This vanilla bean buttercream frosting recipe is the absolute best American buttercream and is perfect on vanilla cakes and cupcakes.
This frosting is my number one, go-to vanilla buttercream to top vanilla cakes and vanilla cupcakes.
This icing is considered an American buttercream, which means it’s on the sweeter side and uses confectioner’s sugar (aka powdered sugar) to thicken and sweeten it.
This recipe uses all butter and no vegetable shortening and has a wonderful buttery vanilla flavor.
Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!
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Ingredient Notes:
Now let’s talk a little about the ingredients that are in this buttercream. (The list of all ingredients are in the recipe card below.)
Unsalted & Salted Butter: This recipe calls for both salted and unsalted butter. This is the secret to the best buttercream. Technically, you could use all unsalted butter and add salt yourself, but there’s something about the taste of the salted butter that is just so good.
If you used all salted butter, it could end up too salty, but using half salted and half unsalted is just the perfect combination. To learn more about the differences between the two, check out this post: Salted Butter vs Unsalted Butter
Also, make sure to check out the FAQ section of this post to see what to do if you only have one or the other.
Confectioner’s sugar (aka powdered sugar): This is an American buttercream recipe and therefore it calls for confectioner’s sugar to thicken it and make it sweet. It is on the sweet side, so if that’s what you like, then you’re in the right spot.
Vanilla Bean Paste (or Emulsion): This is the star of this buttercream. Vanilla bean paste lends so much more flavor than just plain vanilla extract.
Now, if you only have extract, then just use that, but if you can get vanilla bean paste or vanilla baking emulsion, then that’s really the best.
Here are some options for vanilla bean paste or emulsion:
- Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Bean Paste
- LorAnn Natural Vanilla Bean Paste
- LorAnn Madagascar Vanilla Bean Paste
Preparation and How to Make this Buttercream:
Let’s talk about how to make this buttercream. (The exact instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Step 1:
First, cream the room temperature butter until smooth. You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer. If you use a stand mixer, the flat beater attachment works the best.
Step 2:
Next, add in three cups of confectioner’s sugar and mix on low at first, so it doesn’t fly all over the place, then mix on medium until mixed well.
Step 3:
Add one tablespoon of milk and the last three cups of confectioner’s sugar and mix well.
Step 4:
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the bottom and mix again.
Step 5:
Add another tablespoon of the milk plus vanilla paste or extract, and mix until everything is smooth.
Step 6:
Check the consistency. If it’s too thick, just add another tablespoon of milk and mix well. If it’s too thin, add another cup of confectioner’s sugar and mix well.
Once you get the consistency you want, mix it on medium-high speed for a couple of minutes to make it fluffy.
This will also help it lighten in color a bit.
Step 7:
Check the color. All butter buttercream will have a slightly yellow or cream color to it. If you want it to be super white though, you can add a very tiny speck of violet food coloring to cancel out the yellow. It works, just use a tiny amount at a time and mix well.
Step 8:
Add the buttercream to the cake.
Tips & FAQs:
This recipe is most flavorful if you use both unsalted and salted butter, but if you can’t get either, follow these instructions:
To use only salted butter, just use two cups of salted butter.
To use only unsalted butter, use two cups of salted butter and add in a pinch of salt.
The salt helps to cut the sweetness and it brings out all the flavors.
Since this buttercream is made with all butter and no shortening, it will have a slightly yellow or cream tone to it. If you want it to be very white in color, you can add a very tiny speck of violet food coloring to cancel out the yellow. Just use a very tiny amount at first (just a speck of it), then mix to check the color.
Also, make sure to whip the buttercream for several minutes once it’s mixed. Whipping it seems to lighten the color a bit.
Alternately, you could also add clear vanilla extract instead of regular vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste and that will lighten the color although the vanilla taste will not be quite as strong as if you’d used vanilla bean paste.
This buttercream makes enough to cover a two-layer, 8″ round cake or about 24 cupcakes.
Yes! I’ve frozen this buttercream many times. After it’s mixed up, add mounds of it on plastic wrap and wrap it up well, then place the bundles into a freezer bag.
For the full tutorial on freezing buttercream, check out this post: Freezing Buttercream
Buttercream can last in the freezer for several months.
Store this buttercream in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4-5 days or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Supplies Used:
Note About How I Write Recipes: I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are more familiar with and I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated when baking. For metric measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card below. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s just a best guess. Please note that because I develop recipes using volume measurements, I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results.
Recipe:
Best Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1 cup salted butter, room temperature (2 sticks – salted tastes better, but if you don't have it, just use unsalted here and add in a pinch of salt)
- 6 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Cream the butter well with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high until very smooth.
- Add in three cups of confectioner’s sugar and mix on low until incorporated and then on medium until well mixed.
- Add one tablespoon of milk and the last three cups of confectioner’s sugar and mix on low until combined, then on medium until well mixed.
- Add another tablespoon of milk and the vanilla bean paste or extract, then mix on medium until well mixed.
- Check the consistency. If it’s too thick, add another tablespoon of milk. If it's too thin, add another cup of confectioner's sugar and mix well. Once the desired consistency is reached, mix on medium-high speed for a couple of minutes. The icing will lighten a bit in color and fluff up.See notes for how to make this buttercream whiter in color.
Notes
Nutrition
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Leah Skinner
Hi Kara Jane! I’ve been making cakes here and there for people using my grandmothers recipe for buttercream (all shortening recipe). However, I’ve run into issues with my cakes of it *slumping* down a little bit after it’s been sitting. I’m doing a reception cake for a friend, and my method of decoration will be painting mountains on it (no piping). Do you think your all butter recipe is better for that? Also trying to avoid a slump! Haha.
Kara Jane
Hi Leah, I think I understand what you’re saying. Once the cake sits for a bit and it settles, there may be icing ridges around the cake and it just looks slumpy. That’s a common problem and I’ve had it happen as well many times. I do have a method of decorating that really helps to keep that from happening. When I’m first putting the cake together, I let it settled before I ever do the final coat of buttercream on it. I wrote a blog post where I go into a lot of detail about how I do that, the steps I take, whether or not to chill the cake and how long to let it settle. I’m going to leave a link to it here because there’s lots of info in it and too much to type here. https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/should-i-refrigerate-my-cake-before-decorating/
I hope that’s what you mean, but if it’s not, just let me know. And as far as the buttercream goes, you can use either the shortening based one or the butter based one, but either can get slumpy if the cake doesn’t have a chance to settle before adding the final coat. Also just one more thing, make sure the icing isn’t too thin. If the consistency is too thin, it will sort of slide and slump as well. I hope this helps.
Money Sra
Hi! Is there a way to make buttercream icing less sweet?? I always find it extremely sweet.
Kara Jane
American buttercream is super sweet. That’s just the nature of it as it uses confectioner’s sugar. I’ve found that it helps to use real butter and not shortening (as shortening makes it seem sweeter by coating your mouth more). It also helps to add a bit of salt, which is why I use half salted butter and half unsalted butter in this recipe. That seems to help a bit, but it is still a sweet buttercream.
Other than that, the only other way to get a less sweet buttercream is to make an entirely different type. There are other types, like Swiss meringue buttercream, that aren’t as sweet. That one has a more whipped-like texture to it. There are many different recipes for it online and I have tried a few. I don’t specialize in that type of buttercream though. It’s very good, but very different than American buttercream. It just ends up being what your preference is. I like both types (American and Swiss Meringue), but many people lean towards one or the other.
Andrea
is the icing recipe the exact one you used for your cake in the “moist white cake” or did you do two batches of the icing?
Kara Jane
I probably just made one batch of this. One batch will be enough to cover a two layer 8 inch cake. If you want extra to decorate with then you can always make a batch and a half. This is the buttercream recipe I prefer the most, but it doesn’t come out super white, it’s more of a cream color. If you need a very white frosting, then you’ll want to look up the bright white icing here: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/bright-white-heat-stable-pipeable-buttercream/ It uses shortening instead of butter, so it’ll be white. I do find I personally enjoy the taste of the vanilla bean buttercream better though since it’s made with real butter.
Kathryn
I have a general question. Do you sift your confectioners sugar before measuring it for this recipe?
Kara Jane
I generally don’t unless it’s really lumpy. There are some brands that are just super lumpy though…like the generic brands. So, in that case I will sift it. It’s totally up to you as it won’t hurt anything if you like to sift. Just measure first and then sift.
Rachel
Hi, I was wondering how far ahead of time I can make this buttercream. Does it have to be stored in the fridge and if not how long (approx) will it keep on the counter? Thanks
Kara Jane
Hi there, you don’t have to store this in the fridge as long as it’s not too warm where you’ll be storing it. It should be fine at room temp for a few days. For longer than that, I’d store it in the fridge to keep it fresh longer, but then let it come to room temp. before using it. You can also freeze it and defrost it for later use. I do that all the time. Here’s a post on how to do it: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/freezing-buttercream-plus-what-to-do-with-leftover-frosting/
Mary
Hi,
Would you know a buttercream recipe that stay soft even when refrigerated?
Thank you,
Mary
Kara Jane
In order to make a buttercream that would stay soft, you’d need something that doesn’t use a lot (or any) butter in it as butter is what’s hardening up. You could go with some type of whipped topping or a vegetable shortening-based buttercream. Those aren’t really true buttercreams as they don’t have butter in them, but they don’t get super hard in the fridge. Both of these recipes will firm up somewhat, but not quite as hard as an all-butter buttercream does. https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/whipped-vanilla-american-buttercream-frosting/ or https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/bright-white-heat-stable-pipeable-buttercream/
Jillian
Hi there! Can I use this to decorate with? Will it crust at all? I’m making a 2-tiered cake, and the bottom tier will be rosettes. Thank you!
Kara Jane
Hi Jillian, I’ve used this to decorate countless cakes and cupcakes. It will crust a little bit, but if you want a super crusting buttercream, then you’ll need to sub out some of the butter for vegetable shortening. I don’t think that tastes as good as the all-butter buttercream, but if you need a more heat-stable frosting, then you can do that. Hope this helps.
Amanda
Will this buttercream frosting hold up some fondant decorations? I’m needing to put sonic the hedgehog face pieces on the side of the cake. Would they stick good to this buttercream frosting?
Kara
I think if the frosting is made with a thick enough consistency and the fondant pieces aren’t too heavy, it should be okay.