Buttercream
This buttercream is just too good not to have its own post! It’s light and fluffy, silky and smooth – and just all-around delicious.
To me, a buttercream should never be so dense that it steals the show away from the cake. In fact, a buttercream should be part of the ensemble, a complementary element to the layers and fillings. However, that’s not always the case. I grew up thinking buttercream was dense and heavy. It wasn’t until I started making homemade cakes and homemade frosting that I realized, it didn’t have to be that way.
How to Make Buttercream Frosting
To get a light and fluffy homemade buttercream frosting, I have a detailed post: HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BUTTERCREAM to give you in-depth instruction for making your buttercream unreal! Here’s an overview with a quick picture tutorial for making the best vanilla buttercream:
- Sift your powdered sugar
- Use slightly cold butter and mix on its own for 2 to 3 minutes
- Use heavy whipping cream
- Beat for 5 minutes
- Stir by hand
Step 1: measure then sift powdered sugar Step 2: beat butter on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes Step 3: slowly add the powdered sugar Step 4: add vanilla, salt and whipping cream. Beat for 3 to 5 minutes
Before frosting your cake, make sure to stir the buttercream with a wooden spoon or spatula to push out the air pockets. This makes getting smooth sides on your cake so much easier.
Look at the transformation in color and texture in these pictures below.
Butter only.Butter and powdered sugar. With heavy cream. After beating for 5 minutes and stirring by hand.
You’ll be able to get nearly white in color with that extra five minutes of beating. More importantly, you’re creating a light, fluffy texture that won’t overpower your cake layers.
Full-Length Video Tutorial
Want to make this buttercream recipe together?! Check out my video for making the best Vanilla Buttercream on my YouTube channel.
Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
For the Buttercream
- 2 cups (452g) unsalted butter slightly chilled
- 6 cups (750g) powdered sugar measured and then sifted
- 3-4 tbsp (57.75g) heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp (8.4g) vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- *This buttercream recipe makes enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add additional piping, you’ll want to make an extra ½ batch.
Instructions
To prepare
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter for about 2 to 3 minutes. This will soften the butter without it having to be warm.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing a little in between each addition.
- With mixer on medium speed, add whipping cream, vanilla and salt.
- Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. The frosting will become lighter in color and texture.
- Before spreading on your cake, spend a couple minutes mixing the buttercream by hand with a wooden spoon to push out the air pockets.
Hi there. I ended up here while searching for a buttercream frosting recipe. My daughter is turning 2 and I will make her a smash cake. I’m having to learn to bake as I cannot eat gluten and want to make a gf cake for her so I can enjoy it that day too and it’s healthier for her as well. Do you have any gluten free cake recipes? Wondering if you’ve ever ventured into those…thanks!
https://cakebycourtney.com/gluten-free-chocolate-cupcakes/ try these! But also most of my cakes can be GF if you just sub your favorite GF flour!
Obsessed with this recipe. So easy and yum. I basically am going through all of your recipes. Made this to go with your chocolate cake instead of the chocolate frosting as I needed to colour it.
This recipe worked perfectly and I was able to decorate a cake and 24 cupcakes for my granddaughters birthday.
So happy to hear it was a hit!
How can I get my white chocolate to not be grainy?
Are you letting the chips soak in the warm heavy whipping cream?
Recipe is great, but just want to let you know that the advertisements on the page cover the recipe 90% of the time. Lots of having to refresh, or close and reopen – really a pain to use the website – just wanted to let you know!
I made a salted Carmel cake off your site. Oh my stars, this was a beautiful cake. I went and bought all the cake pans, and ingredients needed. It was for my son in the Military and he loved it as well as the family. Thank you for allowing me to share this delicious cake with my son during his stay home.
So so happy to hear that! xo
Thank for all you do.
How many cupcakes do you think this would frost?
If you’re just doing a simple swirl or slather of buttercream (like not a big ice cream cone size swirl), you can get about 20-24 cupcakes.
Do you know how many cups of buttercream this makes?
Hello,
How can I achieve this buttercream in black?? Please help!
This is my black buttercream https://cakebycourtney.com/black-chocolate-cake/