How To Make Buttercream Frosting
Learn how to make buttercream frosting with this easy tutorial. This is the BEST recipe for homemade buttercream, it pipes perfectly, and makes a great base for other frosting flavors too!
Today we’re covering how to make buttercream frosting. Actually, we’re covering just how EASY it is to make your own frosting right at home. If you’ve been buying store-bought, you’ll want to ditch it after seeing just how easy it is to make your own.
I originally published this recipe in January of 2017, but decided it was finally time to update it with better instructions and more information. In today’s post, I’m breaking down everything you need to know about how to make the best buttercream frosting.
This recipe also makes a great base for so many different flavor variations. The possibilities are really endless, but I’ve included four different variations for you to try!
Recipe Ingredients
This easy buttercream frosting uses just 5 ingredients – butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Here’s a simple overview of each ingredient:
- Butter: I use unsalted butter in all of my recipes because the amount of salt in salted butter can vary quite a bit between different brands. By using unsalted butter, you control the amount of salt in your recipe. Make sure to use actual butter too and not a butter substitute like margarine.
- Powdered Sugar: Also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar, this helps to thicken and sweeten the frosting. It’s best to sift the powdered sugar beforehand, but if I’m being honest I usually skip the extra step.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream work best in this recipe. You can replace it with milk, but keep in mind that the frosting won’t be quite as creamy.
- Vanilla Extract: This adds a little bit of flavor to the frosting. I recommend using pure vanilla extract for the best flavor. You can even use different extracts like mint, almond, lemon, etc.
- Salt: This helps to balance out the sweetness of the frosting. I stick with just a tiny pinch of table salt, you don’t need very much at all!
How To Make Buttercream Frosting
To start, set your butter out ahead of time so that it can soften. This will ensure that the frosting is smooth and creamy. You will need two sticks of unsalted butter, which is equal to 1 cup or 230 grams.
Beat the butter with a mixer for about 1 minute, just until it’s nice and smooth. You can either use a handheld mixer or stand mixer for this recipe, either one works fine!
Next, you’ll mix in the powdered sugar. I typically only use 3 cups of powdered sugar for a batch of this frosting. Some recipes call for quite a bit more powdered sugar, but I’ve found that 3 cups is all you really need. Feel free to sift the powdered sugar, but as I mentioned earlier, I usually skip this step.
Note: When you first start mixing the powdered sugar with the butter, mix it on low speed so you don’t end up throwing it all over the place. You may also mix the powdered sugar in 1 cup at a time to make it easier.
Once the butter and powdered sugar are mixed together, mix in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. If needed, stop and scrape down the sides of your bowl and mix again to make sure everything is well combined.
Easy, right? At this point, you can go ahead and use this frosting to pipe onto cupcakes or decorate a cake. Or you can store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
Recipe Variations
The best thing about this recipe is that you can change it up to make different flavors of frosting. I’ve included 4 different variations below, but keep in mind that you can do so much more with this recipe.
- Vanilla: If I’m just making plain vanilla buttercream frosting to pipe on cupcakes or frost a cake, I like to add an additional teaspoon of vanilla extract to amp up the vanilla flavor.
- Chocolate: Sift 1/2 cup (40 grams) of unsweetened cocoa powder, then mix into the frosting base until well combined. Add 1 to 2 extra tablespoons of heavy cream if needed for a smoother, creamier frosting. If you prefer your frosting sweeter, mix in an additional 1/2 to 1 cup of powdered sugar.
- Caramel: Mix in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of homemade or store-bought caramel sauce. For a salted caramel frosting, you can use salted caramel and omit the salt in the recipe.
- Strawberry: Add a 1-ounce bag of freeze dried strawberries to a blender or food processor and process until the berries are crushed into a fine powder. Mix the freeze dried strawberry powder into the frosting until well combined.
Storage & Freezing Instructions
This frosting can be made 1 to 2 days in advance. While it’s not necessary to refrigerate it, I do recommend covering it tightly and storing it in the refrigerator so it stays fresh longer. When you are ready to use it, bring it to room temperature, and mix well before frosting cupcakes or a cake.
This will also freeze well for up to 3 months in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature and mix well before using it.
Baking Tips
- You can add food coloring to this recipe if you prefer. If using liquid food coloring, I recommend using just a few drops as it can thin out the frosting. For a darker color, gel food coloring is a great option!
- This recipe makes about 2 and 1/2 cups of frosting, which is enough to generously frost a batch of 12 to 14 cupcakes. If you prefer less frosting, you can cut the recipe in half. This recipe will also make enough to frost a 9×13 cake or lightly frost an 8 or 9-inch layer cake. If you prefer more frosting for decorating, then I recommend multiplying the recipe by 1.5.
- You can find my full tutorial for how to prepare your piping bag and frost cupcakes here.
Different Ways To Use This Frosting
Here are a few of my favorite cupcake recipes that you can use with this frosting:
Video Tutorial
How To Make Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup (230 grams) unsalted butter (softened)
- 3 cups (360 grams) powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Tiny pinch of salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed at first, then increase to medium speed and continue mixing for 1 to 2 minutes or until fully combined.
- Add the heavy cream (start with 2 tablespoons and add a little more if needed), vanilla extract, and salt and continue mixing on medium speed until everything is well combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Use the frosting to pipe onto cupcakes or frost a cake or cover tightly and refrigerate until you are ready to use it.
Notes
- Vanilla: For a vanilla buttercream frosting, I like to add an additional teaspoon of vanilla extract to amp up the vanilla flavor.
- Chocolate: Sift 1/2 cup (40 grams) of unsweetened cocoa powder and mix it into the frosting base until well combined. Add 1 to 2 extra tablespoons of heavy cream if needed for a smoother, creamier frosting. For a sweeter frosting, mix in an additional 1/2 to 1 cup (60 to 120 grams) of powdered sugar.
- Caramel: Mix in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of homemade or store-bought caramel sauce. For a salted caramel frosting, you can use salted caramel and omit the salt in the recipe.
- Strawberry: Add a 1-ounce bag of freeze dried strawberries to a blender or food processor and process until the berries are crushed into a fine powder. Mix the freeze dried strawberry powder into the frosting base until well combined.
What’s the serving size for this frosting? Will it cover two layers of cake?
It will make enough for a thinner/lighter layer of frosting on a two layer cake. If you prefer more or want some frosting to decorate, I would make 1.5x this recipe.
Hi Danielle,
When you say 2 sticks of butter, what does it equates to in gram? Where I come from it sells in 250gm per block.
I have a note next to the 2 sticks of butter in the recipe with grams. 1 US stick of butter is usually 115 grams, so 2 sticks is 230 grams.
I love it! You made it so easy I am ready to make my own frostings! Thank you So much.
Thank you, Diana! I’d love to hear if you try any of the frosting recipes 🙂
Hi there, thank you for this recipe! I’m curious if I can use it beneath a sheet of fondant. Do you think you would hold up? 🙂
Hi, Kristin! To be honest, I’ve never really worked with fondant so I’m not sure if it will hold up well or not. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Oh em gee! This is amazing and so easy to make! I love the flavor and how delicious it is! Thank you so much! Will definitely try other recipes of yours.
So glad you liked the buttercream, Lien! Let me know if you try any other recipes 🙂
Thanks for this easy to follow recipe! I was nervous about making my own frosting but it was pretty simple!
I’m glad you liked the frosting, Beth!
Wanted pink icing for my daughter’s 1st birthday cake and chose this buttercream frosting as a base. So glad I scrolled down to see you had a pink variation! I got so many compliments from guests on the icing, that I wanted to make sure I contributed to the positive reviews.
So glad to hear that everyone enjoyed the buttercream, Megan!
I followed your recipe exactly so I’m not sure what went wrong but all I tasted was butter and nothing else.
Sorry to hear that, Hope. It’s meant to taste buttery, but it shouldn’t taste like just butter. Did you not find it sweet enough? And did you use butter or margarine?
I LOVE buttercream and often feel that many recipes add too much sugar and this one has the right balance so you can actually taste the butter! This will be my go to frosting from now on!
I agree, Nichole. I feel like 3 cups of powdered sugar is plenty with this recipe. I’m glad to hear it’s your new go-to recipe now!
What kind of tip do you use to get it to look like the picture?
Thanks!!
Hi, Laura! For the vanilla frosting I used the Wilton 2D piping tip and for the others I used the Wilton 1M (open star) tip.
Hi Danielle, I was curious as to why you used unsalted butter and if that had anything to do with the consistency or if it was merely for taste? I have a bunch of salted butter in my fridge already so I was hoping that would work just the same. Thanks!
Hi, Lisa! I always stick with unsalted butter because the amount of salt in salted butters varies by brand. It should be fine to use salted butter in this recipe, just omit the pinch of salt.
I made this for my friends birthday cake (she owns a bakery) and she couldn’t believe how yummy it came out and how light and creamy (I made chocolate with espesso). She just called to ask for the recipe, winner! Btw i used a little more heavy heavy cream because of the cocoa. After icing the cake I ate the rest, omg what a treat! Like eating a cloud
That’s such a wonderful compliment to hear that your friend loved the frosting so much! I love the chocolate version of this frosting too, it’s one of my favorites!
Can this frosting bw used with a grass tip number 233? I want to make a football cake for the big game on Sunday and I’m trying to find a tasty frosting that will hold up with the grass.
I haven’t tried that piping tip yet, but I think it would work. You could always make a smaller batch of this frosting just to test it out first. Hope that helps! 🙂
Thank you so much Danielle, this recipe is perfect! I have struggled for weeks to find a buttercream that wasn’t too runny or too sweet. This is an absolute winner!!!
I’m so glad to hear that you loved the buttercream, Mary-Ann! 🙂
Love it! As a rule I am a chocolate girl, but I needed to find a good vanilla frosting recipe and I did. It was delish!
So glad you liked the frosting, Alicia!
Mine was extremely firm and refused to pipe no matter what shape I tried. It tasted no better than any other frosting I have made.
Sorry to hear that, Krysten. I’ve never had any issues with the frosting being too firm to pipe. You could always try adding more heavy whipping cream to make it a bit creamier.
I made the vanilla and loved it! Just wondering though, the strawberry says a one ounce bag. Can you clarify?
Glad you liked the buttercream, Savannah! I just mean a bag of freeze dried strawberries that weighs 1 ounce.
Does this frosting make a good base for fondant?
I’ve never worked with fondant, Kaylee. I wish I could be more help, but I’m not quite sure.
This frosting worked amazing with fondant! It stuck extremely well to the four tier cake I made with no problem.
Best recipe ever! I’ve always wasted so much money on sugar to get the right consistency that I needed and this was so easy and tasted wonderful.
So glad to hear that it worked well with the fondant, Nadine! Thank you for sharing 🙂
How much are the measurement if making just a 1 tier round cake
It depends on the size of your cake. If I make just a small 9-inch round cake, I usually cut this recipe in half.
This frosting is great. I have made others before without much luck. I just made a double batch of this frosting. Instead of 6 cups of sugar I used 5, The consistency was perfect and so was the taste. Thank you so much for sharing this. I will definitely make this again and again. Just a note…I doubled the batch because I like ALOT of frosting on cupcakes. A batch and 1/2 would have been enough!
Extra frosting is always a good idea, Kathy! I’m glad you liked it! 🙂
I have one question regarding buttercream frosting my sugar doesn’t disolve properly .. it gives gritty texture i sifted my sugar 2-3 times but it give the same… mine is isn’t as it has to be .. give some suggestions.. please
Was your butter at room temperature? If the butter is too cold, the powdered sugar won’t incorporate as well. You could also try sifting your powdered sugar and mix it in with the butter 1/2 – 1 cup at a time until each addition is well combined.
Hello and thank you for such a great tutorial video. I was wondering if you know if this type of icing could be used in cream horns. It’s for our churc’s upcoming New Years Services to see 2018 arrive. We will have a sweets table set up. Someone is already doing cupcakes. Just curious?
Hi, Jackie! I think cream horns are usually filled with whipped cream (or a cream cheese/whipped cream mixture), this may be a bit too sweet. I do have a homemade whipped cream recipe here that would work and pipes well: http://www.livewellbakeoften.com/homemade-whipped-cream/. Or something like the cream cheese mixture (first 4 ingredients) I use in this recipe may work well: http://www.livewellbakeoften.com/no-bake-strawberry-cheesecake-icebox-cake/.
I love your buttercream frosting because it is not overly sweet and the texture is wonderful. My daughter’s favorite flavor is mocha. Would you recommend using liquid coffee in place of the cream, or in addition to the cream?
I’m glad you like the frosting, Betty! I haven’t actually made a mocha buttercream just yet, so I’m not quite sure. You may be able to use coffee in place of the cream, but it’s not quite as thick as cream and would probably make the frosting a bit thinner. You could probably add some more powdered sugar to help thicken it up. Or you could try dissolving some instant coffee/espresso powder in a little bit of water and add a little at a time to give it a stronger flavor.
How does this frosting work for cookies? Do you need to refrigerate them?
You can use it on cookies and it will be okay at room temperature for a day or two.
Thank you! It worked great on my sugar cookies
So glad to hear that, Marcia!
Can this recipe be used with the Russian popping tips?I never use buttercream frosting due to the large amount of sugar (3 cups for only 12-14 cupcakes is a lot for my kids) and always use the cream cheese frosting, where I only use 8-9 tb of sugar for 26-28 cupcakes .I just got some russian tips and my frosting won’t work with them unfortunately. I would like to make some exceptions once in a while as your recipe uses much less sugar than others,and looks amazing too (caramel and strawberry especially).
Thank you.
Hi, Ann! I’ve honestly never used Russian piping tips, so I’m not quite sure how it would work with them. I can tell you that this frosting is much sturdier than cream cheese frosting, so it may work. You can always add a bit more powdered sugar if you need to make it thicker.
This recipe looks delicious but i have a question. How many cupcakes can i cover? I am planning to decorate 20 christmas cupcakes. And can i use milk instead of whipping cream?
It kind of depends on how much frosting you like on your cupcakes. I can generously frost a batch of 12-14 cupcakes with this recipe, so for 20 I would do 1.5x the recipe. If you prefer a little less frosting, then this would be enough for 20 cupcakes. If you have any leftover frosting you can also freeze it for later.
It is very easy and simple way to make buttercream frosting. Thank you
I’m glad you found the post helpful!
If I made the strawberry frosting and used blue food colouring do you think it would work? Also, do you need to refrigerate if frosting the cakes the night before as I have such a small fridge, would an airtight container not do the trick? Have you ever frozen cupcakes, frosted and non frosted? Thanks!
Yes, the food coloring with that frosting would be fine. I’ve made it before and added red food coloring to enhance the color. The cake will be okay at room temperature overnight, but I prefer to refrigerate mine and then just leave it on the counter and bring it to room temperature before serving so it’s a little fresher.
You can also freeze cupcakes with or without the frosting. If I’m freezing them without frosting, I just wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag/container. Then just thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before frosting. If you’re freezing frosted cupcakes, I suggest placing them on a baking sheet and freezing the cupcakes with frosting completely first, then wrap them in plastic and store them in a freezer bag/container.
my buttr cream is grainy how to fix it
plz help me
Was your butter at room temperature? If the butter is too cold, the powdered sugar won’t incorporate as well. You could also try sifting your powdered sugar and mix it in with the butter 1/2 – 1 cup at a time until each addition is well combined.
This recipe sounds perfect to use for a birthday cake. Do you happen to have a recipe for yellow cake?
I don’t have a recipe for one yet, but I’ll definitely add it to my list for the future!
I have the Funfetti Sugar Cookie Cake in the oven now! Sugar cookies and sprinkles are my daughter’s favorite things, so what better recipe is there for her 18th birthday? Plus I still get to make buttercream icing!
I’d love to hear how it turns out! 🙂