5 simple ingredients are all you need to make the best vanilla buttercream frosting. Add food coloring to make it fit any cake theme.
Jump to RecipeWhen it comes to birthday parties and birthday cakes, I like to make our own at home for all of the occasions. The only time we’ve purchased grocery store birthday cakes was for Ryan’s Super Mario birthday party. Having your own homemade buttercream frosting recipe is perfect for all the homemade cakes you want to make. While I am a big fan of cream cheese frosting, sometimes I need a frosting that spreads easily on my cake layers.
For Tyler’s first birthday, I talked to the cake decorator who made the cake for my wedding. She used the perfect buttercream frosting in lieu of fondant. We wanted something easier to cut, that looked nice, and, most importantly, still tasted good. Our cake was a red velvet cake with white frosting on it and red accents.
She graciously gave me her easy recipe for buttercream icing to use for Tyler’s cake. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make, how well it spread on the cake, how easy it was to add color, and how delicious it was!
The recipe below is for classic vanilla buttercream, but you can change it to any color you want. This is the perfect consistency to spread on a cake or to put in a piping bag for more decorative frosting.
This recipe makes enough frosting for a two-layer cake or about 24 cupcakes with piped frosting or 36 if you are spreading the frosting on them. We chose to make some vanilla cupcakes with these because Tyler wanted a dessert he could eat with his braces and all we had here was hard candy!
A Note About Ingredients
Yes, this recipe calls for an entire stick of butter. And, as much as I like using vegan butter, you want to use real butter for this recipe. Make sure to let it come to room temperature before you make the frosting so it stirs more easily.
If your frosting is dry, add more milk, one tablespoon at a time. If you are keeping the frosting white, you’ll want to make sure to use whole milk as nondairy milk tends to have an off-white color.
Again, if you are keeping the frosting white, try to find the clear vanilla extract so it doesn’t change the color as well. Otherwise, you can see below I used brown vanilla extract and my frosting was still very white.
For chocolate buttercream, add about half a cup of cocoa powder to the frosting. You may need to increase the milk to make up for this added dry ingredient to keep the fluffy consistency.
Coloring the Buttercream Frosting
If you want to add color to the buttercream frosting, I suggest using the Wilton gel colors. They aren’t quite as simple as squirting a few drops of coloring in and mixing, but you will get a much richer color.
For cakes that need multiple colors, separate the frosting into separate bowls and whisk in your colors.
Cake Decorating
I have decorated quite a few cakes in the past, but am by no means a professional cake decorator. Most of what I have learned is through trial and error and experimenting with types of frosting and different piping tips.
The best thing you can do is get a good cake-decorating kit. It should come with a piping tool as well as multiple tips and instructions for using them. I also like to use angled spatulas for smoothing out the frosting. And having a spinning cake stand helps tremendously.
Buttercream Frosting Step by Step
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar (or confectioner’s sugar)
- 3 tbsp whole milk
Preparation
In a large bowl, beat the vegetable shortening and room-temperature butter with an electric mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla extract.
Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating well on low speed, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl often.
Slowly add milk, one tablespoon at a time, and beat at medium speed until it reaches your desired consistency.
Add food color if desired.
Leftovers
Storage: Store leftover buttercream frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. When you are ready to use, stir it a bit to loosen the frosting and bring it back to the perfect texture for spreading.
Freezing: Buttercream frosting can be frozen for up to 3 months. Make sure to put it in a freezer bag and remove all of the extra air. Thaw it in the refrigerator for a day before use.
Recipe
Originally Published On: October 23, 2023
Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar (or confectioner’s sugar)
- 3 tbsp whole milk
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the vegetable shortening and room-temperature butter with an electric mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy
- Beat in the vanilla extract
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating well on low speed, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl often
- Slowly add milk, one tablespoon at a time, and beat at medium speed until it reaches your desired consistency
- Add food color if desired
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
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I have not made buttercream frosting before but it seems like a great way to do especially now that baking season is here! We usually make a lot of cupcakes during this time of year and it ends being bare. This is a great way to add a bit more oomph and flavor to a yummy goodie!
Oh, yes. There is absolutely nothing better than buttercream frosting. NOTHING! I can’t wait to try your recipe!
Love buttercream and this recipe is so delicious. It’s not overly sweet, easy to whip up and I could eat it by the spoonful (oops – will have to save some for my cakes!).
I’ve always loved homemade buttercream frosting. It’s hands down my favorite on cakes for its lighter and delicious flavor. This recipe is so perfect to try on my holiday cake recipe.
My kids and I tried this recipe today for some cupcakes and it turned out great! This recipe is rich, creamy and so easy to make. This will be a our go to recipe moving forward for buttercream frosting!
such a good post because buttercream is the foundation of many different cakes and I think this is very important for a lot of people. I will definitely share this and I think it is useful for many people!
I do love a good buttercream. I use them quite often when I make cupcakes and cakes. I’ve never tried it with shortening though. That sounds like a new thing to try!
Buttercream frosting is a must on all cakes. I’m going to try this out. I like how short and easy it is.
Homemade is always so much better than store bought! I haven’t made frosting in years, and it would be fun to make a cake or cupcakes with my own frosting.
I would try this recipe too, because we bake muffins pretty often. But 4 cups of powdered sugar seems a lot. We will try this buttercream frosting with vanilla muffins next time.
Buttercream does taste the best. I’d choose it over any other choice, every single time. That Pokemon cake is cute. Love the classic cake mess pic with the babe. 🙂
This buttercream frosting looks fantastic. Thanks for the recipe.
Ooohhhh…thank you for this recipe. I used to believe making frosting was complicated given how sweet and smooth it always is. I should give it a try of my own.
Thanks for sharing the recipe! The buttercream frosting looks good. I’m sure it’s a good choice for different cake.
The cake looks so yummy even better now I know how to make the buttercream frosting. Love your instructions about how to make it.
Ooh! I love buttercream frosting! I would make this and never put it on cupcakes, lol.
Thanks for the recipe, it all look easier now as opposed to imagining on doing it before.