This wedding cake buttercream frosting is a classic, easy to work with and is perfect for both cakes and cupcakes.
I’m so excited to share this wedding cake frosting recipe with you because it’s very special to me. My mother catered weddings when I was growing up and I loved the cakes her business partner would make. You just can’t beat that traditional wedding cake frosting flavor.
I’ve done so many tests and worked really hard to come up with the perfect flavor combination – one that gives that old-fashioned wedding frosting flavor without having to buy special flavoring and one that you can adjust to your liking.
This frosting is simple, stable, and can be mixed to make it fluffy or smooth. It’s the absolute best icing for weddings, or to top a white cake or white cupcakes.
Why You’ll Love This Frosting!
- It’s sturdy enough for stacking tiered cakes.
- The texture is creamy and silky-smooth.
- Sweet, but not overpowering—just right for weddings.
- It’s beginner-friendly but professional-tasting.
- Doubles as a dreamy cupcake frosting!
Pro Tip
This frosting is considered a ‘crusting buttercream’ because it includes vegetable shortening. This means it will form a very thin shell-like coating when set out and open to the air. This is perfect for cake decorating, but you’ll want to make sure to cover the bowl of frosting while you’re decorating.
If it forms too much of a crust in the bowl and is then mixed up, it could form crystals within the frosting and potentially make the frosting a little grainy. Just make sure to cover the frosting that’s in the bowl and it will be just fine.
Recipe
Wedding Cake Buttercream Frosting (Great for Cupcakes Too)
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1 cup vegetable shortening (this is not the same thing as lard – please see the notes section)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (this is not enough to give it a lemon taste-see notes)
- 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract (see notes section)
- ½ – 1 teaspoon butter extract (quality butter extract matters; omit if using all butter instead of any shortening-see notes section)
- 6 cups confectioner’s sugar
Instructions
- Add the room-temperature butter and the shortening and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until very smooth.
- Add the lemon juice and the extracts and mix well on medium-high speed.
- Add three cups of confectioner’s sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk and mix on low until combined, then on medium-high until well mixed.
- Add the last three cups of confectioner’s sugar and mix on low until combined, then on medium-high until well mixed.
- Taste it and see if the flavoring needs to be adjusted. If you want it more tart, add another teaspoon of lemon juice. If you want more of that floral/almond flavor, add a bit more almond extract. If you want it a bit more buttery, add a bit more butter flavoring. Make sure to only add in small amounts at a time. Mix and taste it since a little of the extract will go a long way. The goal is to give it a hint of flavoring, not an overpowering flavoring.
- Check the consistency. If it’s too thick, add a teaspoon of milk, mix and check the consistency again. If it's too thin, add a ½ cup of confectioner's sugar, mix and check the consistency again.
- Once the desired consistency is reached, mix on medium-high speed for a couple of minutes to make it fluffy and whiter in color, or mix on low speed to make it smoother.
- Please check out the notes section in this recipe card for other important information about the ingredients.
Notes
If it forms too much of a crust in the bowl and is then mixed up, it could form crystals within the frosting and potentially make the frosting a little grainy. Just make sure to cover the frosting that’s in the bowl and it will be just fine. About the Flavoring Combination: Please see the post where I explain my thought process behind this combination of flavorings if you’d like more details. In general, it’s been a common practice for bakeries and caterers to use certain flavorings like Creme Bouquet by Magic Line or another similar type of flavoring for wedding cake frosting. I find that flavoring to be very floral and overpowering. The other option is LorAnn Oils, Princess Emulsion, which is good, but a little too lemony for a wedding frosting taste in my opinion. I find that you can control the flavoring much better by mixing different extracts together, which is what this recipe is all about. I prefer the flavoring combo and ratios in this recipe because it reminds me of all the wedding cake I had growing up. (My mom was a wedding caterer.) Feel free to adjust the different extracts to make it to your preference. Don’t be afraid to try out new combinations. That’s the fun part about mixing your own flavorings and not having to depend on pre-made flavor combos. About the Butter Flavoring: The grocery store version of butter extract is not very good. Do yourself a favor and pay a little extra to get a good-tasting butter flavoring. I prefer LorAnn’s butter emulsion. About the Almond Flavoring: Most people will automatically reject using almond flavoring right off without even tasting it. They assume they won’t like it, but as long as you’re not allergic, I really would urge you to try it. It’s only a small amount and does not make the buttercream taste like almonds. Personally, I do not care for almonds at all, but a tiny bit of almond flavoring in white or vanilla cake and frosting is amazing – and I do mean a tiny amount. I rarely go over ¼ teaspoon. Many people say there’s just something about my vanilla cakes and buttercream—they can’t stop eating them and can’t quite place that hint of flavor. That’s the secret. Most almond flavoring is imitation and does not contain almonds, but you MUST read the label to make sure. I am personally allergic to almonds, but I have not ever had a reaction to the extract because I use imitation. Having said that, you MUST to do your own due diligence and the best option is to steer clear if allergic. About the Vegetable Shortening: In the past, I have received many angry comments about using vegetable shortening in some of my cakes and frostings, so I hope this will help answer questions about it. Yes, this recipe includes vegetable shortening. No, it is not the same as lard. Vegetable shortening is not made from animals. The reason that vegetable shortening is used in this recipe is to get a more stable buttercream, to make it white in color and to get that classic bakery style wedding cake taste. Bakeries, grocery stores and home bakeries all over the U.S. have used vegetable shortening in buttercream since forever and you’ve probably eaten it and didn’t even realize it. I’ve found the the Walmart brand is better for frosting than the name brand and I have no idea why, but it’s my personal shortening choice. Now, if you want to use ‘all’ butter and no shortening, you can absolutely do that. Just replace the shortening with more butter in the same amount. You will not get that classic wedding cake frosting taste though (because part of that is the actual shortening) and it won’t be as white in color, but it’ll still be delicious. If you’d like to see my recipe for ‘all butter’ buttercream, you can get that here: Vanilla Bean Buttercream Make sure to check out the post, which should answer other questions you may have about ingredients, substitutions, etc. And you can always reach out to me. I read all of the comments. Nutritional values are an estimate. *This recipe card may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition
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How to make this frosting with step-by-step photos
(The full printable instructions are in the recipe card above.)
Step 1:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the room-temperature butter, shortening, and salt on medium-high speed until very smooth.
Step 2:
Add the lemon juice, clear vanilla, almond extract, and butter extract. Beat again on medium-high until everything is well combined.
Step 3:
Add 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. Mix on low until mostly combined, then on medium-high until fully incorporated.
Step 4:
Add the remaining 3 cups of sugar. Mix again on low to combine, then on medium-high until light and fluffy.
Step 5:
Taste the frosting and adjust flavorings if needed. Add small amounts at a time — a little goes a long way!
Step 6:
Adjust the consistency as needed:
If too thick, add a teaspoon of milk and mix again.
If too thin, add ½ cup confectioner’s sugar and mix again.
Step 7:
Once the flavor and consistency are just right, beat the frosting on medium-high for a couple of minutes to make it lighter and whiter, or on low if you prefer a smoother, silkier finish.
FAQs
Yes, you can use all butter if you prefer, but the frosting will be a little softer and not quite as white or traditional in flavor.
A little almond extract gives that classic bakery wedding cake flavor! Even if you don’t usually like almond, I recommend trying it—you’ll be surprised how it enhances the frosting!
Yes. This is a crusting buttercream because of the vegetable shortening, which makes it perfect for cake decorating and piping.
Enough to frost a two-layer, 8-inch cake or 24 cupcakes. For larger wedding cakes, you’ll want to double or triple the recipe.
Absolutely! 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. You can also freeze this frosting. See this post for tips on how to freeze buttercream: How to Freeze Buttercream
It’s sturdier than whipped cream frosting and regular all-butter buttercream, but if you’re serving outdoors in the heat, keep the cake cool until just before serving. If you need this frosting to be even sturdier, feel free to check out this recipe: Bright White Heat Stable Frosting
It’s more of a soft, creamy white due to the small amount of butter. For a bright white frosting, please check out these tips: How to Get White Frosting
This frosting goes perfectly with these cake and cupcakes recipes:
Moist White Cake
Moist and Tender White Cupcakes
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Tried This?
If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to know what you think!
Sally
Kara, You posted this a while back and I use it often!!! I just made it last night for grandson’s 3rd bday cake I made & will decorate today. I also used your cake recipe, so thank you so much for the wonderful recipes, tips and ideas. Love them all!
Kara
Hi Sally! Yes, this one is very similar to my heat stable one! I did want to go with adding a bit of butter to this one and I changed the flavors slightly in it. I think this one tastes even more like wedding cake frosting to me – or at least what I remember being the classic wedding cake frosting flavor. (This was weddings in the 80’s mind you, lol) I am so glad you love it. It’s one of my favorites too and it really brings me joy that others love it too. 🙂
Nancy
I will definitely try this recipe. My husband and I love wedding cake. Have you previously posted the recipe that you use for wedding cakes?
Yes, I would love your brownie recipe. I will be making mini brownies for a funeral reception this weekend. Thank you so much. I always love your posts. Ignore the people that get so nasty about using shortening. I’m on a Facebook group that shares pie recipes. People go nuts when a recipe shared calls for shortening. I call them the “Crisco Police”. We’re all adults and we can all make our own decisions on what to put in our mouths; we don’t need to be “lectured”.
Kara
Hi Nancy, I hope you love it!
So, for wedding cakes, I like this one: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/moist-white-cake/ or I’ll use either of these: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/favorite-vanilla-bean-cake/ or https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/moist-vanilla-cake-strawberry-filling/
I’m going to email you my brownie recipe. It would probably make this comment super long. LOL
Thanks for the kind words and I’m so glad you love the posts! I LOVE your comments about the Crisco Police! You’re so right!
mary
Can I add cocoa to make a chocolate frosting?. Looking for a light frosting.
Kara
Hi Mary, you can add cocoa powder to this frosting, however I actually have other chocolate buttercream recipes on this site that might work better. They do not contain the same flavoring and would probably work better with the cocoa powder as far as flavor goes. Also, I would not consider this a light frosting. If you’d rather have a light chocolate frosting, you might try a whipped frosting. Here is my whipped chocolate buttercream recipe: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
If you’d like a more rich chocolate buttercream, you can find that one here: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/rich-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Hope this helps!