Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is creamy, delicious and perfect for piping or spreading onto any cake or cupcake! Never buy store-bought frosting again!
Original post: December 2011 | Updated: March 2019
Why This Recipe Works
I strongly believe that buying store-bought frosting is a mortal sin. Seriously, you guys, if you do this…STOP! It is SO ridiculously easy (5 minutes! 4 ingredients!) to make your own Vanilla Buttercream Frosting that there’s really no excuse to go store-bought.
If you are ever tempted to reach for a container, imagine my virtual hand slap. Promise me you’ll at least give homemade frosting a try. You’ll never go back to the shelves again!
How To Make Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Step 1
In a large bowl, mix (using whisk attachments) the butter with a hand-held or stand mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time until just combined.
Step 2
Add the milk and vanilla and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.
Refrigerate until ready to spread on baked goods.
What To Use Vanilla Buttercream For
The world is your oyster when it comes to finding cupcakes, cookies or cakes to spread your batch of Vanilla Buttercream allll over. Here are a few recipes to get your wheels turning!
How To Make Perfect Buttercream
Buttercream Frosting is simple yet ridiculously tasty and it goes great spread on seriously any cupcake, cake, cookie or brownie. Here are a few tips for creating the perfect buttercream frosting!
- Salted Butter – I ALWAYS used salted butter for my baked goods and buttercream frostings, but that is a personal preference. If you wish to reduce the saltiness, go unsalted! Also, make sure your butter is not totally melted. If you don’t have time to bring it to room temperature, microwave it for no more than 30 seconds.
- Milk – Add the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated. When you reach the desired frosting consistency, you don’t need to add any more. For a less thick buttercream, you may want to increase the amount of milk used to 4-6 tablespoons. For a thicker frosting, 3-4 tablespoons is ideal.
- Mixing – Once you have reached your desired consistency, crank your mixer up to medium-high speed and set a timer for 3 full minutes. Don’t skimp on time. Three minutes of mixing will produce such a super fluffy, creamy and perfect buttercream frosting.
- Sprinkles – Stir in sprinkles at the end for an extra touch of fun! I love doing this when I’m baking treats for kids because…SPRINKLES.
- Vanilla – Use real vanilla extract (no imitations!) and feel free to increase the amount to 2 teaspoons for an even stronger vanilla flavor. If you have time to plan ahead, make a batch of homemade vanilla extract!
Buttercream Frosting Recipes
Don’t limit yourself to Vanilla Buttercream! There are so many different flavors that can be incorporated into buttercream frosting. Here are a few of my favorites:
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Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks, softened
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix (using whisk attachments) the butter with a hand-held or stand mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time until just combined. Add the milk and vanilla and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.
- Refrigerate until ready to spread on baked goods.
Yum
Can’t really go wrong with buttercream!
Staying inside and licking spoons of buttercream when it's cold outside sounds pretty perfect. And, no, you can never go wrong with frosting!
it certainly was a terrible winter, and that certainly sounds like a great excuse to make more frosting…I mean really you don't always need a cake, its a great dip for pretzels and chips!!
hope you are having a wonderful weekend
Dennis
I may make some just to lick off a spoon! Love it 🙂