Classic Buttercream Frosting is rich and creamy, made with ONLY 4 ingredients that you already have in your pantry, and ready in 10 minutes!
Frosting is the perfect addition to your favorite cakes and cupcakes, and if you like this buttercream you’ll also love this Sugar Cookie Frosting, Easy Mint Frosting, Cream Cheese Frosting, and Rich Chocolate Frosting!
Classic Buttercream Frosting is the PERFECT creamy 4 ingredient topping for any dessert, made with butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream. This is a great go-to frosting recipe because it’s perfect for piping onto cupcakes, and also works great for making layer cakes or even cookies. You can also use this buttercream frosting for a crumb layer before using fondant!
Frequently Asked Questions
Buttercream should have a slightly stiff but creamy texture, and shouldn’t melt at room temperature unless it’s more hot or humid than normal. Try to store the finished cake in a cool, dry place while you’re serving it, then refrigerate.
If you have a cake frosted with buttercream, you can refrigerate it for about a week. You can also make the cake ahead of time and freeze it, already frosted with the buttercream. Just put the cake in the freezer until it’s frozen, about an hour, then wrap it in plastic wrap (so the buttercream stays in place).
Then you can just defrost in the refrigerator, and finally bring the cake back to room temperature before serving. When a cake is cold, it might be mistaken for stale, so make sure you take it out of the refrigerator for about an hour to let it warm up before slicing into it.
If your buttercream didn’t stiffen up like it was supposed to, you can add powdered sugar one tablespoon or two at a time. Don’t add this too fast, because you can go in the opposite direction if you add too much powdered sugar. You can also add a tablespoon of cornstarch to help thicken it.
If it’s not runny and it’s just too soft, refrigerate the frosting for 30 minutes to an hour to see if it helps the texture, because the butter might have melted too much from over-mixing or if the temperature in the kitchen is too warm.
If your frosting turned out too thick, you can thin it out by adding a tablespoon of cream at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. Be careful not to add too much, or the frosting might get too thin.
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Cakes you can Frost with Classic Buttercream
- Mint Chocolate Cake (Grasshopper Cake)
- Carrot Cake
- Oreo Cake
- Classic Yellow Cake
- Red Velvet Cake
- Easy Chocolate Cake
Tips for Making Classic Buttercream Frosting
- You can use salted or unsalted butter to make this buttercream recipe, but it’s best to use unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt going into the recipe.
- If you’re frosting a cake or cupcakes, make sure that the buttercream frosting is the same temperature, or it will pull crumbs off of your cupcakes and look messy.
- If your frosting turns out too sweet, add a pinch of salt or a teaspoon of lemon juice to balance out the flavor.
- Add a teaspoon of peppermint extract to this buttercream frosting recipe and to this Fudge Iced Brownies recipe, then top with crushed peppermint candies to make a holiday brownies!
- This frosting recipe uses vanilla extract, but if you don’t want to make Vanilla Buttercream frosting you can use almond extract or peppermint for holidays.
- It’s easy to make this buttercream frosting recipe in the stand mixer with a paddle attachment, but you can use an electric hand mixer if that’s what you have.
- Make sure you set the stand mixer for low speed while you’re adding the powdered sugar, or the sugar will fly out of the top when you’re trying to mix it.
- Try using this Vanilla Buttercream Frosting on Sugar Cookies or in a Swiss Roll, or make a layer cake with Classic Yellow Cake.
- Add a few drops of food coloring to your Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and top with sprinkles for birthday cakes or cupcakes.
- You can substitute the heavy cream with half and half or whole milk in this Buttercream Frosting recipe if that’s what you have on hand.
- This Vanilla Buttercream Frosting also goes perfectly with my Red Velvet Cupcakes!
- It’s very important to cream the butter before adding the powdered sugar, or you might end up with lumpy frosting. Once the frosting is lumpy, it’s really hard to get it smooth again.
- You can make a chocolate version by replacing ¼ cup of the powdered sugar with cocoa powder.
How to Store Classic Buttercream Frosting
- Serve: It’s not recommended to leave Buttercream out for longer than 2 hours for food safety. This is especially true for any Buttercream Frosting recipes that contain egg whites, too.
- Store: Buttercream can last in the refrigerator for up to a week in an airtight container.
- Freeze: You can freeze buttercream for later or to save leftovers for another dessert, for up to 3 months. Seal it in a plastic bag, then wrap tightly with tinfoil. Defrost in the refrigerator, then bring it to room temperature before using.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 6 cups powdered sugar , about 2 pounds
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- To your stand mixer on low speed cream the butter then start adding in the powdered sugar in ½ cup increments until fully combined, then raise the speed to medium-high for 2 additional minutes.
- Add in the vanilla and heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy for an additional minute.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Photos used in a previous version of this post.
Correction: 2 lb bag is 7.5 cups, sorry. Typo.
Original comment:
This recipe says 6 cups (about 2 Ibs), but a 2 lb bag of powdered sugar is 8.6 cups. Do I go with 6 cups or the entire bag?
Go with 6 cups! Let us know how it turned out!
Do you leave butter out till room temp or just from fridge to bowl
It can be fridge to bowl.
is it possible to mix it by hand? i dont have an electric mixer
Once again a recipe of yours has become a new family favorite
Thank you Sabrina- I can finally make frosting ? yay
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Sarah.
Hey there! Could I use a table spoon of brewed coffee to my butter cream frosting? Will the consistency of the frosting differ if I do so ?
You could definitely add it to make Coffee Buttercream. You might need to add additional powdered sugar to thicken it back up a little. Enjoy!
Hi! I have tried to make traditional buttercream frosting for years. Years. It either turns out too buttery, or too sugary – you know that cool sensation that confectioner sugar has? It’s that. I find this to be frustrating and like I am missing something. Any ideas?
Have you tried this recipe yet?
You say you like to make this frosting with a stand mixer and paddle but it shows a whisk in the pictures. Do you use a paddle or whisk? I am usually confused as to whether to use paddle or whisk. thank you
I used the whisk attachments for this frosting. Enjoy!
Hi…can you please tell what would cause my cakes to fall when they were so big and fluffy in the oven? I followed the recipe to a “T”
It can be hard to pinpoint at times what exactly could have caused this but over-mixing the batter causes air pockets that eventually fall. When you beat the eggs and butter together, do so on a more moderate speed vs high. I hope this helps for next time.
Great recipe. I don’t have any cream though. Any substitutes? Thanks!
You can try mixing butter with milk to create your own heavy cream. Good luck!
Once again I made this cake, I enjoyed making it. I made This cake today for tomorrow’s desert after dinner with friends on St. Patrick’s Day. I wanted to cut a piece for myself and try but it would not be the right thing to do ? .
I also made the buttermilk frosting I did try after frosting the entire ? cake very good.
Thank you for another great desert recipe.
Laurna C.
It’s truly a test in restraint to hold off having a piece, haha! So glad you enjoy the recipe so much.
This frosting is amazing! I made it on your Easy Vanilla Cake! Delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it, Carla.
Does the butter need to be room temperature?
Yes
This was my first time making my own icing for my cupcakes and it was the the best decision ever! I love how easy and flavorful this icing was and it piped beautifully on my cupcakes. I did add a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness and added food color to make mine pink. Everyone in my family loves them! Thanks!
Yay! So glad you decided to give it a try, Lori.
Hi, can I omit the sugar?
Thanks!
Hi Dana, I want to be helpful here, but I’m unsure of how you want to make the frosting without sugar. Can you tell me more about what you hope to substitute?
What type cake will this cover – two layer and/or 9X13 inch pan?
Yes 🙂
Love this! Could coffee be added to it? Im making chocolate cake and think itd make it way better 🙂 Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Sounds delicious!
Can we make it less sweet?
You can cut back on the sugar but you might need to cut back a bit on the liquid too. Hold back on adding the liquid to test the consistency. Hope this helps!
Hi, can I cut the buttercream recipe in half?
Absolutely. If you hover over the servings amount, a slider appears and you can adjust it and it will reduce or increase the ingredients.
I love a good classic recipe! Cannot wait to try it!
Enjoy!
Buttercream is my absolute favorite! Love how rich and creamy this is!
Thanks, Taylor!
Looks heavenly! I’m totally drooling over this goodness, gotta make this!
I hope you enjoy it!
This frosting is so perfect. This will be my new favorite!
Woohoo!
Absolutely love how easy this is! As someone who likes cakes this is a must-have
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This frosting is perfect for so many delicious desserts! So delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Steph!
This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you!
Yay! You’re welcome, Kimberly!