The Best Buttercream Frosting
This is THE Best Buttercream Frosting recipe and the only one we use. It is easy to make and anything you put it on will taste better. We promise!!
I hate, loathe, and despise store-bought frosting. I understand that it is super convenient, but I think it ruins what could otherwise be a delicious dessert. I am proud to say I have never used a can of frosting. Does that me a frosting snob? Probably. I have been using this recipe forever. It is easy and makes whatever you are putting it on taste better. I promise!!
How to Make
Step 1: Add 1 cup of slightly softened butter. I only ever use real butter, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Although I think margarine changes the taste, your buttercream frosting made with margarine will still be better than canned frosting. “Slightly softened” is somewhere between straight out of the refrigerator and room temperature. If the butter is too cold it will not mix smoothly with the vanilla extract. If it is too soft, the butter will start melting during the process of mixing and the consistency of your icing won’t be correct at the end. Now add 2-3 teaspoons of vanilla. My family loves vanilla so I am a little heavy-handed with it. I’ll start with 2 teaspoons and then add more at the end.
Step 2: Mix the butter and the vanilla on medium speed until thoroughly combined (about 2 minutes.) You want to give the butter and vanilla and chance to meld together.
Step 3: Use a spatula to scrape the butter and vanilla mixture down from the sides of the bowl before moving on to the next step.
Step 4: Measure 1 pound of Powdered Sugar. I use my food scale. (If you don’t have a food scale the equivalent would be 4 cups.) You can sift the powdered sugar if it is really lumpy. I do not always do this. Instead, I rely on the mixer to do that work for me.
Step 5: Add the powdered sugar to the mixer.
Step 6: I usually put a clean dishtowel around my mixer to keep the sugar from flying out.
Step 7: Start your mixer (or beaters) on the lowest setting. Keep on low until the butter and sugar are incorporated (about 30 seconds.) Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and then increase the speed to medium-high and mix for another 30-45 seconds so the frosting gets light and fluffy. If the frosting is too dry or still crumbly, add 1 teaspoon of milk and mix again.
Step 8: ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS taste your frosting. You are trying to determine if the taste is right and if the consistency is correct. My husband is the best frosting taster. He will always tell me if the consistency is wrong, if it needs more vanilla or more milk. You can check out our FAQ section below to see some other advice on making the perfect batch of frosting. If you are adding food coloring now is the time to do it. Make sure the food coloring gets fully incorporated. (Most of the time I do this part by hand.).
How to Serve
How much frosting will you need? That always depends on how thick or thin you apply the frosting or how much decorating you do but here are a couple of guidelines. Our recipe should make enough Best Buttercream Frosting to cover a 9″ x 13″ sheet cake or a two-layer 8″ cake. If you are making cupcakes, you should be able to frost 24 cupcakes if you apply the frosting with a knife. If you swirl on the frosting with a pastry bag like we have done here, you should be able to frost 15-18 cupcakes depending on the size of the swirl.
Expert Tips and FAQ’s
No, this frosting does not need to be refrigerated. Cupcakes frosted with this Buttercream Icing would be fine left out on the counter for 2-3 days if covered. However, we normally refrigerate our frosted desserts to keep the baked good from going stale even if the frosting would be fine. We think frosting tastes best at room temperature so we will take them out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before we will serve them.
Frosting stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator should be usable for up to a week. If you carefully store the frosting in order to avoid freezer burn, the frosting should last in the freezer for 3-4 months.
Buttercream is a sweet frosting. One thing you can do if it seems too sweet for your palette is to add a pinch of salt to the frosting. But please note that a little salt goes a long way. We cannot stress enough that a pinch (10-15 granules of regular table salt) is all you usually need. Even 1/4 a teaspoon of salt would probably ruin the frosting. Add the salt and mix again and see if that has cut down on the sweetness level.
Add another teaspoon of milk and mix again. Continue to add the milk, a teaspoon at a time, until the frosting is the consistency that you like it
Temperature plays a big part in the consistency of frosting. A thin frosting could mean that the butter has gotten overworked and is too melted. The first thing to do is refrigerate the frosting for an hour and then check to see if the frosting has set back up again. If not, the next step is to add more powdered sugar or cornstarch. Start with either 1/2 cup of Powdered Sugar or 1 tablespoon of Cornstarch. Mix again and see if the consistency is better.
Yes, any milk substitute like Half n’ Half, Whipping Cream or even Almond Milk will work.
The short answer is yes. But we don’t recommend it. Most home mixers don’t have the capacity to get the frosting to the right consistency with double the amount of ingredients in the mixing bowl. If we need more than 2/12 cups of frosting, we make two separate batches.
Yes. You can use any decorating tip to make pretty decorations with this frosting and they will keep their shape.
We would call this a “slightly crusting” buttercream. In our opinion, a true crusting buttercream recipe has shortening in it. You can use our frosting to decorate cakes, cupcakes, and even Christmas Sugar Cookies but this is not a traditional crusting buttercream recipe.
Other Classic Frosting Recipes You Will Love
Did you Make This Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!
And don’t forget to follow us on Tiktok, Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram!
The Best Buttercream Frosting
The Best Buttercream Frosting really lives up to it's name, it definitely is the best we've ever tried and so easy to make. This Buttercream Frosting will make anything you put it on taste better - we promise!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter, slightly softened (We use Salted Sweet Cream Butter)
- 2-3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 pound Powdered Sugar (or 4 cups)
- 1-2 tablespoons Milk (as needed)
Instructions
- Add the “slightly softened” Butter (somewhere in between straight out of the refrigerator and room temperature) to the mixing bowl along with the Vanilla Extract.
- Mix the Butter and Vanilla together until they are fully combined (about 2 minutes on medium speed.) You want the Vanilla to fully meld with the Butter to get the best-flavored frosting possible.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl down before moving on to the next step of the recipe.
- Measure 1 pound of Powdered Sugar. If you don’t have a food scale, the equivalent is 4 cups.
- Add the Powdered Sugar to the mixing bowl.
- Start your mixer (or electric beater) on the lowest setting. Keep on low until the butter and sugar are incorporated (about 30 seconds). Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and mix for 30-45 more seconds until the frosting starts to be light and fluffy.
- If the frosting is still dry or crumbly, add 1 teaspoon of Milk and mix again.
- Taste your frosting! You are trying to determine if the consistency is correct or if it needs a tiny bit more Vanilla Extract. Depending on how it tastes, you will take the next step. If the frosting has the right taste but is too thick, add some Milk and mix again to check to see if it is now the right consistency. How much milk? That depends on the state of your frosting. A good rule of thumb is to add the milk a teaspoon at a time.
Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!
If you are looking for more tips and tricks for making that perfect batch of homemade frosting we have a few other posts you might want to check out:
My second or third time making the buttercream. It always turns out delicious. I add almond extract, along with the vanilla. Note: I do always end up adding more milk than stated (I do it a little at a time). Last night we used it to frost your wonderful sugar cookies!
Hello, are you still answering comments from this post? I’m using your sugar cookie recipe with the buttercream icing. I was wanting to turn your buttercream icing into a spiced icing to make Thanksgiving cookies! Could you help me with that?
Hi! Sure .. how can we help? We have a yummy Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting recipe that you can find here … https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/cinnamon-buttercream-frosting/.
I love that you are frosting snob!! I love your icing. I always taught my grandsons that you only use the best ingredients when baking and now they have become baking snobs. 🙂
So easy and delicious
I added one teaspoon of salt, some chocolate chips and sprinkles….. IT WAS AWESOME (I made cupcakes btw)
Thank you! Made my life easier. Esp the adding the milk park. I added evaporated milk and it made my icing more frosting-like. More fluffy!
Nummy
i have been making Buttercream Frosting for years. I even used the same ingredients. However, after reading this recipe, I took your advise on the consistancy of the butter and the sequence. Am I glad I did. This was positively the lightest, fluffiest Buttercream Frosting. It got lots of compliments.
Thank You!!
This was the BEST Buttercream frosting I have ever made! I will never use a different recipe again. It was quick and easy to make, velvety smooth, and delicious. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I’m a dad who has never made icing before and wanted something better for my daughter’s 15th birthday than the stuff out of the jar. This recipe was absolutely perfect and my little girl was over the moon 🙂 Thank you!
I was sure this would be yet another mushy mess. But I must say KUDOS and Thank You! Delicious ! going to try pina colada extract/flavoring/etc
Do you use castor sugar or icing sugar
Thank you
Janette
Hi! We use Icing Sugar.
This was delish!! My husband likes vanilla and I like chocolate frosting. So I made the recipe as is, frosted half the cake and then added cocoa powder, mixed well, and frosted the rest. My family said it was the best cake I ever made! I found using hand beaters work better than a mixer for frosting. So now I have a new fav frosting recipe. Thanks!
Just finished making this frosting for my daughter’s birthday cake. The consistency is perfect, not mentioning the taste. It’s my new favorite buttercream frosting from now on, thank you!!!
Until now, I’ve been very disappointed in all the buttercream frosting recipes I’ve tried. This recipe is the only one I’ll be using from now on. Tastes great and spreads easily. I served it at my son’s birthday dinner last night and everyone raved about how good it was. Wanted to add coconute to the top of the cake, so I added a little coconut flavoring too – just a little because I didn’t want it to overpower the buttercream flavor. I did use real butter.
I am a novice but the frosting turned out great! Great directions.
I just made this frosting and it fantastic! I made 1.5 batch of this and added 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar and used heavy cream instead of milk to get stiffer frosting for decorating. It came out beautifully and is absolutely delicious.
Thank you for noting, I am also decorating and I wasn’t sure if it would be too doft
Just made this and it is delicious. Definitely my go-to buttercream frosting from now on. Thanks for the recipe!
I don’t like buttercream, but this is a Wonderful buttercream. It doesn’t have any weird after taste and is super easy to make. Thank You for sharing!
THANK YOU!
I have struggled with frosting my whole life! I was always looking for a recipe that would be simple, easy to make and delicious. I seemed condemned to make bad frosting forever. Every time I saw a frosting recipe that sounded wonderful, the recipe usually called for ingredients like lard or use of a double boiler, etc.
The way I learned was how my mother made “icing”. She would spoon a couple tablespoons of margarine and tsp of vanilla into a bowl as a start then add whatever amount of sugar she needed (cup at a time) adding the tbsp “or so” of milk to get the consistency needed! (She learned this from her mother)
You can see the problem with my training!
So, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for your recipe! So easy, no guesswork and I can share this with my mom – even though she doesn’t really bake anymore!
Very sincerely,
Thank you so much for the buttercream recipe. It is indeed the best and my icing was delish♡
I made this frosting today for some chocolate cupcakes. Instead of adding milk, I added heavy whipping cream and it turned out fantastic. It lightened the icing and taste delicious. I going to add cream cheese and tomorrow I will ice carrot cake cupcakes with it. I love baking. This will now be my favorite buttercream icing.
This really is the best buttercream recipe, I’m so glad I found your site!
Made this for my husband’s Birthday cake and he requested buttercream frosting and this one was perfect. It did ice 2 8 inch cake rounds but next time might make more as we love our icing. The only thing did different was cut down to 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Super good and my daughter could not keep her hand out of the bowl.
hi im 10 and i am making your frosting
Fabulous frosting! I will never buy store bought frosting again. This is delicious and makes enough for a 2-layer cake. It is sweet, so I may cut back on the sugar next time. I will definitely use this recipe again and maybe try to make the cake from scratch.
I’ve made the AWESOME frosting 2x’s now Everyone loves it ❣️ Next the chocolate frosting
Thx a million
Hey there!!
First, I’d like to tell you that I have been using this recipe for MONTHS and LOVE IT!! Everyone loves my cupcakes with this icing. I have noticed that sometimes it crusts on top though. Any tips for keeping it nice and soft?
Loved it! Just made it but used Half and Half. Came out so delicious. Thank you ! Made a Bundt cake and it was just the right amount. Not too sweet !
Just the way I like it , easy to make and bursting with flavor. Thanks for the permission to use more vanilla.
I’ve been looking for a good base vanilla buttercream and this recipe is amazing! I ended up making 1.5 batches and it was perfect for 2 dozen cupcakes. I also added some crushed peppermint since these cupcakes are for the holidays, and my family loved them.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for the Best Sugar Cookie and Buttercream Frosting recipes. The cookies are a dream. Finding them was the highlight of the 2020 quarantine. It gave me hope! Everyone in my family is in love with them. Honestly people, I’ve been eating cookies for 70 years and these are perfection. Mwahhh…a big kiss to you for sharing!
1st time i tried to make buttercream. Came out great. Friend said best he’s eaten. Used it on butter pecan cake. Cake was gone in 3 days
Just made this absolutely delicious and so simple
I love this recipe!! I will say, it can be too sweet. I like mine not as sweet, so I added 2 tsps of sea salt. I was sooooo much better after the sea salt. But over all, this is amazing!! <3
Omg this is the BEST frosting hands down! Has that perfect balance of sweetness. I am using this buttercream in sugar cookie kits. Any recommendations on how to preserve the frosting for the kits? Should I keep them refrigerated until I am ready to put the icings in the boxes?
Thanks for the sea salt idea. I too, thought it was sweeter than my taste buds preferred.
So I am getting married next year and I am baking my own wedding cake. I’d never made my own frosting, but I want to do everything from scratch. I am absolutely in love with this frosting. SUPER easy and delicious. I was genuinely surprised that how good it was. I made a cake and cupcake for a bridal shower to “test” flavors for my wedding, and everyone said they were delicious 🙂
I have my daughters baby shower end of this month and will be using this recipe, thank you xx
this is my go to recipe!
I used this on my birthday cake & everyone loved it! Tomorrow I am going to put fresh raspberries from my garden in it instead of the milk. I will probably also cut the vanilla back. My family (especially Dd loves fruit in the frosting. Eventually it will be orange juice & zest for Mom’s cake! Thank you for a delicious base to use!
you have the best butter cream recipe
Do you think this will be enough batter for an 2- layer 8 inch cake, or should I double it or will that be too much?
Hi Sarah – it is close but if you want a good amount of frosting on the cake then 1 and 1/2 batches is better. If you double the recipe, you will have left over frosting.
Ok this is really funny, my business name is three sisters unique. I have a sister named Laurie and she spells it laurie. My name is Lisa and our other sister is Judie. I’ve been looking for a good butter cream recipe, im going to make this and see if I like it. I will let you know.
That is so funny! There are only a few of us “Laurie’s” out there in the world! Hope you like the frosting!!!
This is my go to buttercream. Although, instead of 2 tsp of vanilla, I used 1 tsp and 1 tsp of almond extract. Great flavor.
I use this between 2 graham crackers. Place them in the fridge and walla, a sweet, cool snack. My mom used to make these when I was a kid.
I have fallen In lobe with this butter cream frosting it is absolutely the best!!! I am making some cupcakes and a 8inch double layered round cake, if I tripled this recipe do you think it would be enough? -heather
*love
Hi,
Does powdered sugar mean confectioner’s sugar or powdered granulated sugar .
Hi – Confectioner’s Sugar is what we use.
Hello. This looks so easy. Do you think that the frosting will be still good and soft 24 hours after decoration?Should I keep the cupcakes in the refrigerator or room temperature. Thank you so much
I would put them in the refrigerator. Take them out about an hour before serving.
Is it really necessary to use “salted sweet cream butter”? I only have regular “unsalted butter”?
Nope, not necessary. It is just our preference. You can use unsalted butter.
I have made this recipe for cupcakes before, it is delicious! my question is, can this recipe be used for all decorations? flowers, leaves, etc… or do i need to change something up. want to make sure it will be stiff enough
please advise.
thanks!
Hi Mary, it is okay for decorating, but might not be a stiff as you need. You might want to replace half the butter with shortening. It will change the flavor, but your decorations will hold up better.
My son snuck a lick of the frosting and exclaimed, “Mom, this is the best frosting!”
I think I have a new go-to frosting. Thank you so much!
Can I ask how many grams or ounces are in each butter stick? I;m in Australia and the measurements are often different here.
Hi Fiona, one stick of our butter is 1/2 cup, 4 ounces, or 113 grams.
hello, can I frost cupcakes with this buttercream then leave out overnight or do they need to be in refrigerator ?
thanks
Leaving them out overnight is fine, but any longer than that they should be in the refrigerator.
THE BEST BUTTERCREAM seriously! And so easy! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
You have the best recipes for frostings, I started out using your plain vanilla buttercream, but now I use whipped, cream cheese, and chocolate, peanut butter. They’re the best I always get so many compliments!
This Buttercream is really the BEST Buttercream ever!!! It tastes so good. I will never go back to any other frosting. Thank you so much!!!!
Thanks, Brooklyn!
Hello! Love this recipe! Always turns out amazing. If I doubled it would it be enough for a 4 layer 8” round cake?
Hi Kelly, I would probably make three batches. To do nice thick layers and good coverage outside, two is probably not enough.
Hello!,
Can I use heavy cream instead of milk? It just happens to be on hand in my fridge.
Thanks!,
Carol
Hi Carol, you can use heavy cream. I will give it extra creaminess.
Hello
Can I leave the cupcakes with the butter cream over nite? I’m making them for a party in December.
Yes!
First off I love this recipe, and this and your chocolate icing recipes have become my go to’ss. I want to lemon icing using your original buttercream recipe. Have you tried it before? And if so any tips? Thanks!
Hi Jen, here is a link to our Lemon Buttercream frosting. I think you will really like it. https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-lemon-buttercream-frosting/
How long will this keep in the refrigerator? Also how can I use this recipe for sugar cookies? I’m hoping to use frosting that gardens for easy paving and transport!
Thanks!
This frosting will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days to a week. It’s great on sugar cookies. This frosting will crust, but if you stack them on top of each other for transport they may get dented.
OH MY GOODNESS!!! I can’t thank you enough for sharing your recipe. I’ve come across so many and none of them taste like your’s. DELICIOUS!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!!
Went completely rogue and swapped the milk for lime juice. Worked a treat! Great flavour but still can design as you like, did not affect the viscosity. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Natalie – interesting. We’ll have to try that trick next time!
Had a craving for lemon cake and used this recipe for icing omg soo good
Yay! We are so glad you liked it!
Can you make this recipe and store it for later use? Next day?
Sure!
DELICIOUS!!! I licked the bowl! ♀️
Yay!!!
I hate overly sweet buttercream frostings therefore I always go with your whipped cream frosting. However I made a batch of buttercream the other day from a diff site using a lot more sugar than you girls. I hated it but froze it. Can you suggest on how I can fix it to make is less sugary? Will I still be able to decorate my cake? Do I need a stiff buttercream to pipe flowers on my cake or can I use your version of this buttercream and whipped frosting buttercream as I love to decorate my cakes with flowers. Please help. A quick reply is greatly appreciated.
Hi Kay – We’ve never tried this but you could try adding some shortening – a small amount – maybe 1/4 cup. It will help tone down the sweetness and also make it stiffer to decorate it. Hope that helps.
For years I’ve failed to make good buttercream. This recipe is the best frosting I’ve ever made, and I think it’s even better than my mom’s.
I love the subtle hint of saltiness from the salted butter. I used half and half in place of the milk for a bit more creaminess.
Hi! I’m frosting a 3 layer cake, should I double the recipe?? Thx!
Yes!
This is the best all around buttercream I have ever used.
Easy to work with and it doesn’t leave that waxy film on the roof of your mouth like the buttercream made with shortening.
I have been doing cakes for 25 years and I get more compliments on this frosting every time I make it.
Thanks for the AWESOME recipe !!!!!
Yay! We are so glad you like the frosting.
Is it ok to use just a hand mixer? I don’t have a kitchenade mixer.
Hi Shelley, yes a hand mixer works just as well.
Can I use half margarine and half butter?
Hi Lisa, you can use half margarine and half butter, but you may not need to add any liquid. Margarine is so soft that adding additional liquid might make it too runny.
How much am i gonna need for 60 cupcakes ?
I am going to guess you will need 3 batches of frosting.
All your frostings are just perfect both in taste and texture. I recently started using Kerrygold Butter form Ireland when I bake and it has revolutionized the flavor. It is especially magnificent in frostings! It’s a bit more expensive, but worth every penny!
That’s interesting. I have never tried using the Kerrygold Butter. I am going to pick some up and try it. Thanks for the tip!
Yes! Kerrygold is the literal best butter. I won’t buy anything else… and the frosting is amazing.
I absolutely love the cream cheese frosting, can’t wait to try this one this weekend. I have tried many different recipes and none of them were really what I was hoping for.
I am about to give this recipe a try. But I do have a question; can i store this icing and use it the next day. I don’t want to do that and afraid it may mess the consistency?
It is fine to store it overnight. You shouldn’t have any problem with the consistency.
Hi I stumbled on this post for the best buttercream frosting, and I wanted to give this a try. What’s the difference between using unsalted butter to salted butter? I noticed above the recipe said salted cream butter then I read below someone commented unsalted cream butter. I just want to make sure i’m making it correctly. Thank you!
Hi – you can use either. We like the hint of salt you get from the salted butter. The butter we buy is Salted Sweet Cream Butter. Hope that helps.
Hi,
how do I make the icing less sweet?
I made this a week ago and it came out too sweet.
You can try adding a very small pinch of salt to it.
This is the best icing I’ve ever made! It was the perfect consistency, and not too milky. I even added another 2 teaspoons of milk, and it tasted amazing!
Excellent recipe !! had extra left over after 24 cupcakes .. I Love vanilla also, so took your advice and added 1 1/2 tsp extra probably cause all i had was some imitation vanilla at hand. Thank you for the easy recipe.
Delicious recipe but the ingredient measurement is wrong on the powdered sugar. 8 oz in a cup…..4 cups of PS is 32 oz of PS. In parenthesis, you have or 1 pound…..which is 16 oz. So, shouldn’t it say 2 cups PS? One thing’s for sure……its THE BEST BUTTER CREAM RECIPE EVERRRRRR!!!!
Thanks Beverly, we are glad you like the frosting. As for the measurements, it is the difference between volume (capacity) vs. weight (mass). 4 cups of powdered sugar weighs 16 oz or 1 lb.
Just made this buttercream recipe and it is the best! Definitely will be my to go buttercream from now on. I’m so glad I found it! Thanks.
Wanda
I’ve made this nearly a dozen times now. It’s now my default buttercream. Great flavor, and perfect for piping.
I do always have to remind myself to double or triple the recipe if I’m doing more that one layer of 8” cake. One batch pretty much covers the crumb coat, and a second to frost the top and sides, third if I’m doing extra decorations.
Hi there,
I want to make a raspberry buttercream using a Torani raspberry syrup. Would you recommend replacing the milk or vanilla for the syrup addition? I know most people would make a puree but I’d like to keep it a bit more simple. Thanks!
Yes, you would definitely eliminate any other liquid.
I have been baking for over 60 yrs. This is THE BEST Buttercream Frosting I have ever made. This will be the ONLY Buttercream recipe that I will use from now on! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Every time I make this buttercream, the consistency is very thin and liquid type. I add more powdered sugar and it still doesn’t thicken. I’m at a loss and not sure what I’m doing wrong. Any advice?
Hi Amanda, that’s odd. Are you using butter or margarine? I would make sure your butter isn’t too soft, and also don’t add any liquid until you are sure it needs it.
I made your Best sugar cookies today and they are really the best I have made. I love the fact that you don’t need to refrigerate the dough.
However, I am looking at your Best Buttercream Icing and it only refers to icing cakes and cupcakes. Is it suitable for the cookies? I am looking for an icing that hardens enough to stack them.
Hi Barb ~
While I love this recipe for my cupcakes, due to the fact it is so soft, I doubt you would be able to stack the cookies without them smearing.
I have an amazing recipe I use to ice my sugar cookies, and they are stackable, the key ingredient is meringue powder.
What a terrific and easy buttercream frosting recipe! I had fresh oranges on hand, so I made orange frosting, It will be perfect for our holiday party today 🙂
This truly is the BEST buttercream frosting! I didn’t need to use any milk in my frosting, but the consistency was perfect. I have also found that food gel works better than food dye. Thanks for the perfect recipe!
I absolutely loved this recipe! The frosting was the perfect consistency and had the perfect flavor! thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Awesome quick easy and delicious
I have never made homemade icing before. I found your recipe and tried it out as a taste test for my husband’s birthday cake. He loves buttercream icing and my whole family loved it as well. It was super easy to make! I will definitely make this icing in the future. No more store bought icing again.
Hi Nancy. Does this frosting have to be refrigerated after the cake is iced or cupcakes frosted? I’m talking about sitting out a couple of days. Can this icing do that?
I think it is fine to leave it sitting out overnight, but if it is any longer than that, I will put it the refrigerator.
First, let me say this is overall a great buttercream! My sister in law asked me to make cupcakes for my niece’s birthday party, so I wanted to practice doing swirls with the icing. The only difference is I bought unsalted butter and used 2tsp of vanilla. I’m sure for the kids at the party will love this icing, but it was just a tad too sweet for me. Unless cookies, I usually half or quarter the amount of sugar, so it’s less sweet, but I don’t think I can do that here. Is there anyway to cut the sweetness a bit?
You could try adding a little (very little) pinch of salt. Just be sure to add a little bit at a time. It can go from “that’s good” to “blech” very quickly.
I love this icing. Can you freeze this for later?
Yes, you can put it in an air tight container for 1-2 months.
At what point would I add lemon and lemon flavoring if i wanted a tart lemon buttercream?
Here is a link to our lemon buttercream frosting. I think it is just what you are looking for https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-lemon-buttercream-frosting/ a link to our Lemon Buttercream frosting.
Have you ever tried using Earth Balance and Soy milk? My daughter has a dairy allergy.
Is the type of butter specifically called “sweet cream butter unsalted” I would like to make this for cupcakes tomorrow and want to have the exact butter
That is the kind that we use. But any butter will do.
I am very new to baking and used this recipe to make my first ever cupcake frosting… It turned out awesome! If I knew it were so easy, I would have started a long time back!! Thank you so much!!
I just made this last night, instead of using milk I used Bailey’s Irish Cream. 😉 I can’t wait to make a batch of my mom’s brownies to use the frosting on. Awesome recipe, thanks!
This frosting came out great! I know there are a million versions of the same/similar buttercream recipe and I have tried a lot of different methods. I don’t know if it was the order of the directions, or the way things were described, but this frosting came out just right. Most recipes ask you to add the milk and sugar alternatively, I like that this one just says go ahead and put the sugar in. My mixer handled it fine and I added milk to get it just the right consistency for piping. I also like that you described how many cupcakes it covers 🙂 I covered 24 per batch and had a bit left over each time which was perfect. Thank you for writing this up 4 years ago!!
This is the best icing I’ve ever made. Much appreciated! Everyone loved it. I doubled the recipe for a 12”x18” sheet cake. I didn’t change anything other than using whipping cream instead of milk. Thank you:)
Could you please comment the amounts in grams? 🙂
Hi … here is a converter app you could use: https://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/food/cups-to-grams-converter-87833
sooooo good!!!
Wow this frosting was delish! I added almond flavoring cuz I love it, and cream instead of milk. It tinted nicely. It will definitely be my go-to frosting!!
My 17 year old daughter made your buttercream frosting and frosted her first cake. We think she did a great job!
This frosting is fluffy and delicious. It was the perfect amount to frost a single layer 9×13 cake. No more canned frosting here!
We’ll use this recipe each 4th of July to frost our flag cake. We just decided to make it a tradition!
Thanks
Hi Kathy! This makes us so happy! So glad you liked the frosting!
My family usually doesn’t like buttercream frosting but I wanted to try something other than whipped cream frosting. This recipe was perfect!! Not too sweet and the perfect texture!
Does this frosting require refrigeration?
If you are making the frosting on the day you are serving it, you do not need to refrigerate it.
I have a question. Can you add malted milk powder to the Best Buttercream frosting recipe?
Yum! That’s sounds delicious. I think it would taste great!
I made malted milkshake cupcakes and the frosting I made didn’t turn out very well. I want to make the cupcakes again with your recipe. I’ll let you know how they turn out! 🙂
I used this recipe (I used heavy whipping cream instead of milk) and it was absolutely delicious. I will used this recipe from now on. Thank you.
Turned out amazing even though I accidentally spilled the vanilla and added extra!
LOL! There can never be too much vanilla in my opinion! Glad you liked the recipe!
I was wondering if you could substitute a strawberry puree instead of vanilla in the frosting to make it a strawberry buttercream for a filling inside a cake?
Yes! It is really yummy. Here is our recipe: https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/strawberry-buttercream-frosting/
Hello! I am scouring the internet desperately trying to find a ‘how to colour buttercream dark green’ and I came across your post on oscar the grouch cupcakes with the green icing. HOW did you get it that shade?? I purchased a forest green gel colouring and upon instruction I added a touch of blue to my (yellowish) buttercream and it turned a light shade of mint green. Then I added the forest green in bit by bit but what resulted was just a bluey-green almost like seaweed shade. I just want a true green & no matter what I try nothing is working. HELP!!!
Hi Kate … the Americolor Forest Green will work. We would suggest that that try just using that without the blue. You might need to keep adding food coloring drop by drop. We also like the Wilton Color Right Food Coloring. We have a guide here on how we use that food coloring to get different shades (including a couple of shades of green.) https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/frosting-color-guide/ Good luck!
Hi the taste was spectacular! I never knew something so delicious could be so easy to make. This was the first time I made buttercream . Mine was a little oily so I wanted to ask if that is the way buttercream is supposed to be.
Hi Sunny! We’re glad to hear you liked the frosting recipe. It could have been that your butter was a little too melty. How did you soften it?
I used this recipe to make 80 cupcakes, using heavy cream instead of milk, for a mother daughter tea and people were commenting on how good the frosting was. The heavy cream gave it a velvety feel and the flavor was on point. Be sure to use good vanilla. This is my go to!!!
I have used heavy cream as a substitute for milk as well, and my cake turned out just amazing. I find that whenever i use milk in my buttercream frosting my frosting turns out to liquidy, so then I have to keep adding more and more powdered sugar. By the end, my frosting has the right consistency, but the frosting is way to overly sweet. Can you give any suggestions on that?
HI! If I want to make this frosting an hour or two ahead and then pipe my cupcakes, do you think it will be okay? Would I need to refrigerate the frosting or can I leave the bowl of frosting at room temperature?
For an hour or so, you don’t need to refrigerate it.
Am I able to refrigerate and use tomorrow for cupcakes?
Sure!
What are your suggestions for preventing the frosting from getting too warm when piping.. It starts off great and then just turns to sloppy by the last cupcake needing icing.. maybe 10 minutes if icing..?
Hi Amanda – we have this problem too. We put a smaller amount of frosting in the piping bag and then refill when needed. It is your hand that is warming up the frosting. Hope that helps.
Hi Amanda,
Another trick is to wear gardening gloves. I don’t have any, so I wear some old weight lifting gloves. This is a great trick if your hands get warm easily. 🙂
I am going to be making cupcakes for my daughters graduation party and I want to try this recipe. It is suppose to be in the 80’s and the party is outside. I will only have about 12-18 outside at a time do you think that will be ok?
Hi Jeanne – That should be fine. Just don’t put the cupcakes in the direct sun or the frosting will melt.
What’s type of milk should be used?
Ha Maile – the type of milk shouldn’t matter. We usually buy 2% milk but you could use whole milk or even Half and Half.
I just made the buttercream icing. Everything was going good but right before I put the little bit of milk in it all started looking grainy like it was separating. Did I overmix? My kitchen was quite warm.
Hi Alana – I’m guessing that your butter was too soft.
I’m reading comments about how soft the butter should be, how should you soften it?
Hi! – If you have the time, leave the butter out on the counter to come up to room temperature. However, in a pinch we have softened it in the microwave but you need to soften in short increments (5 seconds at a time) to make sure it doesn’t start to melt.
This Recipe is literally phenomenal as if that’s not enough its super simple and easy to make. Thank you, you saved my life!
So glad you liked it!
Hi. I’ve never made my own frosting before and was curious if the 4 cups of powdered sugar was heavily packed or lightly packed. Please advise. Thanks!
HI Tanya – lightly packed.
Hi, I am trying my hand at cake decorating with no instruction. I bought a bunch of tips on Amazon and a few bags. I have been making pound cakes with buttercream frosting for years though. My buttercream frosting recipe is similar but calls for half and half? I see you use milk. And I have to warm my 1/2 and 1/2 up in the microwave slightly too to get the chill off it according to the recipe. Is there a special reason why you use milk and not half and half? I was just wondering if the half and half would give me any trouble trying to pipe it in a decorating bag? Thank you for any advice on that !
Hi Kristin – we use Milk because I don’t usually have Half and Half in the house and we think the frosting tastes great with the milk. But you can definitely use the Half and Half.
Hi there i just finished making the buttercream icing but its very soft what did i do wrong? What can i do to thicken it a little?
Hi Cynthia – the butter might have been too soft. If you put it in the refrigerator it should firm up.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Sure.
Aloha,
Do i use unsalted butter for the icing? whole milk better with this icing?
Hi Mary – The type of butter doesn’t matter. The whole milk will make the frosting a little bit creamier but it will work.
You said that you use a good scale but didn’t write how much it should weigh. The picture shows 1lb, is that accurate?
Yes, 1 pound of Powdered Sugar.
I would love use this for a lemon cake with blackberry frosting…what would be a good ratio of blackberries…in the frosting they will be small chopped berries not whole…thank you so much for helping us all have a wonderful versatile buttercream recipe!! Am making your chocolate buttercream for a GF chocolate cake too!!!
Hi Marnie – I think it would be very similar to our Best Raspberry Frosting. Here is the link so you can see how we did it … https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-raspberry-buttercream-frosting/
Do you refrigerate your cupcakes after making or do you leave them out for a day or so? I know they say it’s safe to leave room temperature for up to 3 days, but I’m making them for a preschool birthday and wanted your thoughts/experience about making it this evening, and the safety of sending them room temperature tomorrow where they will have been out for roughly 12 hours? Thanks so much!
While it is probably safe to leave them out overnight I would refrigerate them and take them out in the morning.
I wonder if I use almond flavoring & vanilla how it would taste? I simply love almond flavoring as well as vanilla
Sure … that should work.
Mary, my family grew up on this recipe. Definitely you can add almond or any kind of flavoring you want to it. Matter of preference.
This recipe really is great! I just made it and boy is it good. There aren’t many ingredients, and the ones it has are pretty much regular things you have in your kitchen for backing, cooking, or making breakfast. If I was rating it I’d give in a 4.
Thanks! Glad you liked the frosting.
I have tried so many icing recipes, but couldn’t find one that tasted good until this one. I had to make cupcakes for a shower and I wanted the icing to taste good. This one does. I had to make 5 batches to have enough (I had alot of cupcakes). I did change one thing. I didn’t have milk so I used heavy cream. It turned out great.
Made this for the first time today. It was easy to make and came out great, Absolutely delicious!
did you use salted or unsalted butter?
We usually use Salted Sweet Cream Butter but unsalted will work too.
Can you make this a chocolate buttercream? If so how much chocolate? Would you use cocoa or melted chocolate?
Also, can you use it for piping decorations?
Thanks,
Nancy
Yes! Definitely. Here is the link to our Chocolate Buttercream recipe: https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Thanks!
Hi! Is it okay to double or triple this recipe, or should I do it separately?
Thanks!!
Hi – we usually make separate batches instead of doubling the recipe. Seems to turn out better that way.
Thank you!
Made this for icing 5 cakes for a bake sale. Lovely frosting. I wanted it very light and airy so I whipped 2/3rds margerine and 1/3 lard (instead of butter)for a very long time. Result was a whipped cream feel that was excellent for the banana and carrot cakes. I used a pinch of butter flavoured salt and a little extra vanilla extract. I did not use the full amount of milk asked for because there was moisture in the Becel margerine and extract. Perhaps the person who wrote to say that the icing was too thin used margerine and that is why. If using margerine make sure it does not say light margerine beause they whip water into it. Ever have soggy toast after putting light or whipped margerine or butter? The water In your spread is why this happens.
Hi, this the was the easiest receipe I have found. I am just wondering how long any unused icing will last?
In the refrigerator, it will last a week or so. It will last longer in the freezer.
I’ve been looking for a good frosting recipe, this one sounds easy and delicious, thank you for sharing it!!
Really easy to follow directions and it tastes great. I don’t have very much experience at all with cooking and was able to make this. So easy even a guy can do it.
Can I make this the night before?
Hi Jennifer, yes you can.
Hi. Do you use salted or unsalted butter????
We use salted butter.
Do I mix with paddle or wisk attacment?
Hi Melissa, I always use the paddle attachment. I find that everything gets stuck in the whisk attachment in this recipe.
Is it 1 pound4 cups because 4 cups would be 2 pounds of powdered sugar
4 cups of powdered sugar weighs 16 oz or 1 lb. It is the difference between volume (capacity) and weight (mass).
I try your recipe at firsts all good but i did it with a hand mixer and i kept mixing and then added the milk and it became watery, i added more butter, sugar and it didn’t do anything . can i have your advice in this situation
You should wait to add the milk until the very end after the frosting comes together. Only add a little bit of milk at a time. You don’t always need to add 1/4 cup of milk. Sometimes just a splash will do it.
Hi, I was just wondering if this would work if I used it to connect cakes and layers together? I cannot wait to try it, going to use this recipe for my sister’s birthday!
Hi Bella, this recipe should work well for that.
Really great. This reminds me of my moms homemade icing. Am going to try other flavor extracts. Thanks
I made the frosting last night as a practice test before making it for my son’s birthday party. I passed out the cup cakes to my neighbors and they loved them, asking for more! Living in Arizona, I usually put my mixing bowl in the freezer for a few minutes when making frosting and I used half and half in place of the milk ( just because I was out of milk). I won’t ever buy frosting again! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
You’re welcome! So glad you and the neighbors liked the frosting!!!
Hello, I made this frosting this weekend for a Princess Pull Apart Cupcake Dress. Is there any way to make this more moist? It dry’s fast and hard then starts to flake. It pipes very smooth so I wish to keep using it but would like it to dry not so hard and flaky.
Hi Brandy, you can add a little (tiny) bit more milk and maybe mix it a little longer. Hopefully that will help with the problem,
Omg amazing….perfect as written.
How many cups of icing does this make?
Hi Nicole, it makes 2 1/2 cups of frosting.
Hello. I’m baking a cake for my mother’s birthday, and she doesn’t like sugar very much. I figured I’d ask before I made this, is this recipe heavy on its sugar taste?
Hi … Buttercream Frosting is on the sweeter side but you might want to try our Whipped Cream Frosting: https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-whipped-cream-frosting/.
This recipe was my mother’s go to for frosting. Touched that so many bakers are enjoying the simplicity of this but also how delicious it is!
Great recipe! So easy to make. I don’t think I’m going back to egg white recipes.
I just made this and added some freeze-dried strawberries to make strawberry buttercream and a beautiful pink without chemical colors.
Yum! We’ve done that too. Tastes so great.
Hi Susan, question, did you still add vanilla or just the strawberries? Thank you for the tip!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Delicious and perfect!
Yay! We are so glad you liked it!!!
Can you please tell me if I should use unsalted or salted butter?
Hi Grace – we used Sweet Cream Salted Butter in our Buttercream but unsalted would work also.
Can a sugar sustitute like Splenda or Stevia be used? I’m trying to cut down on sugar intake but refuse to give up cupcakes! If using a sugar substitute, should any adjustments be made to the other ingredients?
Hi Sandy – we’e never tried that with this recipe. I did a quick search on Pinterest and there are a bunch of frosting recipes there with Stevia as an ingredient. Good luck!
Hello!
I’m gearing up for my daughter’s second birthday party this weekend and I will be pressed for time come the morning of.
I’ve noticed you have mentioned we can leave this icing in the fridge. Which is fantastic I won’t have a choice but to do so.
My question is; if you have done this, what do you recommend the day of when getting ready to decorate? My intention is to pipe something rather meticulous should I let the BC come to room temp?
throw it directly back in the mixer and give it a whirl?
Any recommendation is appreciate!
Thank you 🙂
First of all, happy 2nd birthday to your daughter. Yes, take it out first thing in the morning so it can come to room tempreture and then whip it up a little before using. That step isn’t always necessary, but since you are doing meticulous decorating, I would take the time to do it.
Hi, I have to make a 9″ round layered cake, will one batch of this recipe be enough??
Hi Janet, as long as you aren’t too heavy handed with the frosting, it should be fine.
How many 9×13 cakes will this recipe frost?
Hi Eve, if you are just frosting the top of the 9 x 13 cake, I would guess two cakes.
I made this lastnight for a cake I’m making today and I can’t stop eating it! My first attempt at making home made buttercream frosting was a success. So delicious and rich.
Congratulations, Jessica. We are so happy this turned out well for you.
This truly is the best chocolate buttercream frosting my son and I have ever tasted. Thanks!
Can you freeze leftover frosting? I’m kind new to decorative baking
Yes, you can.
I’m in a time crunch. Wondering if I could make this frosting ahead of time and leave in frig? How long will it stay good in frig and still be delicious on the cake? Want to ice the cake when I make it a couple of days later. Thanks.
Yes, you can make it ahead. It will be fine in the refrigerator for a week.
Finally a frosting recipe that isn’t gag me sweet. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Perfect sweetness and oh so smooth. This is now my go to buttercream frosting.
I would like to make cheerwine buttercream frosting. Cheerwine is a cherry flavored soda, unique to north Carolina. Any ideas.
Hi Beth, I would use the cheerwine instead of the milk in this recipe. Start with a couple of teaspoons and then add more till you get the right taste. If it gets too runny add another cup of sugar. Also, remember the flavor of the cheerwine will develop overnight.
You might also reduce the soda a little so its a bit more syrupy. That will intensify the flavor without making your frosting too watery.
Great reminder. Wouldn’t have thought of that myself! Thank you!
I’d like to use some almond extract. Should I use all almond extract or a combination of vanilla and almond?
I’ve never tried it, but I would probably omit the vanilla.
Just made the frosting and used about 2 teaspoons vanilla AND 2 teaspoons almond extract, 2 Tbl milk. Wound up adding about 1/2 cup more powdered sugar to thicken it. It tasted great in the bowl before I washed it. The vanilla and almond seem to work fine together. Haven’t tasted it on the cake yet! Start with 1 teaspoon of each and then adjust to taste. I have always loved a hint of almond in butter cream frosting. I also used unsalted butter instead of salted.
Thank you for a great recipe. It easily frosted a 9 inch chocolate layer cake.
For 40 years I’ve used Almond Extract and if I switch to Vanilla my Sons ask, “What’d you do different, Mom?”!!!!!! Traditionalists/Creatures-of-Habit!
Hi I am looking at making this frosting to coat a cake and then put fondant over it. It will be a two layer 8 inch round pan cake, and I was wondering if I should half this recipe. I have this and the peanut butter variation and they both worked out splendid! I love this recipie and will always try to make this instead of buying store made frosting! Away with that dreaded stuff!
Hi – a half recipe might not be enough it would really depend on how much you put between the two layers. Glad you like the frosting as much as we do!
Hi! I want to try preparing this a few days before my daughter’s cupcake decorating party. Should I freeze it or just refrigerate it? Is it OK to store it putting it in the plastic sleeves (keeping it sealed) or will I need to beat it up again to fluff it up before putting it on the cupcakes? Thank you!
Hi Vanessa, if it is just a couple of days, the refrigerator is fine. You could store it in the piping bags you will just need to let it come to room temperature before using it.
Thank you so much for the butter frosting recipe!! I made this with my daughter and her girlfriend last night!! I used the real butter and yes it does make a difference!! I made sure to not add the milk until last to see the consistency and tasted first. I added about one tablespoon. It came out rocking! I had the girls put the mixture into the refrigerator after it was nice and fluffy to get it to set a bit before spreading. I love this recipe and wanted to say thank you for the post.. Christina G
Yay, I am so glad it turned out well.
Wow! I had to chime in to thank you for this recipe. It is absolutely perfect as written. And if anyone is wondering if it can be done by hand I’d say don’t hesitate to go for it. Just make sure the butter has sufficient time to soften. I can’t wait to ty your variations on the original recipe–what a winner!
Thanks, Leelee!!
I just have to say Thank You! I have made dozens of batches and recipes of icing looking for the perfect one that wasnt too sweet and i came across yours and my search is over! I shared some of it but i ended up eating half the cake myself!!! I made it exactly to the recipee with just a wee bit more milk.
You’re welcome. I am so glad you like it.
Wow!!!! I used this buttercream icing for my rainbow cake!! And OMG!!!! This was the best icing Ive ever tasted!!!! My brother agrees. Im not usually a icing fan, but this buttercream icing…. Just Amazing!!!!! Thank You so much for sharing such a delcious recipe!!!! 🙂 <3 Mouth watering just thinking about it
We are so glad you liked it.
Hey! I would like to know the process of colouring the frosting…can I use liquid raspberry red colour for red frosting.. ..and which stage should i pour the colour
You should add the coloring after you mix butter and sugar together.
Can you decorate a cake with the icing and will it hold it’s shapes?
Hi Connie, you can use it to decorate a cake.
oh yes, I forgot to ask…. do you HAVE to use a mixer or beaters for this recipe or can you mix it by hand?
I guess you don’t HAVE to, but it will be very very hard without a mixer.
Does using half-and-half or heavy cream instead of milk make any difference?
Hi Lynn, it does make a difference but not a huge one. I would say it is a little creamier with half-and-half or heavy cream, but it’s still delicious with plain old milk.
hello! I’m a beginner in baking and one of my problem is what kind of milk will I used. For instance in this frosting, will Evaporated milk will do or I need a specific milk like a whole milk? And what will I do if the frosting is too much sweet, I did put some salt but I can’t get the right ratio to balance the sweetness of the frosting. Thank you!
Hi Charisse, you can use any milk. As for sweetness, salt is your best bet. Start with just a little tiny pinch of salt and go from there. Your taste buds will tell you when you get it right.
First off, this frosting tastes amazing!! Second, in your opinion, do you believe this will work to stick 1/2″ by 1/2″ squares of fondant to (I’m freezing the cake layers ahead of time as well)? This is a minecraft cake for my son. 🙂
Thanks, Holly! This should work with fondant. Although, I am not well-versed in fondant so I don’t know for sure.
This was great. My family doesn’t usually like frosting, but this was really good. I will use this again. The cake was ugly, but that was on my sister and I. UK
Can you use margarine
I have never made homemade icing before today simply because I found it too daunting. Your recipe was a little too sweet for my personal taste, but it was AMAZING! Everyone loved it on my daughter’s birthday cake! Never again will I buy store canned swill. Thank you so much!
Yay, I have converted another one. Down with canned frosting!! Thanks for the comment. I am so glad everyone like it.
Is this recipe alright to use when adding a flavoring like lemon or raspberry? If so, do I need to substitute the flavoring with the vanilla? Thank you!
Hi Crystal, yes you can add flavoring to this recipe. I would probably cut back (or eliminate) the vanilla but it’s really a personal preference. I don’t know if you have seen them, but we have a lemon buttercream and raspberry buttercream recipe if you want to try them.
https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-lemon-buttercream-frosting/ or https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-raspberry-buttercream-frosting/
Hi Nancy,
I want to make a strawberry frosting, can i use this recipe?
Hi … we have a Strawberry Buttercream Recipe that is based on our Best Buttercream Frosting Recipe. Here is the link: https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/strawberry-buttercream-frosting/
How can I store the frosting? And how long before it goes bad on the cake?
Hi Allyson, you can store the frosting in any airtight container. I usually use ziploc bags. As long as you keep the cake in the refrigerator, the frosting won’t go bad. The cake will get stale before the frosting.
I’m making a two layered cake for my nephew’s birthday and was wondering if this recipe will make enough to coat the cake, put a layer in the middle, and add dollops on top. My second question is, I want to make the dollops two different colors, after I frost my cake should I just split the rest of the frosting in half and then dye it or is there a better way?
P.S I kinda new to making/frosting cakes
Hi Halle, you will probably need to make 1 1/2 batch to cover the cake and add dollops to the top. You might be able to do it with one batch, but just to be safe, I would do 1 1/2. I think your idea to split the remaining frosting a color it is a good one. That way you aren’t wasting any frosting . Good luck!
Just wanted to say thanks for this recipe! I used it to frost 36 cupcakes today, with a little frosting left over (but I always go light on frosting.) It was delicious!
would this buttercream frosting be good to fill lady locks?
Hi Grace, yes I think it would work well. If you are looking for something lighter, try our Whipped Cream Frosting. https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-whipped-cream-frosting/
Hi.. love the taste of this recipe. But my problem was the frosting was just melting off my cake. I had added more powered sugar. That didn’t help. Any suggestions??
Hi Anna, was your cake completely cooled? Was it hot when you were frosting it? Those are the two biggest culprits for melting frosting.
Super straightforward. Super tasty. Super easy to work with. Fantastic recipe. Huge hit for this momma baker… and huge hit with her family, too! Thanks for posting.
Rather than putting in vanilla, i just mixed the sugar and butter together until incorporated and then added in some squished raspberries (maybe 1/2 cup) and thought it was delicious. Thanks for posting this recipe!
I always go half and half vanilla extract and almond extract. I think the almond adds a wonderful flavor.
Hi! So I am planning my little girls first birthday party and I am making a 4″ smash cake for her as well as 2 batches of cupcakes. I want to do little swirls as the decoration and I am having trouble finding a good frosting recipe that will one hold up well and two taste good. After reading about this frosting and the reviews I hope I have found my match! I plan on making the cake/cupcakes the day before so my first question is if I should refrigerate them or leave them at room temperature and second, if I do leave them at room temp are they going to hold up well? I have made the mistake of using store bought frosting in the past and it just melts after like an hour. If I do need to refrigerate them, I plan on at least having everything on display for a few hours. Is that going to be okay? And finally, with those quantities and how I plan to frost, how many batches do you think I need? Thanks for your help!!!
Hi Tiffany, first of all Happy 1st Birthday to your daughter. I think she, and all your other guests, will really enjoy this frosting. You should refrigerate everything. Take them out a couple of hours before serving and they will be great. As long as you don’t have them directly in the sun, you won’t have problems with them melting. You will probably need 3 batches of frosting for everything. Have fun! You will never go back to store bought frosting.
you can safely do your cupcakes a day ahead. putting them in the frig is probably the best thing, but you can leave them out as well. they will hold their shape.
I making this weekend for Eid celebration. I wonder if the buttercream is yellowish or white? I wish it is more whitish as it looks nice on my royal blue velvet cake.
Hi Loren, this frosting is yellowish. You can combat that by using clear vanilla extract. It makes a big difference.
Whipping the butter by itself for a couple of minutes really lightens the frosting. Butter turns very pale.
Good tip, thanks Karen!
Hi Nancy,
I’m going to make 50 cupcakes for my nieces baby shower how much of this recipe for buttercream do you suggest that I prep? Also Im wanting to change the colour and add flavour to the buttercream as well, Is that possible? How much butter is two sticks? Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Kelly, it will depend how you are decorating them. If you are going to do a swirl, you will probably need 3 to 3 1/2 batches of frosting. If you are going to frost the traditional way, you will probably only need 2 batches. This frosting works great with food coloring, and if you check out our frosting page, you will see the different flavors we have done. https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/category/frosting/
My daughter made this for her cupcakes last night for Cupcake Lover’s Day today! SHE LOVED it! It is so delicious!!!! Thank you for sharing your recipes!!!!
Hi I’m planning on making about 25-30 cupcakes this week , what is the Yield for this frosting recipe?
You can usually frost 15-18 cupcakes if you are doing a swirl like we have in the picture.
How would zest taste in this frosting?
Hi Mina, I think it would be really good. We have a lemon buttercream recipe if you want to try it. https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-lemon-buttercream-frosting/
I used a pound of powdered sugar, which ends up being a little less than 4 cups, and only one tablespoon of milk and it turned out perfect! I was able to frost 24 cupcakes with little swirls and still had left overs!
Can you use iceing suggar insted of poweed suggar i dont have
The suggar that is requested will it still work
Yes, icing sugar is the same as powdered sugar.
This looks like a great recipe! But is it okay if I use a hand-mixer?
Hi Kennedy, yes a hand mixer works just as well as a stand mixer.
I’m not much of a frosting person and I rarely make it even though I do a lot of baking. But I needed to frost some cupcakes for a Memorial Day dinner so I found this recipe. OMG – so good! I had started the recipe when I saw that my confectioner’s sugar wasn’t a full box, so because of the time crunch I subbed granulated sugar, knowing that I would have to deal with the graininess. But because I decorated the cupcakes with fresh blueberries and raspberries, the slight crunchiness added to the lusciousness of the overall cupcake. The recipe was super easy – I made it all without a mixer. Also, I happened to have powdered vanilla so the frosting color stayed a nice white. One more note – in my hurry when measuring the sugar I forgot that granulated sugar is denser than confectioner’s sugar – I should have cut back a little.
This will be my go-to recipe from now on.
place your granulated sugar in a food processor/blend/bullet.. it’ll help with the graininess..
You have great write up, I always read your blog, and I must say you are doing good job, plz do write like this.
Thank you!!
Does this recipe require refrigeration? I am going to be making 150 for a graduation party. Can they be frosted and left sitting in a room temperature place for several hours?
Yes, they will be fine at room tempreture for a few hours.
HEY,
so i dont know how to leave a comment o yaaaaa
im making this frosting for my food technology class but i was wondering how many MUFFINS this recipie will cover if im using like a star piping tip
Hi Isabelle, depending on how big of a swirl you use, it will cover 12-15.
This turned out terrible! What did I do wrong? I can still taste the powdered sugar and it was still kinda grainy. And the food coloring wouldn’t mix in. Waaaaaaay too sweet. I followed the recipe exactly. Everyone else in the comments thinks this was delicious. I must have messed up somewhere. Suggestions? I have made plenty of buttercream before but usually use half butter half crisco. I wanted an all butter frosting this time.
Hi Karin, I’m sorry you had trouble with the recipe. It’s a sweet frosting for sure. If you want to try it again, I would (1) add a little more vanilla to cut down on the sugar taste, and (2) mix it for a little longer, or maybe use a higher speed, to get rid of the grainy texture.
This will be my first time making any frosting. I am excited and scared at the same time. I just wanted to thank you so much for sharing
Hi Tammy, don’t be scared. It’s easier than you think. Good luck!!
Thank you for this answer. I had this exact same problem and because of the other comments I’m sure it was me. My house is also really warm, will that make a difference or no? I saw someone from Arizona put their bowls in the freezer first. I live in Florida. Thank you for your help!
Are you sure you used Powdered Sugar? I’ve never, ever, noticed a grainy texture to Powdered Sugar.
That was my first thought when she said “grainy.” Powered sugar is never grainy unless it had a lot of water exposure and got lumpy. And even then not always.
Would substituting the milk with heavy cream work?
Sure! That will work.
I made this and mine was extremely thin!! Help! I’m not sure what I didn’t wrong
Hi Stacy, it could have too much milk, or it could have been the butter was too soft. Don’t add any milk to the frosting until you have combined the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Then only add a teaspoon of milk at a time until you have the right consistency. It’s possible that you wont need to add any milk.
I never made that kind of frosting and I’ll try it for sure but I have a little question… you use vanilla essence ( clear one if you want white frosting ) but if I want mint flavor or maple ( or any kind ) Do I still need vanilla essence or I use mint essence instead ? ( or any other essence ?) and if I use food drop to change the color… is it possible to change the texture ?
thanks =D
Hi Cathy, I don’t usually add vanilla when I am adding another flavor. You absolutely can though. I would only add a little so it doesn’t over power whatever your other flavor is. If you use something to change the color of the frosting, it shouldn’t change the texture.
I made this frosting today using European butter. It. Is. Amazingly. Delicious. It was so easy too! I am not a fan of canned icing and will not buy it again. Thank you!!!
Hi Cindy!! We are so glad you liked the recipe … and we couldn’t agree more about canned icing!!!
I have been trying various buttercream frostings lately and made this one today. It is fantastic! The taste difference was noticeable and so good! Thank you!
Thanks, Laney!
Hi, I’m looking forward to making this frosting this weekend. Sounds great. My question is, how white does it come out? I want to tint only half for the top of the cake. Wouldn’t the butter make it come out yellow? And the vanilla is brown….Thanks for a reply.
Hi Trish, yes this frosting is yellowish. If I am trying for a whiter frosting, I use clear vanilla extract.
If you beat the butter and vanilla first, then add the sugar and then the milk it will be a lighter color. Almost pure white. The longer you beat the butter and vanilla it gets lighter and fluffier.
That’s a great tip!! I’m trying it next time I make frosting.
Hi, I am baking some cupcakes that have several steps. Could I make this a day or two early and refrigerate then refluff it before I pipe it on?
Hi Tori, absolutely! You just need to bring it back to room tempreture(ish).
Would this work for a filling for macaroons?
Hi Tiffany, yes it will work.
Hello, I just made your buttercream & i have to say it’s AMAZING! It blended perfectly & the flavor is pretty great too! But I have a question….what type of salted butter do you use? Is there a certain one you prefer over another? Mine seems a bit salty. Or if you’d rather not specify a brand, maybe you could tell me how many milligrams of sodium per serving your butter has? THANK YOU!
Hi Kai – We use Land o’ Lakes Butter sometimes but most often we use the Kirkland brand that they sell as Costco!
hi
I made Buttercream before and it tasted buttery just wanted to know for those who made it if it tastes buttery?
Thanks
You can always add more vanilla to the frosting if you feel it is too buttery.
To us it tasted like pure sugar, lol. I didn’t taste the butter at all. I will cut back on the sugar next time.
I need to make a wedding cake that will be outside the whole time, is there a trick to keep this frosting from melting?
I don’t know if there is a trick. I am sure there are other shortening based recipes that might stand up better. If you are going to use this recipe, my suggestion would be that you freeze the cake beforehand, so it will take a while to defrost. Other than that, make sure it is in a shady spot.
WILTON HAS A ‘HIGH HUMIDITY’ frosting that I use here in Florida in the summertime.
This recipe was absolutely fantastic! I had to make cupcakes for a wedding shower, and needed a good frosting recipe. I had someone tell me that they don’t like frosting, but that they really enjoyed this one! Definitely a keeper! Thanks so much!
I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out wonderful! Not too sweet, which is just what I was looking for. Thank you!
Hello,
Your blog is very nice !
I am a bit confused about the mesure of butter, what do you mean by 2 sticks? do you have the mesure by grams and also for the powdered sugar please? thanks
Hi Alice – The frosting recipe calls for 1 cup of butter. Here is a link that shows cups to grams for butter. Hope that helps. Hope you like the frosting!
Wonderful…but quick question I am making a particular frosting but am using your recipe and method do I have to use the milk or I can substitute with a juice or puree??
You can absolutely substitute juice or purée in this frosting recipe. We did that with our strawberry https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/strawberry-buttercream-frosting/ and raspberry https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-raspberry-buttercream-frosting/ frosting recipes.
Since the milk is for thinning out the frosting I’m sure you can use juice or purée. I always have extra powder sugar on hand to make it thicker when making roses.
Yep! That’s good advice.
Hi, do you have a frosting that is sugar free, my husband is diabetic and I’ve bee searching the web for a good recipe. I’ve tried your buttercream using SPLENDA (in a mixer with corn stach to make a powder sugar consistency). When I taste it, it was ok but after a second bite, there was a funny taste, like too acid, an aftertaste.
Hi Claudine, we don’t have a sugar-free frosting recipe, but you could try our whipped cream frosting https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-whipped-cream-frosting/ and use sugar-free pudding and Splenda?
Try using xyiltol it comes in a powdered form you can find on Amazon, diabetic friendly.
Hi I’m making a 3 to 4 layer 9 inch square minecraft cake for my daughters 11th birthday, would I need to double this recipe?
Yes, you will definitely need to double it.
Same my daughter is Turning 11 and when wants a minecraft cake ugh so confusing
Perfection! Thank you!
This is amazing! I was looking up recipes for a smash cake for my daughters birthday because I find canned frosting awful too and this tastes so awesome. I made a test batch for some cupcakes and I think this will be my new go to recipe! I will be trying your other variations soon too! Thanks so much!
Right?!? Canned icing is the worst. I am glad you like the recipe.
Does this have to be refrigerated since there is milk? I want to ice cupcakes on Friday and have them for a party on Saturday. The problem is I have 60 to make and there is no room in the refrigerator for them over night?
I usually say yes to refrigeration, but if it is overnight they should be fine. I’ve left cupcakes out overnight before, but try to get them in an airtight container. Good luck with your baking.
Emily, what is a smash cake?
Smash cake is a little cake that babies will destroy on their first birthday!
Yep! (And big babies too!)
I keep making this recipe and my buttercream keeps seperating every time. I’ve tried adding the milk at room temperature and slowly and it still separates. Any suggestions?
Hi Mallory, I am sorry you are having problems. What do you mean by separating? Is your butter too soft? Maybe don’t add any milk at all until it is throughly mixed? Those are a couple of thoughts.
Hi Nancy,
When I add milk, butter starts the separate from the rest of the frosting. I use room temperature butter. Is there something else to use to loosen up the buttercream besides milk or cream that won’t cause it to separate? Thanks!
That’s so strange. Why don’t you try water next time. Be sure that you are only adding a little tiny bit at a time. You want to just add enough to get the correct consistency.
Hi there I’ve done this three different times and my frosting keeps coming out thin. I keep adding the powder sugar but nothing helps. Any types?
Hi Jessica, I am sorry you are having trouble. Here are a couple of things you can try. First, if you are softening the butter in the microwave, make sure you aren’t softening too much. It should just be slightly soft, so you can mix it. Second, don’t add any milk to the frosting until you have completely mixed it. Then add a teaspoon at a time until you have a good consistency. Sometimes I don’t add any milk at all. I hope that helps!
Just used this as a crumb layer a wedding cake I’m doing. It worked like a charm! This has just become my go to recipe; literally amazing.
Yay!!! We are so glad you like the frosting.
I accidentally melted my butter instead of just softening. Now its greasy. Did I just ruin this whole batch?. I even added 2 more cups of sugar…what do I do??
Hi Stephanie, I’m sorry to say this but the frosting can’t be saved. Melted butter and frosting don’t work well together unless you are doing a glaze. Depending on how melted it was (hopefully not all the way), you could try putting it back in the refrigerator to harden back up. Although that might change the consistency of the buttercream. The best thing would have been to start all over with new butter. Sorry!
Can u freeze the extra frosting.
Yep, I do it all the time.
Hi Nancy
Thank you so much for your recipe. You will help me a lot.
About freezing the frosting. How do you defrost it? Room temperature?
And also: Can I do my cupcakes with the frosting and freeze them like that? What about the storage in the freezer? In a box? a plastic wrap? Ziploc?
Thank you for your answer
Lisa
Hi Lisa, to defrost the frosting you can set it out on the counter so it can come up to room temperature. You can frost your cupcakes and freeze them (I have done many many times). I usually put them frosted in a 9×13 pan and then cover them with foil. You can freeze them for along time, but I usually only do it a week ahead of time.
Do you pipe icing at room temp or is it necessary to chill first? Thanks
I usually pipe at room tempreture, but if you find that the icing is too soft, just throw it into the refrigerator for a little while.
I just made this as a practice as I’d like to make a homemade cake for my son’s 2nd birthday and it is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing… I’m never buying store bought frosting again!!!
I am so glad you liked it!! I hope your son has a very happy birthday.
I’m planing on using this recipe this weekend for a cake I’m making. It is a 9 inch, two layer cake. Should I increase the recipe a bit? I saw that it covers an 8 inch, two layer cake.
Yes, I would double the recipe or at the very least make an extra half batch.
What tip did you use to ice the cupcakes?
Hi Melanie, I usually use the 1M tip.
Can you add alcohol to this recipe
Sure, I would omit the milk and add the alcohol instead.
Wow so amazing the butter mixes well with the Vanilla
I would like to know if you can pipe with the buttercream because I was looking forward to making roses
Absolutely, I have done it many times.
My little ones all say this is the best frosting ever! We are gluten free and cows milk free. We do butter! We like a whipped cream consistency so we added about 4-5 tbsp of almond milk, 4 tsp of vanilla, and about 1/2 tsp of almond extract. Almond milk lacks a richness and flavor real milk would have added. This is by far our favorite recipe. Thank you very much.
What a great adaptation of the recipe. We are so glad it worked out for your family.
I think I’ll try this recipe on cupcakes for my 4 year old’s bday party tomorrow… love that you didn’t use corn syrup!
What can I add to make the icing sweeter?
I am not sure what you mean by sweeter. Do you want it to have stronger flavor? If so, you should add more vanilla.
hi how many cookies dos it cover?
Hi Olivia, it really depends on what kind of cookies you are making. I would guess 30-36 easily.
i just made this recipe and loved it!
it covered 30 small cookies
Thanks Olivia!!
Hello,I just tried this frosting recipe and it is really delicious. My only concern is it is not smooth. I tried to pipe but wasn’t perfect. I just made and I am looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you very much for the recipe again
Hi, we are so glad you liked the recipe. To get the frosting smooth, try mixing it for a little longer. Also, scrape down the sides of the bowl after the butter and sugar get combined in the beginning that way any clumps of sugar will get mixed in.
Tugba I sift mine first it helps then I pop in the freezer 5min before piping it works great especially on flowers
Can you use buttermilk instead or regular milk?
I have never tried it, but I am sure you could. It would probably change the flavor a little, but I am sure it would taste good.
Can I use homemade powdered sugar?
Hi Aya, I have never made my own powdered sugar, although it sounds interesting. I would say that as long as the consistency is the same as store bought powdered sugar, it should be fine.
Do the iced cupcakes need to be refrigerated or can they be left at room temperature?
Hi! They can be left out on the day that you make them, cupcakes always taste the best at room temperature. But they should be refrigerated overnight.
Would it be ok to use a hand mixer?
Hi Kalie, yes a hand mixer works great. I used one for years before I got my fancy, and so handy, stand mixer.
Will this cream harden so that I can make cookie gift bags and not worry about messing up the frosting? thank you!
Hi Lisa, it does not harden like royal icing does. It will crust up, but if you stack them on top of each other you run the risk of ruining the frosting.
What milk is good for this recipe?
Hi Gloria – any kind of milk you have on hand should be fine. We normally use 2% milk.
I’m 13 years old and I want to make it but I only have xylitol powdered sugar. Would that work?
Hi Sarah, I have never tried making this recipe with xylitol powdered sugar, so I don’t know if it work. Sorry! If you try it, let us know how it goes.
I love this recipe thank you! How many days will it keep in the refridgerator? Could I make it 72 hours (three days) in advance and keep in fridge? Would you suggest putting it in the fridge?
Hi Barbara, yes you can keep the buttercream frosting in the refrigerator for three days. Just make sure you take it out of the fridge a few hours before you are going to use it, so it can come up to room temperature.
How many days ahead of time would you say you can make it ? Could I make it and gen keep refrigerated for a week before using ?
Yes, you can make it a week ahead of time.
Do u think it would be possible to hand mix it? It’s my lil sisters birthday and I’m stuck at home so I’m gunna try making everything from scratch instead of from a box (I’m a bit nervous honestly lol) but I don’t have any kind of mixer.
Hi Leah, hand mixing doesn’t work with buttercream frosting. You really need some sort of mixer to get everything blended together well so it will be fluffy. That being said, if you decide to try and do it by hand, make sure you are patient. Work a little of the powdered sugar in at a time and prepare to mix for a long time.
Can I use this frosting for a cake roll? I do not want to make the traditional cream cheese frosting.
Sure. This frosting is great on everything!
How many cupcakes does this recipe cover?
Our recipe should make enough Frosting to cover a 9″ x 13″ sheet cake or a two-layer 8″ cake. If you are making cupcakes, you should be able to frost 24 cupcakes if you apply the frosting with a knife. If you swirl on the frosting with a pastry bag like we have done here, you should be able to frost 15-18 cupcakes depending on the size of the swirl.
Hi there, 🙂
what if i’ll be using 1A round tip do you think it could cover 24 cupcakes?
Hi Joanna, using the 1A tip on 24 cupcakes, you will probably need 1 1/2 – 2 batches of frosting.
Oh..Thanks Nancy 🙂 Take care and Happy new year!
Happy New Year to you also!!
Hi there! Can this recipe be used to make rosettes?? Will they hold the shape??
Yes, you can use this recipe to make rosettes.
I have died and gone to frosting heaven… this was delicious. So glad I stumbled upon this recipe.
Yay!!! We are so glad you like the frosting!
Hi, can i use (1cup) coconut oil instead of butter? Will consistency be the same?
Hi Jessy, we have never tried using coconut oil. I am sure the consistency would be different, but I don’t how different. Sorry! If you make it, let us know how it turns out.
Hi, can I frost my cupcakes with the buttercream the day before and have them in an air tight container?
Hi – Sure! We do that all the time.
I made this recipe and it came out thin. should I refrigerate it or add more powdered sugar?
Well, it really depends on where you think the problem lies. If it is was very warm when you made it, then maybe the butter is too soft and putting it the refrigerator will help. If you added too much milk, then adding more powdered sugar is your answer.
I made this today and mine also came out thin. At first it seemed fine, but once it was on the cupcakes it pretty much nearly liquified and oozed off. Still tasted great though! Haha! The cupcakes were definitely cooled all of the way, the butter was softened, but definitely not too much. And I only used 1 tbs of milk, so I figured it wasn’t that…I didn’t have time to try and fix it but I’d still love to know what I did wrong! I bake and cook very well and I make a mean royal icing…but cake icing is my enemy! I always have to use store bought (gross) because this always happens. It sort of…separates. Looks great for about ten mins but then it’s liquidy and has the look almost like when you put old half and half in your coffee, if that makes sense. Like the sugar has separated or something? I dunno, but I’ve messed this up for years!
Hi Stephanie, this must have been super frustrating for you. If the cupcakes were completely cooled off, maybe the frosting was overmixed. Also, next time don’t add any milk until the very end. After you have mixed the butter, sugar and vanilla together, add only 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until you get the right consistency. I hope that helps.
We made this buttercream frosting today, with a twist. Made the vanilla, then did half recipe chocolate and they swirled naturally on the cupcakes. Best frosting we’ve ever made!
thank you for the recipe I will try it tomorrow. I am making a three layer cake with strawberry filling. 2 questions:
1) can I use the same recipe to dam the cake with strawberry filling?
2)do I need to refrigerate it (frosted cake) if I will be serving it within 4 to 5 hours
Hi, yes you can use this recipe to dam the cake for the strawberry filling. You do not need to refrigerate the cake if you will be serving it that day. I only refrigerate my cakes if I am making them the day before. Good luck with the cake!!
Hi. I am planning on making this for cupcakes for my son’s birthday and my parents surprise anniversary party in the coming weeks. I live 3 hours away and was wondering how the buttercream holds up on the cupcakes if I frost them the day before.
Hi Alyssa, if it’s warm where you are, I would put them in the freezer after you frost them. Take them out before you leave and they will be ready to eat by the time you get to your party.
Hi, after seeing so many good reviews on this I have decided I am going to use it for my daughter’s giant cookie cake Friday. I am putting a layer of it in the middle of 2 cookies. I also want some to decorate the top. Do you think I will need to double the recipe? I’m looking forward to this!
Hi Melissa – thanks for stopping by our site. I would think you should have enough frosting with a single batch depending on how thick you make the layer between the cookies and how much decorating you do on top. We always say that a single batch should be enough to frost a 9″ x 13″ sheet cake or a two-layer 8″ cake. Hope that helps! Hope everyone loves the frosting and Happy Birthday to your daughter!
I’ve made a lot of buttercream frosting and am so glad I found this recipe…by far the BEST I’ve ever made! Going to try it with all different extracts from now on, thank you for sharing! So glad I found your posts and subscribed.
Hi Anna – We are so glad you found our site and liked the frosting! Like you, we had tried too many Buttercream frosting recipes to count. We definitely think this is the best one we’ve ever tasted!
I really love how simple this recipe is however I don’t know if iam doing something wrong but I can taste the powdered sugar in my frosting ( I don’t care for this taste and is why I stay away from making buttercream frosting) is that how its suppose to taste or is it me?
The simplest was to overcome the powdered sugar taste is to add more vanilla. Add a little bit at a time, until you get a taste that you like.
I am having this same problem…taste the sugar. So, I added more vanilla but now it is too runny. I don’t want to keep adding more sugar and then vanilla. Any tips?
Hi Joni, here are my suggestions (1) mix the butter, sugar and vanilla together. Do not add any milk. Taste it. Add more vanilla until you lose the sugar taste. Check the consistency. You probably won’t need to add any milk, or at least very little, (2) if the frosting is starting to be runny, put it in the refrigerator for a little while to set back up; and (3) you could try adding more butter to the recipe at the beginning. Maybe use 1 1/4 cups. I hope this helps.
Hi! I have never made homemade BC before and I thought I would try this. When I made it and got ready to frost my cupcakes; the frosting was a little too runny. Is there anything I can do to make it a little thicker?
Hi – next time add a little bit more powdered sugar (a tablespoon at a time) until it is the right consistency.
How many cups of frosting this will yield
Hi Mary, it’s about 3 cups of frosting.
Can you add coco powder to make chocolate buttercream?
You sure can. Here’s a link to our Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe. https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Hi.
When you say 2stik softnessbutter you mean 250gr butter ou 500gr butter?
Hi – We mean 1 cup of butter which I believe is a little less than 250 grams.
Hi how much servings is in this recipe
Hi! We’ve added a printable version of the recipe at the bottom of the post!
Hello! I’m wondering what attachment you use to make your frosting. In some pix I see the whip and in some I see the paddle. I have both. Thank You so much! >^.,.^<
Hi Mary – use the paddle. That is what we use most of the time!
Hi Im making a cookies & cream and dark chocolate marble cake for a birthday, How would adding cookies and cream pudding mix affect the outcome of the icing? would it be better to fold in crushed up oreos?
I have never added pudding to my buttercream frosting. I am guessing it would make it super thick and it would be hard to frost anything. I think it would be better to crush up some Oreos and add them at the end.
Thank you!
This is the best buttercream EVER!!! Im a first timer and boy oh boy me and my family love it. Thank you so luch for posting the recipe and making it so simple. Will be my go to buttercream from now on.
Hi Netta – Yay!! We are so glad you liked it! Thanks for stopping by the blog!
Can you freeze the frosting to use the next week?
Sure!
Thank you for an excellent recipe! I adored the frosting and got compliments on it, specifically, when I shared my cake this morning! So fun to get compliments my first time making it! 🙂
Hi Ailene – We’re so glad you liked it. It’s very yummy! Thanks for letting us know!
Hi, im going to use your recipe for my daughters upcoming first birthday. How much does this recipe make?? I need to ice a 6 inch round cake and 30 cupcakes
Hi – thanks for the request. We have added a printable version of the recipe to the bottom of the post.
I’ve tried so many “best” buttercream recipes and since the ingredients are the same – pdr. sugar, butter, flavor, and a liquid, not surprising, they all turned out the same. Even after watching numerous ‘how to’ video’s on how to make this very basic recipe, I could never get my BC to come out nicely. It was always gritty, consistency was usually off, and always overly sweet. Just nasty . As a result, I switched to SMBC and never looked back.
Until now.
I made a cake for a kid’s birthday party over the weekend, and regular BC icing was preferred as SMBC wasn’t sweet enough. So in my search, I arrived at your recipe. The first thing I noticed that was different from others I’ve tried, was no sifting of the sugar (yay!!), and that you just chucked all the ingredients in at once (double yay!). Still skeptical, I decided to give your method a go. All I can say is yours truly deserves the title of Best Buttercream. It took half the amount of time to make than others I’ve tried, it mixes smooth…seriously smooth, and it wasn’t sickeningly sweet. It was perfect!! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe & technique, I will definitely use this again.
What a lovely compliment. We are so glad you like the recipe.
How many cupcakes will this cover?
It really depends on how you are frosting them. If you are using a knife to put on the frosting, this recipe will cover 24 cupcakes. If you are doing anything fancy, that number starts to go down.
Hi. thanks for the recipe. I was going to ask about the amount of butter too, mas found the answer to another comment. Only want to add that people living in different countries have different sizes of sugar boxes, butter sticks and even cream bottles, so maybe you would like to tell the amounts by the weight, cups, spoons so that we would have no doubt. You are doing a great job here. I already subscribed.
Thank you! This is very good reminder for us.
I have been a total snob about frosting for the longest time. I never really liked buttercream all that much, but this recipe is definitely a go-to for it. Turned out great. Thank you for sharing it!
So easy. And yummy. Making this for 100 cupcakes for my grandmas 93 birthday party. Thanks
Wow, that’s a big undertaking. Good luck and happy birthday to your grandma!!
Amazing recipe! Thank you! I made it today with my 10 year old (first time she has made frosting) and it turned out perfect! This was the exact right amount for 24 cupcakes.
Yay!!! We are so glad you liked it. Thanks for letting us know. We love to hear stories like this. We loved baking with our mom!
Your buttercream recipe is absolutely delicious! I made it on some cupcakes for my husband’s birthday bbq and people won’t stop asking me for the recipe! Thank you so much!
You’re welcome and thanks!. The same thing happens to us! It really is delicious!
This is the exact same recipe my Grandmother, and Mother, always used, and taught all of us girls to make as well. It IS the hands down, no doubt, can’t go wrong frosting, and can be flavored with different extracts as needed, colors as desired, and comes out PERFECT every single time! One thing, if you’re using unsalted butter, just add a tiny pinch of salt, ALWAYS taste to be sure your flavorings are what you’re looking for, and don’t ever buy store bought frostjng again. Yes, it’s convenient, but making this instead will make your desserts the hit of EVERY party!
Hi Laurie,
your recipe is amazing! So simple and easy to make. I have made it twice already and people love it! Wilton’s buttercream is out the window:).
Thank you very much for sharing.
Wanda
Yay! So glad you like it!
I made it and it was great thanks loved it my family is also vanilla crazy lol thanks!!!!!
Also, since I live in Australia, I was wondering if pure icing sugar is best or icing sugar mixture.
Hi Olivia, you should probably make two batches (at least). It will depend on how thick you apply the frosting and how many roses you are going to make. Also, the icing sugar mixture should be fine. Good luck with the cake! I hope your sister has a great birthday!
This Buttercream looks AMAZING! I am making an 3 layered 9 inch round cake for my sister’s birthday. I plan on covering it with buttercream with just a few roses on the top. How much will i need? Will one batch be enough??
What decorating tip did you use to get that marvelous layer of frosting on the cupcakes? Would like to use this for our open house at our church. How do you do the decorating on the cupcakes, like your picture?
It looks like an open star tip to me
Can,this,be used on wedding cakes and how,long can,it set in room temp if so?
Hi Amber, it can be used on a wedding cake. The only drawback is that it is hard to get buttercream completely smooth. I don’t know if that might hamper any decorations you’re adding. As for how long it can sit out, I think it is okay to leave it out (covered) for a day or two, but if you are going to do that you might want to eliminate the milk to be safe.
Hi I just wanted to know is there a way to cut some of the sweetness of the frosting? I made it tonight and it was so easy and rewarding seeing how perfect it came out. I just find it a little to sweet. Thanks
Hi Talicia, unfortunately, that’s kind of the nature of buttercream frosting. I have a friend who would add 4 oz. of cream cheese to her buttercream frosting to make it smoother, but I always thought it cut down on the sweetness. You could try that.
I’d like to use this to make strawberry buttercream. Would I just substitute the vanilla with strawberry extract?
Hi Angie, I have never tried this recipe with strawberry extract, but I am guessing it would work. Let me know how it turns out.
Not sure if this was covered, but how many tablespoons are your 2 sticks of butter? I’m finding many stores are changing their stick size?? Thank you in advance.
I haven’t noticed that the stores are changing the stick size…that’s annoying. For this recipe, we used 1 cup, or 16 tablespoons, of butter.
Hi! I really loved the recepie! I will do it very soon. I would really like to know how many cupcakes can I decorate with this amount of frosting. Thanks so much.
Hi Valerie, it really depends on how you decorate the cupcakes. It you just do a light smear across the top, one batch should frost 24 cupcakes. If you do anything fancier (a swirl etc.), you will need to make two batches.
Can i refrigerate it for 2 days?
Hi Lindsey, you can refrigerate it for 2 days. When you are ready to use it, pull it out of the refrigerator a while before you want to use it. It will take a while for it to be spreadable.
Thanks! Great recipe!
i used heavy cream and it was yummy
Is this frosting hard all the way through or is it soft when you bite into it?
It is soft when you bite into it.
Thank you. I plan on baking this weekend for my grandchildren. I’m hoping they love these cookies I’ve tried other recipes and have not been happy. I’ll let you know how these work out.
So if I use this on sugar cookies, do I need to refrigerate the cookies?
Hi – it depends on how long you frost the cookies before storing them.
Which brand food coloring and how much did you use to get that red color on the frosting?
Hi May – we’re not sure which red you are talking about, we don’t have a picture of red frosting on this post. But when we need to make red frosting we normally us Americolor Super Red Food Coloring. Hope that helps.
how much will i need to put to get an Elmo red?
Hi. We use Americolor Super Red. You will need two good sized drops to get that bright red.
This is REALLY great frosting. I added 3/4c of cocoa powder to make chocolate buttercream frosting as notated above. I had to add 3 1/2 TBS of milk because it was very thick – worked perfectly on my cupcakes. This is my go-to buttercream frosting from now on.
We’re so glad you liked it. We agree … it is delicious!
What kind of food coloring do you use to get that red? It is so perfect!
Do you have to refrigerate the cake after icing? Or can it stay out at room temperature.
Hi Pam, if you make the cake the day before, I would put it in the refrigerator. Just make sure you take it out an hour or two before serving so it can come up to room temperature.
Can you double this recipe ?
You can, but you would need a pretty big bowl to accommodate all of the powdered sugar. I usually just make a second batch.
how moe much frosting does this recipe make? I need 4 1/2 cups for a cake I am doing.
Hi Amber – we made a batch of buttercream frosting today and measured it. This recipe makes a little over 2 cups of frosting. Hope that helps.
Hi may i know how should i measure the butter? As for 2 stick ? Is it 1 stick is equal to 250gm? Can you guide me ? Thank you
I don’t know if this will help, but I found the following information on http://www.butterbaking.com/conversions/
Butter:
1 tablespoon = 14 grams = 1/2 ounce
100 grams = 7 tablespoons = 3 1/2 ounces
1/2 cup = 113 grams = 1 US stick = 4 ounces
1 cup = 227 grams = 2 US sticks = 8 ounces
250g = 1 AUS stick
How much cocoa powder would you add to this recipe to make t into a chocolate buttercream?
Hi Kyle, I add 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to the powdered sugar and combine the two together. Then I add the butter, vanilla and milk (as needed). It is really delicious.
Do I use salted or unsalted butter?
You can use either, but I usually use salted.
can I use this recipe under fondant?
I am not sure. I have never tried it. I don’t see why not though.
Can I make the frosting ahead of time?
A few days. I wouldn’t make it much more in advance than that.
Hello,
Do you recommend salted or unsalted butter? Your recipe does not indicate but the image is of unsalted…is there one you would suggest using over the other?
I usually use salted sweet cream butter. You can use either. I just like the taste a little bit better with the salted sweet cream butter.
You can use either, but we usually use salted.
Can I make the sugar cookies, use the butter cream frosting and freeze them? In other words, how does the frosting freeze when on the cookies?
YES!!! We do this all the time. Especially, when we decorate Christmas cookies. I think the longest time we have frozen frosted sugar cookies is 6 weeks and they tasted fine. You need to let the cookies set out for at least a few hours before you pack them up for freezing. The frosting needs time to set. Then we store them in layers in an airtight plastic container. We separate the layers of cookies with a piece of aluminum foil.
This buttercream is AMAZING!!!!! I definitely have a new favorite
Hi, I’m going to be using this recipe on cupcakes. If I was to frost the cupcakes the night before would the frosting be ok overnight? Would frosting get to hard for kids to eat by the next day?
No! We’ve done this many, many times. Just make sure they are in an airtight container (ideally) or covered with aluminum foil when you refrigerate them. Take the cupcakes out of the refrigerator about an hour to an hour and a half before you serve them and they will taste great!
I am planning on using this recipe to frost a cake for my son’s birthday and wondering I could frost the cake the night before of the party and just let it sit. Thanks!!
Hi Beth – Yes. But it needs to be in a covered cake platter of some kind or the frosting will get a little “crusty”.
This is similar to the decorator buttercream recipe i use for cakes except mine uses half butter and half high ratio shortening plus a Tablespoon of merengue powder to aid in crusting. Does yours crust enough to stack the cookies if u let them dry a while? Im going to try it and see what adding some merengue powder does if its not dry enough for my purposes. Thanks for all the great recipes!!
Hi Carole, the frosting does dry but you have to give it a couple of hours. Let us know what happens when you add the merengue powder, that’s a really interesting idea!
Omg this frosting is AMAZING! Thx u!
Yay!!! We’re so glad you like the frosting!
Do we have to use a mixer/beater cause I dont have one.
We’ve never tried this but I would think you could with a whisk and a lot of elbow grease!!!
Would this recipe ice a two layer cake?
Hi Leslie, If you are doing a straight frosting job with nothing fancy, this recipe will frost 2 8-inch round cakes or a 9×13 cake. If you want to write on the cake or do a fancy edge, you will need to make a little more.
Hi. Thanks for the recipe. Overtime I make this frosting, it is not as smooth. I can feel the powdered sugar, so it is not as creamy. And if I add more milk, it is too runny. Could you please tell me what I am doing wrong? Thanks a lot!
Hi. Next time I would try sifting the powdered sugar first. And if it is still a little powdery, mix it a bit more. When you add the milk, add it a teaspoon at a time to make sure it doesn’t get too runny.
Sounds delicious! Does this by any chance crust a little?
It does harden up a little. That’s what makes this such a good frosting for Sugar Cookies.
How many cupcakes does this mix frost?
Thank you
Hi Lauren! It will frost 18-20 cupcakes if you do a medium swirl with a decorating tip and a pastry bag. Or it will frost a batch of 24 if you apply the frosting with a knife/spreader. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much!!!
Perfect for frosting a cake. It was a great consistency for making it look like fondant Thank you
You’re welcome Rachael! It really is a great frosting recipe. And it works on cupcakes, sugar cookies and brownies just as well as cake!
Really great frosting! Super Easy & Delicious!!
Thanks Diane! So glad you liked it!
This is truly delicious Buttercream Frosting!! Many thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe! I just tried it for cupcakes and everyone loved it. This will definitely be my buttercream frosting recipe, I need search no further.