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Buttercream Frosting
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- Total Time
- 5 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1cup/227 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2cups/246 grams confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 2teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 2tablespoons heavy cream, at room temperature
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the side of the bowl, then beat on medium-high until very light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. The mixture will lighten in color and become glossy. Beat in the vanilla, salt and cream. (For chocolate or raspberry flavors, see Tips.)
- Step 2
Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days. (If preparing in advance, you’ll want to press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent it from hardening. Bring the frosting back to room temperature to use it.)
- To make chocolate buttercream, melt 1 cup/160 grams chopped bittersweet chocolate in short bursts in the microwave, stirring in between until melted, or melt over a double boiler. Let cool to room temperature then beat into the buttercream. Makes about 3 cups.
- For raspberry buttercream, beat ½ cup (room temperature) raspberry preserves into the buttercream. The mixture may look split. If so, heat the underside of the bowl slightly with a hair dryer, without melting the butter, and continue to mix until smooth. (Alternatively, soak a dish towel in hot water, wring it dry and use it to briefly wrap the base of the bowl.) Makes about 3 cups.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
This is an excellent buttercream recipe! So much better than the powdered sugar heavy version I used to make. The consistency is light & fluffy while the flavor is sweet but not too sweet. I also made the chocolate version with Guittard bittersweet chocolate - amazing! Note that both the butter and heavy cream need to be at room temperature before you start. Also, it takes a long time to come back to room temp if you refrigerate overnight.
This is the recipe that I followed for years but with less butter and milk. I don't like the metallic taste of raw confectionery sugar so I tried the Food 52 technique: Melt the butter, mix it with the powdered sugar, salt, and milk in a stainless steel bowl. Set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Remove the bowl from the water, add the vanilla, and beat until cool and fluffy. Set in a ice bath to cool and thicken faster. Much better!
I have also had really good results using freeze dried fruits to flavor buttercream frosting - freeze dried strawberries worked wonders for the pink "flavored" cake my stepson wanted for his birthday!
I have found that using organic butter, though more expensive, elevates the taste of the buttercream and is worth the higher price.
This is the frosting I grew up with and I’m happy to finally see it vindicated by the NYT after years of wondering why it never seemed to be enough!
To flavor cakes, cookies, & frostings with freeze dried fruit, I prefer to buy the fruit in powdered form, which is very smooth with virtually no pieces of fruit. If I must crush the fruit myself, I put it in a zip lock bag and roll the sealed bag with a rolling pin until the fruit is pulverized. With frosting, I add the powder to taste. With cakes or cookies, I add about 1 ounce for every 1.5 cups of flour. The flavor and the color are great, except for cherries, which look gray in baked goods.
This was the first buttercream recipe I loved. Not as cloying as other ones, and really easy to make. One batch will frost the top of a single layer 9" round cake generously, or two layers with about 5mm.
I suggest: - adding fresh ground pepper to the base recipe. - adding a tidge of instant espresso to the chocolate recipe - orange rind to flavour - almond extract General imagination with the vanilla recipe as a base.
This makes a delicious Buttercream. It tastes great, looks good, is simple to make, uses only a few ingredients, and yields plenty. I especially like the latter because I tend to lay it on thick.
Delicious frosting - not too sweet and cloying like so many butter creams. I had never beaten one so long and also I used Plugra butter - both of those adjustments made all the difference.
I have been making this recipe for over 50 years….simple and delicious!
This buttercream is what I’ve been searching for! It’s silky and not cloyingly sweet, which I find many other buttercreams to be. A great option if you like Swiss buttercream but can’t have or don’t want to have the egg.
Is this buttercream good for decorating?
I half the butter and add shortening to finish that measurement. Helps keep the buttercream from melting when in high temperature situations (outside). Shortening has a higher melting point so it doesn’t soften and melt as quickly as butter.
I had to raise my rating after eating the original vanilla on its intended chocolate cake. So good! I thought it was too sweet out of the bowl. Silly me. I made 1.5 recipes which was perfect amount for two 9” rounds layers. I did add extra vanilla. Sooo good.
I have searched far and wide for a delicious buttercream that also is great for piping. This is it. Best icing I’ve ever had.
This recipe is the real deal; so luxurious and not too sweet. I used half for vanilla frosting, put the rest in fridge for chocolate. A lovely accident happened-the melted chocolate seized up on the sides of my bowl. I scraped them off and it made delicate flakes of chocolate, in the frosting ,that melted on your tongue.
I made this without the cream and it came out delicious. I didn't have any on hand so I wasn't sure how it would come out. I halved the recipe and it was enough for a dozen cupcakes.
Made this EXACTLY as written and it is FABULOUS Not too buttery or sweet. The salt is a nice addition. The quantity is pretty accurate, but if you’re making a layer cake I would 1.5 or 2x the recipe. I did not have much left over after frosting the crumb coat and middle layer on an 8” cake (and extra frosting is not a bad problem to have!).
Entirely Too Much Butter. One could easily cut the butter in half (or double the sugar) for this butter cream. I'd suggest creaming half the sugar with the full sugar first, then tasting and adding more butter if desired.
Made this buttercream and it was perfect. I would like to make it lemon flavored. Should I omit the heavy cream and sub some fresh lemon juice?The lemon zest I added to the buttercream I made really did not add the lemon flavor.
was so surprised that after making buttercream for decades, there was a better version! my son wanted cookies and cream - so i made the vanilla and topped it with christina tosi's chocolate crumb. this is my new go-to. thank you!
Cut up room temperature butter before hand blending it. Hand blender uses slower speeds than stand mixer.
Made this once and it was greasy and an exceptionally small amount. The second time was better- so a weight measurement for the sugar may be helpful. Also for Ms Bennett who can't find the icing recipe from the viennese bakery, try a Swiss buttercream.
Is it possible to make this without using cream?
I made pistachio frosting using the recipe and it worked well for me. I beat it in my Kitchenaid for a total of 5 minutes since I had to stop several times to scrape down the bowl. After making the frosting I added 1/2 cup of ground pistachios and a little green food coloring to oomph up it's "pistachioness" It was used to frost a spumoni cake (1 cherry layer, 1 chocolate layer).
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