The Best Vanilla Buttercream
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.
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.
I find buttercream always turns out tasting like too much powdered sugar, do you think the brand of powdered sugar makes a difference in taste? What brand do you use? Any other tips to cut the sweetness of the powdered sugar? Thank you.
I personally use salted butter instead of unsalted butter and that always seems to cut through all the sweetness when I make buttercream. It’s not excessive or super salty, just leave out the pinch of salt and taste it and if it’s still super sweet, add just a tiny touch of salt. Preferably kosher or sea salt. Iodized salt makes everything taste funny. American buttercream is always super sweet. If you wanna try one that isn’t as sweet Swiss meringue and French buttercream are really good alternatives, French buttercream does not have a white color though. It’s more yellow. But they’re both really good.
perfect 👌
Since the frosting has dairy, do items made with it need to be refrigerated?
I have never liked my vanilla buttercream recipe, and whenever someone requests vanilla frosting I try to suggest another because its very sweet and not my best. I am SO EXCITED that I tried this recipe!!! Its so much more creamy and perfect than others I’ve tried. I think its more buttery than other recipes I’ve used and it reeaally makes a difference. I didn’t think vanilla buttercream recipes could be that different but THIS IS THE ONE!
This makes me so happy to hear!
I have made several other buttercream frostings over the years and yours is the first I actually loved! Clear instructions and wonderful results. Thank you!!!
How long can I store the buttercream in the fridge before using to decorate a cake? How long should it stay out of the fridge for to soften before I use in piping bag? Thank you!!
A couple days in the fridge. I would take it out a few hours before piping so it can soften!
Hi Courtney,
Can I color this buttercream with gel food color? About how much do you add between your layers? TIA!
Is this a crusting buttercream? Thank you!
This recipe doesn’t really say how much this makes. It just says “enough to cover your cake”. What size cake would that be?
This will make 6 cups of buttercream – enough to fill and cover a three layer 8inch cake or four layer 6inch cake.
This recipe tasted great! I found it to be really dense though. Would you recommend whipping it with the whisking attachment to make it fluffy or would that not work? Thank you!
No I think pad is best, just make sure you beat it at a high speed for a few minutes to lighten the texture.
Hi! I’ve tried this recipe a few times recently with beating the buttercream for 5 mins at the end, but no matter how much I try mixing it by hand, I always end up with a ton of air bubbles! Do you have anymore tips to keep the light and fluffy consistency but not have all the air bubbles? Do I need to mix a smaller amount by hand vs the whole bowl?
Also, once I mix it for that long it ends up really, really soft, is that normal?
Hi Courtney, I make the American Buttercream with this recipe. But when I make the swiss meringue buttercream, I feel the difference. No matter how much you try, there still remains the very slight grains of powdered sugar in the Buttercream. I have eaten the cakes of professional bakers and I felt the same with their american buttercreams. Whereas SMBC is very silky smooth. Is there any method to have SMBC type feel with American buttercream. I am asking this because SMBC is EXPENSIVE to make. And I don’t know that I can freeze cake with it or not. Please solve this problem 🙂
I don’t work with SMBC enough to do that, I’m sorry
This is my all time favorite buttercream! I’ve gotten so many comments about it being the perfect buttercream! My sweet spot is 3.5 tbsps of heavy whipping cream 🙂
I have a KitchenAid 5 quart lift stand mixer, has anyone tried making 1.5 batches of buttercream at a time? I’m nervous to try more than 1 batch!
This is the best frosting i’ve ever made it goes on a cake so evenly,smooth,and perfect. The recipe is simple and easy to remember.
If I frost the cake the night before serving it does the entire cake need to be refrigerated – bc of the heavy cream in the buttercream?
No it’s ok for one night.
Wonderful recipe! Thank you!
You have on the recipe that its enough to “fill and cover a cake”. How big of a cake do you mean? Like 2 or 3 tiers?
A 3 layer cake made with 8 inch pans.
about how many cupcakes will this recipe frost?
About 24
I love love yourwebsite. Is this vanilla buttercream recipe suitable for piping flowers too. Or should I add more powdered sugar for piping?? Thank you! You’re the BEST. !!
Yes it is!
I’ve made this a few times and love it! However it’s summer time now and the humidity is crazy. Will I need to do something different to help it set?
Just make sure your kitchen is nice and cool and you should be fine!
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