Last Updated April 4th, 2024 at 08:26 pm by Lisa
A frosting recipe that is not-too-sweet, fluffy, and so spreadable. This "bakery-style" vanilla buttercream frosting mixes together in minutes and holds its shape on any dessert like cakes or cupcakes.
Most buttercream recipes are really sweet, this recipe is light with simple ingredients. This recipe is a traditional buttercream, also known as simple or American buttercream but without that's not super sweet. One more good reason this is the best buttercream, is it really holds up even in the high heat of summer.
Baking is so rewarding, take time, it is worth every minute of mixing. This is the perfect frosting and a true guilty pleasure. It's like having a bakery in your home, you will definitely lick the spoon...
Why This Recipe Works
- One word ~ FLUFFY! Seriously, this recipe has soft peaks you won't get out of a can.
- Holds its shape at room temperature, very stable, and has the right consistency, which can have issues and melt in the heat.
- This Fluffy White Frosting is cost-effective vs grocery store frosting in a can that are quite expensive.
- The RIGHT amount of sweetness Not-too-sweet!
- Mixes in minutes with simple pantry ingredients.
- A good choice for first time bakers, a fluffy frosting with a smooth texture.
- Easier to work with a spreadable fluffy consistency.
- Try this simple recipe on one of your favorite desserts. It will work on angel food cake, sugar cookies, vanilla cake and cupcakes, layer cakes, or chocolate cake and cupcakes.
- This great recipe works well with any vibrant colors of food coloring you choose.
- Freezes really well and keeps its consistency.
How To Make Fluffy Buttercream
What is buttercream frosting?
One of the most common types of frosting you will find in a bakery and has butter in the ingredients.
Plain buttercream is the same as American buttercream or simple buttercream. Simple buttercream is a beaten butter frosting that whips the butter first as opposed to a cubed butter meringue frosting which has butter chunks added slowly.
You Will Need
- 1 cup salted butter (2 sticks, room temperature butter)
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 5 cups powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Let's Mix It
- Beat soft butter and shortening in an electric mixer on high speed with the whisk attachment until creamy for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- At low speed, add powder sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth into the mixing bowl.
- On high speed, mix in vanilla, almond extract, and hot water for 5 minutes until fluffy and smooth.
PRO TIP: This fluffy vanilla frosting holds great at room temperature and covers cakes and cupcakes beautifully. If you freeze it, it is spreadable within an hour or so of bringing it to room temperature. Simply place in a bowl and re-whip. Buttercream will not spread right out of the fridge when cold, also bring to room temperature first.
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Decorating Tips
How To Decorate A Cake
Place a dollop on a small piece of cardboard or on a tray, and set your cake on top. This keeps it from sliding around while decorating. Cake boards made with cardboard help you move the cake once decorated. A cake decorating turntable, allows you to turn the cake for a professional result. These tools help you smooth and decorate cakes at home.
Easy Way To Fill A Piping Bag
Set the bag in a tall sturdy glass measuring cup. Push frosting down inside with a spatula, then when it is ¾ full, push inside the bag toward the tip. Fold the top down and decorate. Don't overfill the bag, or it will squeeze out the top as you decorate.
Invest in a good large reusable piping bag. They clean easily with hot water to use over and over in your baking.
For Smooth Frosting
Frost using a small offset spatula, smooth out as best you can all over the top and sides of the cake. This frosting is so easy to spread, and you won't have to clean your spatula while decorating. You can also use a metal scraper as you move the cake on a turntable to smooth the sides of a round cake.
If you do get crumbs in your frosting, you can keep crumbs out of your frosting by using one small bowl to put on a crumb coat, then a new batch to decorate with, and wipe your spatula a wet towel each time.
Piping Designs
Create beautiful designs using a piping bag fitted with tips. There are so many different tips to try, star tips are so easy to use and make a simple cake look so fancy.
How To Make Flavored Buttercream
Food Extracts
Extracts pack a lot of flavor without adding liquid, are the easiest way to flavor buttercream.
Flavor extracts like peppermint, rum, vanilla, lemon, raspberry, almond, and mint will create delicious buttercream.
The color in dark extracts may tint your frosting slightly, so keep that in mind to use clear flavor extracts if you want to maintain bright and vibrant frosting color.
Flavorings and extracts will require the least amount of adjustment since the flavors you’re adding are already concentrated. Start by adding a tiny small amount, adding more to taste as you go.
Add More Flavorings
Flavor additions like jam, peanut butter, melted chocolate, or ganache will change the consistency of your buttercream depending on what you add and the quantity.
If you add a flavor and your frosting becomes too thick, add more milk, water, or cream. If too thin, add more powdered sugar.
Spices
Spices like pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger will add cozy warm depth to buttercream, try these on pumpkin desserts like my Pumpkin Bread.
Coffee, Espresso & Cocoa Powder
Fresh brewed black coffee can be concentrated down on the stove in a pan to get a more syrupy consistency. Or simply brew espresso for that punch of coffee flavor.
To use instant coffee granules, you will need a fine powder. Place in a clean coffee grinder, and process to a powder before mixing.
Instant coffee or espresso powder makes my Chocolate Buttercream taste even more chocolatey!
PRO TIP: Dry powder additions like espresso or spices will create a thicker frosting, so you might need to adjust with more liquid like water or milk to get it a spreadable consistency.
Citrus Zest & Juice
There is nothing better in desserts than the bright punch from fresh citrus fruit flavors. You can use lemons, limes, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, and even blood oranges. These are great ideas for summer desserts like lemon cakes, lime cookies, and fruit-flavored orange cupcakes.
The best way to get the citrus zest is to use a microplane zester or super-fine grater. This handy kitchen tool will avoid the white pith that is the bitter part of the citrus skin.
PRO TIP: Try a combination of zest and juice to enhance your frosting with a citrusy punch. For even more flavor, citrus juice can be used in place of milk or water in your frosting.
Wine & Liquours
A good guide is for one buttercream recipe, add just 3-4 tablespoons of alcohol. You can concentrate any liquor in a pan on the stove that will pack in flavor and not add too much liquid into your buttercream frosting.
This is a strong flavor profile, so add slowly, and taste as you go. Some of the best booze flavors to add are Irish cream, gin, rum, whiskey, bourbon, full-body red wines, and fireball whisky are all delicious.
Frosting FAQ
Yes, leftover frosting can be frozen in zip-top bags or an airtight container.
Simply remove from the freezer at least an hour before using, and remix in a bowl or stand mixer to get it soft again from that thicker consistency.
The best tip is to work with a chilled cake. Let the steam escape, and the cold cake is easier to frost.
Use a spreadable frosting that is not too thick. Applying a crumb coat and chilling it, is helpful to keep a smooth layer without the bumps crumbs can create. Try using an offset spatula and cake turntable, that helps get a nice smooth finish.
Different baked recipes require different types of frosting. An example is carrot cakes which almost always have cream cheese frosting in the recipe. Pastry cream is a rich creamy flavored custard. And used to fill pastry desserts such as eclairs, cream puffs, and Boston cream pie cake.
Classic American buttercream is the easiest of the different frosting types and most common buttercream frosting. Also, it is the quickest to make. It's often used for piping and decorating cakes and cupcakes. The icing is known for its super sweet flavor and slightly gritty consistency. It's made with three basic ingredients; butter, confectioners' sugar, and milk.
The type of buttercream that is best for your recipe will depend on many things. You will want to consider if the dessert will be in warm temperatures or humid weather. Some have a smooth consistency, while others are a bit grittier. Light desserts can handle a rich one, and others will call for the addition of fresh fruit to balance the sweetness like a white chocolate cheesecake.
Buttercream Frosting - very sweet, ivory color, used on sheet cakes and cupcakes, made by combining butter and sugar.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream (swiss buttercream) - buttery sweet, used on wedding cakes, is pure white in color due to egg white meringue.
Italian Meringue Buttercream - mild buttery sweet, used on birthday cakes and pies, stable for outdoor events.
French Buttercream - rich and buttery, yellow color, used on cupcakes and fruit tart, is made with hot sugar syrup and rich egg yolks
German Buttercream - rich and custard-like, used as pastry filing and in cupcakes, has a custard base made from whole eggs.
Ermine Buttercream - mild sweetness, used on red velvet cakes and twinkies, does not contain eggs and cooked before mixing.
Cream Cheese Frosting - tangy and sweet, used on carrot cake and hummingbird cake, made with the addition of cream cheese instead of butter.
Whipped Cream Frosting - light and mild, used on strawberry shortcakes and berry cakes, combines whip cream and mascarpone.
Seven Minute Frosting - sweet and marshmallow-like, used on cupcakes and coconut cakes, meringue-like is mixed for 7 minutes.
Ganache - rich and chocolatey, used on cheesecakes and eclairs, made with melted chocolate and any hot liquid.
Fudge Frosting - sweet and chocolatey, light brown or brown, used on yellow cakes and cupcakes, made with chocolate, butter, milk, and sugar.
Fondant - sugary sweet, used for decorations on birthday cakes, dough-like consistency can be rolled or shaped.
Frosting is thick and forms stiff peaks from being whipped, it is spreadable, and is the perfect topping to decorate cakes and cupcakes. The types of buttercream that are best for a rich cake will typically not be sweet buttercream or ganache which would overwhelm the desert. There is typically a balance between the cake or dessert sweetness and the buttercream icing that is best for that recipe.
Icing is typically thin, piped, or drizzled on like a royal icing recipe, and will harden or firm when it cools on cookies and donuts. It is a little bit tricky to get the consistency correct, but you can add additional heavy cream, whipping cream, or milk to thin it for decorating. A meringue powder, confectioners' sugar, and water are used to make construction icing used in gingerbread houses. The egg whites in the meringue powder form a strong bond when the icing dries. Icing sugar is the same thing as powdered sugar or confectioner sugar and is labeled differently on packages all over the world.
More Buttercream Frosting & Cake Recipes
Make this Flag Cake July 4th dessert for your cookout or picnic, you can bake the cake the night before and decorate it a day before your party or have guests do the honors...
Bake a spooky Halloween Cake (9 x 13 sheet cake) marbled inside, has chocolate buttercream, and step-by-step decorating tips and ideas.
This Strawberry Cake recipe has strawberries baked in the cake and strawberry preserves in the buttercream and is a deliciously natural dessert...
An adorable Easter Bunny Cake, it is a cut cake from two 9" round cakes, vanilla buttercream, and decorated with coconut and candy...
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Fluffy Buttercream "Bakery-Style" Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter (2 sticks, room temperature)
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 5 cups powder sugar (confectioners sugar)
- 2 tablespoons hot water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
make frosting
- Beat soft butter and shortening in an electric mixer on high speed with the whisk attachment until creamy for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- At low speed, add powder sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth into the mixing bowl.
- On high speed, mix in vanilla, almond extract, and hot water for 5 minutes until fluffy and smooth.
cake decorating
- Place a dollop of frosting on a small piece of cardboard or on a tray, and set the cake on top. This keeps the cake from sliding around while decorating.
- Fill a large piping bag with frosting, set the bag in a tall sturdy glass measuring cup. Load it down inside the pastry bag with a spatula, when ¾ full, push inside the bag toward the tip. Fold the top down and decorate your cake. Don't overfill or it will squeeze out of the top of the bag.
- Frost the cake using a small offset spatula, smooth out as best you can all over the top and sides of the cake. This frosting is so easy to spread, and you don't have to clean your spatula while decorating. Then create beautiful designs using a piping bag fitted with tips.
Is this white white frosting? Also can I add food coloring to it? It’s not super sweet either, right?
Hi Maureen, Yes! It is a white frosting, but you can add any color you wish, and it's not as sweet as many other frostings, and hold up better in warm conditions.
I am not usually a fan of buttercream and try to stick to chocolate or cream cheese frostings; however, I wanted a buttercream recipe that I could color to decorate a cake. I also wanted a frosting soft enough that I could do a crumb coat. This recipe is fantastic! It was easy to understand the instructions and turned out beautifully. Exactly what I was looking for! Made plenty of frosting for me to cover and decorate a 3-layer 9-inch cake.
Thanks so much for your kind comments Alex, I tested dozens of recipes over the years and this one hit the mark. It spreads so well, and I love it doesn't melt in warm weather as I live in Southern California. Happy Baking, so glad you loved the recipe!
Lisa, do you by chance have the recipe for
Bavarian cream you put in the eclairs?
Hey Denise! I am familiar with it but have not tested a recipe for Bavarian cream. I found this one for you from Food Network, pretty high ratings... https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-symon/bavarian-cream-recipe-1939359 Happy Baking!
Instead of the water can i use whipping cream? Or would it make a difference?
Hey Kristina, I don't that will work. The hot water helps to emusify the frosting into a fluffy texture. Cold whip cream will not perform the same. You can always test it at home and let us know how it turns out?
I hope to make this frosting soon. I never understand why recipes say unsalted butter then in same recipe says add salt. I use salted butter and omit the salt. LOL Just me.
I see that a lot Judy! I use salted butter in all my recipes. Some people are super particular about salt in their diet I suppose? And some bakers I have noticed use unsalted. Hope you make this super fluffy frosting, it is really good!
Instead of salted butter, can you use unsalted? Would there be a huge difference in taste?
Hey Samantha, no not at all. I would be surprised if you could tell, so go for it! Enjoy, that frosting is pretty darn scrumptious.
Everyone should have this recipe - sooo much better than the premade stuff!!!
This frosting has such a good flavor. Thanks for the recipe!!
Absolutely the BEST frosting recipe! So simple to make and loved the addition of almond extract!
yes I'm making a cake that I have to use teal icing if I use this recipe will it turn it Green instead of a teal Blue because of the butter.
Hi Sonya,
It should hold the color fine. Many buttercream frostings have butter as the fat in the recipe, and it shouldn't interfere. The main thing is to use a good quality color product.