Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (American Buttercream)

My fluffy vanilla buttercream frosting is velvety smooth, creamy and fluffy with a stable texture that pipes beautifully on your favorite cupcakes and works well with layer cakes. It’s made using just 5 simple ingredients which comes together to create a rich classic buttercream that isn’t overly sweet.

Hey team, Nick here! If there’s one thing you need to know about this frosting is that even though it’s a classic frosting recipe, it’s not as sweet as other frostings you’ll find floating around. It’s creamy and fluffy. Now, you’d think we’re compromising on stability here because there’s less sugar, but it holds its shape beautifully and works so well! 

I love spreading it on my soft vanilla layer cake and swirling it on my new fluffy vanilla cupcakes which stay moist for days by the way. I double dose the vanilla in the frosting and the cupcakes by adding both pure vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste. You know… for the vanilla bean specs!

Oh by the way, this frosting is a great all rounder. You can easily color it with food gel and flavor it with freeze dried fruits or extracts. I actually used this frosting to create my bright strawberry frosting recipe using real strawberries. The flavor is insane.

A Frosting Crash Course

• Prepping ingredients ahead of time – Starting with softened butter is non-negotiable. Read my guide to softening your butter, it’ll give you fluffy frosting.
• Sifting your powdered sugar will prevent lumps and help everything blend smoothly for flawless frosting!
• Getting your frosting fluffy – Whip your butter on its own until it’s pale, creamy, and full of air before adding the sugar, about 10 minutes. You’ll end up with a fluffy frosting instead of a dense and greasy one.
• Flavoring and coloring your frosting – Enhance the flavor with vanilla extract, zests, or flavors, and add gel food coloring for vibrant, streak-free results. A little goes a long way, so start small and build up.

How To Make Your Vanilla Buttercream

• Start by creaming your softened butter, vanilla extract and salt in a large mixing bowl using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed for about 10 minutes, until the butter is pale, fluffy, and creamy in texture. You can also use an electric hand mixer.

Tip – Don’t skip scraping down the bowl as you mix. It ensures every bit of butter and sugar is evenly combined. Do it before and after you add the sugar.

• Sift the powdered sugar into the creamed butter using a fine sieve. Literlay can not stress how important it is that you do this. You’ll avoid lumps!
• Start mixing on low speed until the sugar is fully incorporated and no dry powder remains. Then, whip on medium-high speed for 10 minutes until the frosting becomes light and smooth, pale, and stiff enough to hold its shape, similar to stiff peaks in whipped cream.

The result-  A smooth, fluffy, and creamy frosting, with a pale color and just enough stiffness to hold its shape when piped. If you give it a cheeky taste, you’ll feel the creaminess and vanilla first before you taste the sweetness.

To smooth out your frosting, add 1-2 tablespoons of cold heavy cream. Whip it into the frosting on medium-high speed. The cream helps create a smoother texture, and its cold temperature slightly stiffens the frosting, making it easier to work with. I’d skip it if it’s a warm day.

Frosting not smooth enough?

These are the two techniques I use to smoothen my frosting and make it creamy and smooth again.

• Microwave half the frosting for 10 seconds until it’s soft and jiggly (not melted), then mix it back into the rest on medium high speed until creamy and smooth.
• To get rid of air bubbles, beat the frosting on low for 5 minutes or use a spatula to fold and smooth it out right before piping or spreading.

If it’s a warm day, just be a little cautious with these techniques because it can cause your frosting to become overly soft and lose structure. On a warmer day, just re-whip, or of the frosting is too soft, pop it back in the fridge for 30 minutes before re-whipping.

Vanilla Buttercream VS Other Buttercreams

This is an all-round buttercream which can be used for many different things. But here’s how it compares to other frostings.

• Ermine Frosting (my favourite frosting!) – Lighter and creamier, made with a cooked milk and flour base, and less buttery in flavor. Rich in flavor like pastry cream.
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream – Silky and less sweet, whipped from egg whites and sugar, but requires more precision to make.
• German Buttercream – Rich and custard-like, made with pastry cream, offering a deeper flavor and softer texture.
• French Buttercream – Ultra-rich and decadent, made with egg yolks and sugar, perfect for indulgent desserts but softer and less stable.

Why would you make this frosting instead? It’s way easier and quicker to make. It uses simple ingredients, and it works for pretty much everything!

Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (American Buttercream Frosting)

This perfectly smooth and easy to make American Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is a great all round option for frosting cakes and cupcakes!

Serves 1 batch

4.8 from 39 votes

Author: Nick Makrides

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Total: 20 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 5281kcal

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Ingredients

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• ▢ 500 g unsalted butter, softened (see notes)
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 15 g vanilla bean paste, (optional)
• ▢ 20 g heavy cream, cold (see notes)
• ▢ 400 g powdered sugar

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Instructions

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• Cream butter – Add your softened butter, salt, vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste (optional) to a large bowl. If using a stand mixer fit it with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium high speed for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. You will want to scrape down the bowl halfway through with a spatula to ensure everything beats together evenly!
• Add sugar – Scrape the bowl down using a spatula and add all of the sifted powdered sugar. Begin beating on low speed at first. When no dry ingredients are showing, turn the speed up to medium high speed again and beat for 5 minutes.
• Add cream – finish by adding the heavy cream to smoothen out your frosting. Beat in on medium high speed for 2 minutes.

How to make your frosting smooth!

• American buttercream frosting has a slight grit and is stiffer than most frostings. It’s great for layering cakes or frosting cupcakes or even making frosting decorations on your cakes. Here are some ways to smoothen out your frosting!
• Microwave half the frosting – If it’s a cold day or your frosting stiffened up, you can smoothen it out by adding half of the frosting into a heatproof bowl and popping it into the microwave for 10 seconds or until jiggly in the center, not melted. Add to the rest of the frosting and beat on medium speed for a couple minutes to combine. This will help freshen it up!
• Beat air out – Right before using or adding to a piping bag, use a spatula to beat the air out of the frosting until smooth. This works great if your frosting has just been made. Alternatively, you can beat the frosting on the lowest speed on your mixer for about 5-10 minutes. This will make your frosting ultra-smooth but also softens it. Don’t do this on warm days as it can over soften the frosting or even cause it to split. Just use the spatula to beat out the air.

Notes

How to soften your butter

Make sure your butter is softened for this recipe. It’ll help with the structural integrity of the frosting. I have a full guide on how to properly soften butter on the blog, but for reference, softened butter is 18C / 65F on a thermometer. Cut it into cubes and let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours until it reaches this temperature to until it’s soft enough that when you press on it with your finger, it leaves an indent with some resistance.

Vanilla – Lately I’ve disovered the joy of using pure vanilla extract AND vanilla bean paste. Both add a decent boost of delicious vanilla flavor, but the bean paste adds those specs of bean pods which I love. Optional, but I love it.

Heavy cream – I originally used milk for this recipe, but I’ve made the switch to cold cream instead. I find that milk makes your frosting too soft, and cold cream keeps it’s structure, and using cold cream helps stiffen your frosting while making it smoother. It’s a win win! For this recipe I’d recommend using heavy whipping cream which has about 36% butterfat in it. Check how much fat it has per 100g on the back and that number will give you a percentage.

How Much Frosting Does This Make?

For Cupcakes – This recipe makes enough frosting for about 24 cupcakes with a nice medium-sized swirl on top. If you prefer smaller swirls or just a thin layer of frosting, it will stretch further.

For Cakes – You’ll want to double the recipe if you’re filling and frosting an 8-inch, 3-4 layer cake, including a thin crumb coat. The exact amount will depend on how much frosting you like between the layers and on the outside, but doubling it gives you plenty to work with!

Why I use less sugar in my buttercream frosting than other recipes

This recipe uses less powdered sugar than most traditional American Buttercream recipes to create a smoother, less sweet frosting. If you prefer a stiffer frosting for piping or need more structure for warmer conditions, you can add an extra 100 – 200g of powdered sugar without making it overly sweet. Just keep in mind, more sugar means a firmer texture a little less smooth.

Storage – Frosting can be stored in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to three days. To re-whip, add half of the frosting to a heatproof bowl and microwave for 10 seconds. Mix using a spoon then microwave for another 5 seconds. The frosting should be jiggly, not melted. Add to the rest of the frosting and beat on medium speed for a couple minutes until smooth.

Why is my frosting melting?

The most obvious reason is heat! If it’s a warm day, your frosting will melt because its most made of fat which melts when heated. Frost your desserts and chill them in the fridge. It’s the only way to stop the frosting from melting. This is especially important for layer cakes.

Nutrition – is an approximate and is based on per one batch. Obviously you won’t be eating an entire batch of frosting.

A note on measurements – This recipe uses weight measurements for the most accurate results. Cup measurements can vary depending on where you are, which affects the precision needed for a recipe like this. Here is where you can learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales.

Nutrition

Calories : 5281kcal

Carbonhydrates: 410g

Protein: 5g

Fat: 413g

Saturated Fat: 261g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g

Monounsaturated Fat : 107g

Trans Fat : 16g

Cholesterol: 1098mg

Sodium: 2394mg

Potassium : 153mg

Sugar : 402g

Vitamin A: 12789IU

Vitamin C: 0.1mg

Calcium: 139mg

Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition Disclosure

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