This whipped vanilla American buttercream frosting is a light and fluffy twist on traditional American buttercream and is ideal for topping cakes or cupcakes or to use as a filling.
It’s really the best of both worlds. It’s the light fluffiness of whipped topping along with the buttery sweetness of real buttercream.
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!
Jump to:
This fluffy vanilla buttercream is a light and whipped version of the traditional American buttercream. It’s perfect on cake and cupcakes as a topping as well as a filling, plus it’s really easy to make.
It’s like a combination of the original American buttercream and the whipped icing you sometimes find on cakes you can buy at the store bakery.
Personally, I really don’t care for the whipped icing you get on grocery store cakes. They’re usually made with shortening and it just feels greasy to me and kind of bland.
I know everyone has their own tastes, but I really wanted to get the yummy taste of American buttercream (without the over-the-top sweetness) and the fluffiness of that whipped icing.
It’s almost like Swiss Meringue frosting, but a bit sweeter, sturdier and without the need for egg whites.
Ingredient Notes:
Now let’s talk about just some of the ingredients in this whipped vanilla frosting. (The printable list of all ingredients are in the recipe card below.)
Unsalted Butter: You’ll want to use unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, you may unintentionally add in too much salt.
Confectioner’s Sugar: You’ll still be using confectioner’s sugar just like in traditional American Buttercream. This whipped version is a bit sweeter than just a plain whipped topping and the sugar also helps in getting the right consistency and gives it stability.
Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract: You’ll want to try and use a good vanilla here. I personally love vanilla bean paste, but vanilla extract works as well.
Heavy Cream: This recipe calls for heavy cream, which is also sometimes called whipping cream. Don’t use ‘whipped cream’ though…that’s different than whipping cream.
Heavy cream or whipping cream is just like it sounds. It’s a very rich heavy cream. This recipe won’t work if you use ‘whipped cream’. That is not the same thing.
Whipped cream is already whipped and most of the time it’s made with vegetable shortening, which is not what you want for this recipe.
(Make sure to check out the FAQ section below in this post for ingredient and substitution questions.)
How to make this frosting:
Let’s talk a little about how to make this whipped cream frosting (The printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Step 1:
Add the room-temperature butter to a mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium until creamy.
Step 2:
Sift the confectioner’s sugar and add to the butter, then add in the vanilla, salt and half of the heavy cream. Mix on medium until creamy and scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl.
Step 3:
Add the second half of the heavy cream and mix again, then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Step 4:
Turn the mixer on high and whip for about 4-5 minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
Step 5:
Add to a cooled cake or cupcakes. This frosting can be used as a filling for cakes or cupcakes.
(Remember that the instructions will also be in the recipe card below.)
Tips & FAQs:
You don’t want to microwave the butter because it will not mix properly with the other ingredients. Just cut it up and let it come to room temperature on its own.
Salted butter has more water content than unsalted. You can try it, but I can’t guarantee that it will whip up as fully. If you do try it, omit the salt that the recipe calls for, since there will be salt in the butter.
Well, you don’t have to, but it really helps get the buttercream nice and fluffy if you do.
Yes, you can use vanilla extract in place of vanilla bean paste in the same amounts.
Make sure not to omit the salt. It helps bring out the flavor of the buttercream and it cuts the sweetness a bit.
No, you don’t want to use whipped cream. That is different than heavy cream and whipping cream.
You want to use heavy cream (sometimes called whipping cream) as you need a thick cream to whip up. If you use already prepared whipped cream, that will not work for this recipe as that is usually made with shortening and not much actual cream.
Make sure to only mix in about half of the cream at a time. That helps get everything incorporated very well and doesn’t ‘drown’ the other ingredients.
Mixing it for a long amount of time is what will help get it super light and airy.
No, you don’t have to have a stand mixer to make this recipe. You can use an electric hand mixer. You’ll just have to stand there and mix for five minutes, but it is do-able.
Several things could have happened. Did you use margarine instead of butter? Did you use salted butter instead of unsalted butter? Did you add too much cream? Did you make sure and add the cream in at least two parts? Did you use the right type of cream? It needs to be whipping cream, not whipped cream. Whipping cream is also sometimes called heavy cream. Half and half or milk will not work as it just doesn’t have enough fat in it.
Did you whip the frosting at a high speed for at least 4-5 minutes? All of these things matter. If you did all of that, I’m not exactly sure what could have happened. Sometimes humidity plays roll and if it’s super humid outside, it may not be whipping up as firm as you would like.
You can certainly add other extracts and flavorings. Be careful though as the more liquid you add, the less likely it will firm up when whipped.
Yes, you can color this frosting. Just make sure and use a gel coloring or a concentrated color instead of the liquid type. Sometimes you have to use a lot of the liquid type of food coloring to get it bright enough and that ends up adding in too much liquid.
You can get the gel food coloring here: Americolor Gel Food Coloring
That will depend on what you’re piping. So this frosting isn’t as sturdy as regular buttercream, but it is sturdier than regular whipped cream.
You can use it to pipe large borders around cakes and swirls and rosettes on cakes and cupcakes. It won’t work well for intricate designs or for piping roses and other delicate flowers though.
This buttercream is fine to set out at room temperature for a couple of hours, but then it should be refrigerated, in an air-tight container, after that. It will last for about 6 days in the refrigerator.
Let the frosting come to almost room temperature before serving, so that it’s soft and fluffy.
I have not tried freezing this frosting. It may be okay, but if you do freeze it, make sure to freeze it in an air-tight container and know that it’ll most likely need to be re-whipped after it’s defrosted.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Supplies used for this recipe:
Video:
Note About Recipe Measurements: 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/weight 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. I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results, since I test recipes using volume measurements.
Recipe
Whipped Vanilla Buttercream Frosting (American Buttercream)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, room temperature (3 sticks)
- 4 cups sifted confectioners sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (can use clear vanilla if you want a whiter buttercream)
- 1 pinch salt
- ⅔ cup heavy cream (sometimes called whipping cream) (not cool whip or ‘whipped’ cream) See FAQs in the post for more information
Instructions
- Add the room-temperature butter to a mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high until creamy.
- Sift the confectioner's sugar and add to the butter, then add the vanilla, salt and only half of the heavy cream.
- Mix on medium until combined, then on medium-high until creamy and well combined. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and mix again for a few more seconds to make sure everything is well combined.
- Add the second half of the heavy cream and mix again on medium-high until everything is well mixed.
- Turn the mixer on high and whip the frosting for about 4-5 minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
- Add to a cooled cake or cupcakes. Can be used as a filling for cakes or cupcakes.
- See the notes section for best ways to store this, serve it and for more questions
Notes
Nutrition
How to Share
I’d love for you to share this recipe link or tag it, but please do not share screenshots or copy/paste the recipe to social media as the content and photographs are copyright protected and we (bloggers) work really hard on our content. Sharing the link, tagging us on socials and pinning it is super appreciated though!
Don’t forget to pin it below!
Karen Schmidt
Can this be frozen and re-whipped when thawed? Thanks.
Kara Jane
I have not tried that out yet. I’m thinking it should be okay though.
Amber
Can this be colored with gel food coloring?
Kara Jane
Yes, that should work just fine. You may end up adding just a bit extra than normal because of the amount of cream in the recipe, but that would depend on how dark you want it.
Clara Waldron
Can I use imperial margins instead of butter
Can I use imperial margins instead of butter
Kara Jane
I wouldn’t use margarine for this recipe. I don’t think you’d get the same texture and taste as using butter.
Sunny
Wondering if this crusts just like a traditional buttercream?
Kara Jane
Maybe just a super-thin crusting if left out for a bit, but not much.
Jessica Deemer
Can you add candy melts to it
Kara Jane
I’m not sure how that would turn out. I haven’t tried that. Not sure it would whip up as well though.
Susieqtpie83
How would you go about coloring this frosting? Add it when mixing up the butter? Would you use gel, water, or powder base coloring?
Thank you
Kara Jane
I would probably use gel. That’s what I generally use. It would probably be better to add the color before adding the heavy cream. You may need to color it a little darker than you think though as the cream will lighten it a bit.
Susan
How much cocoa powder would you use to make this a whipped chocolate American buttercream?
Kara Jane
Hi Susan, here’s the whipped chocolate version here: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/whipped-chocolate-buttercream-frosting/
Becca
Would this frosting work well for decorating a cake with? I am looking to do a themed cake for my son’s birthday and we love this frosting recipe, so hoping it would hold up well for decorating!
Kara
Hi Becca, it will just depend on what type of decorating you’ll use it for. It will probably work fine to do simple shell borders or rosettes and piped swirls on top, but if it’s to pipe roses and specialty things like that, you’d probably need to go with a more sturdy buttercream.
Kathy
This is so light and creamy. I just made up a double batch of a different recipe thinking it was this one. As soon as I tasted it I knew it wasn’t right. This one is luxurious and delicious. I dumped the whole double batch and thankfully found this one. I will never look for a different butter cream recipe. Thanks for posting it
Kara
Oh yay! Thanks for this wonderful review! I’m so glad you love it 🙂
Tia
My new go-to whipped vanilla buttercream frosting for EVERYTHING!!!
I first made it to frost a Confetti cake 2 weeks ago & my family fell in love with it! I rarely make cakes, but when it was gone they immediately wanted to know when I was making another one! I’ve made this frosting recipe 3 times in two weeks now, & I don’t see them slowing down on their affection & excitement for it anytime soon!
The only difference in my preparation is that I use cold butter straight out of the fridge. It takes longer to thoroughly cream together your butter & powdered sugar, but I prefer the stiffer texture/consistency. Then I just refrigerate my cake in between servings so the frosting stays stiff & thick.
I also whip my whipping cream into whipped cream before adding it into my frosting. I feel like it just gives it a little additional thick texture & volume.
I haven’t made the Chocolate Buttercream version yet, but that’ll be my next project when this cake is finished, so probably by the weekend, lol. I had what I thought was a very good Chocolate Buttercream recipe, but mine simply used a small amount of milk, so I think that using Kara’s Double Chocolate Buttercream recipe is going to really elevate my cake-frosting game! If you make the Chocolate Buttercream just be sure to use high quality ingredients (I use Ghirardelli) b/c you really can taste the higher quality cocoa, (& the same is true for the Vanilla extract or paste that you use).
Thanks, Kara, for sharing such awesome frosting recipes! I can’t wait to experience some your other recipes!
Thanks for this fabulous recipe!!!
Kara
This is great, Tia! Thank you for that awesome review and I LOVE the tips you gave as well. So glad you all love it!
Dawn
Would this frosting be able to sit out for 6-8 hrs?
Kara
Hi Dawn, While I personally have left this type of buttercream out at room temperature for a couple of hours without any issues, especially in a cool environment, food safety guidelines generally recommend refrigerating anything with dairy if it will be out for more than 2 hours. That said, many people do leave buttercream out for longer periods when serving cakes at parties or events. If it were my usual American buttercream recipe, I’d feel more comfortable saying yes it can stay out, but this one has a lot more heavy cream in it and I just can’t be sure that it would be fine. It really comes down to your comfort level and the temperature of your space. If you’re unsure, it’s probably just safest to refrigerate it after a couple hours and bring to room temperature before serving.
Gloria
Easy to make and is delicious. I normally make a whipped frosting, but needed a buttercream recipe. This is my go to butter cream frosting now. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Kara
Hi Gloria, so glad you loved it! Thanks so much for the great review.
Lisa M
Can 1/2 & 1/2 be used instead of whipping cream?
Kara
Hi Lisa, half and half is basically half heavy whipping cream and half regular milk. It may not have enough fat in it to work correctly. I’m afraid if you used that, that it might not whip up as much as you need it to and the frosting will end up too liquefied.
Christine
Hi! As a filling how many days in advance of the event would you be comfortable putting this on the cake?
Kara
Hi Christine, Since this is a whipped frosting, I’d try to add it as close to the event as possible. Best case – the day of, but a day before would be fine. I’d say max two days though and it may lose some of it’s fluffiness within that time if you go that long – I just can’t be 100% sure on that. Make sure to store it all in the fridge though. I normally don’t like to store cakes in the fridge, but with this frosting having so much cream in it, I think it’s probably best since it’s a more perishable frosting. Hope this helps!