If you’re looking for a silky smooth buttercream frosting recipe that is not too sweet or grainy, then this recipe is it!
I find traditional American style buttercreams way too sweet, so I came up with my own version that has far less icing sugar (in relation to the amount of butter) compared to more traditional recipes. Best part is, it’s still stable enough to use for layered cakes and is great for piping too!
What’s Different With This Buttercream
Usual American style buttercreams that are made with butter and icing sugar (also known as powdered or confectioners sugar), have double the amount of icing sugar compared to butter. This makes a great stable buttercream, however it also makes it very sweet!
This version uses an almost 1:1 ratio of icing sugar to butter, so it’s far less sweet. It also uses a full half cup of cream to help dissolve the icing sugar in the buttercream to make the final product less grainy. Cream is also used in replacement of milk (which is more common in American buttercreams), as it has a higher fat content and provides extra stability to the buttercream when whipped.
This makes this less-sweet buttercream great for using with layered cakes and for piping. The picture below is an example of this frosting used in combination with my white cake recipe.
How Can I Store This Buttercream
Although this recipe is made using ingredients that aren’t usually kept at room temperature (i.e. cream), the high sugar content from the icing sugar and fat from the butter, prevent the frosting from going off immediately. This means you can keep the frosting at room temperature for a day or two, but after that it’s best to refrigerate.
Does This Buttercream Crust?
As great as this recipe is, the only down side is that it does not crust. This means that it may not be suitable for certain cake decorating techniques that require a crusting buttercream.
How to Make Buttercream Frosting
This recipe comes together really easily using only four ingredients!
In the bowl of a stand mixer (see note 1 on recipe card below), add in the butter, icing sugar (also known as powdered or confectioners sugar), vanilla and cream.
Using the paddle attachment, mix on the lowest speed until the ingredients are combined (about a minute), and then turn up the speed to a medium high and mix for a full 10 minutes. Scrape the bowl down half way through.
After 10 minutes, turn the mixer down to the lowest speed for a further minute or so to remove any large air bubbles.
The frosting should be silky smooth and it’s now ready to use! If you find that your buttercream is a bit firm and has a lot of holes, then it means that either the butter or cream was too cold. To fix this, gently heat the buttercream in the microwave for 5 second bursts (don’t heat it for too long otherwise the buttercream will melt), mixing in between each burst until the frosting is softer in consistency and you can easily mix it, and then rewhip it for a few minutes.
Silky Smooth Buttercream Frosting
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (340 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- 3 cups (375 g) icing sugar - also known as powdered/confectioners sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- ½ cup (120 g) heavy cream - room temperature. Any cream used to make whipped cream will work.
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (see note 1), add in the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and cream.
- Using the paddle attachment, mix on the lowest speed until the ingredients are combined (about a minute), and then turn up the speed to a medium high and mix for a full 10 minutes. Scrape the bowl down half way through.
- After 10 minutes, turn the mixer down to the lowest speed for a further minute or so to remove any large air bubbles.
- The frosting should be silky smooth and it's now ready to use! If you find that your buttercream is a bit firm and has a lot of holes, then it means that either the butter or cream was too cold. To fix this, gently heat the buttercream in the microwave for 5 second bursts (don't heat it for too long otherwise the buttercream will melt), mixing in between each burst until the frosting is softer in consistency and you can easily mix it, and then rewhip it for a few minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
256 Comments
Hey MK! What’s the difference this recipe and the Grit free recipe? This recipe seems to have less grit as well so I was wondering what the key difference is?
Thanks!
Hi Aleena! 🙂 This recipe is less buttery and more stable – this one is my personal favourite 🙂
Hi MK, I’m considering trying this recipe out but I don’t have a stand mixer with a paddle attachment just a hand mixer, would that work ?
Hi Pamela! Yes that would work totally fine, your arms may just get a little sore 🙂 feel free to take a little break half way through if it does! Enjoy 🙂
I love this recipe! It is so easy to make and has come out perfect every time! It gets rave reviews every time! Thank you & big hugs!
Awesome!! So happy to hear you’re loving the recipe JC 😀
Have you ever made ABC with high ratio shortening? I’ve been looking for a great recipe like that.
Hi Lisa! 🙂 I haven’t tried a recipe with high ratio shortening myself, but I imagine you could probably substitute half the butter in this recipe with shortening for a more stable frosting 🙂
Hi MK. Thanks for a great buttercream recipe 😊. Just wondering how well it freezes?
You’re so welcome Julie! 🙂 I haven’t tried freezing this buttercream myself but usually buttercreams freeze fine – the only reservation I have with this one is the higher than normal cream content. You could pehaps try freezing a small batch over night and see how that goes once thawed (I would recommend rewhipping it once thawed) and if it works well then freeze a larger batch just to be safe 🙂
Tried this recipe and it is absolutely amazing. For arthritic hands it is so much easier to pipe. So smooth and yummy.
Awesome! So happy to hear you enjoyed it Judy 🙂 I have arthritis too so can totally understand where you’re coming from!
Salam. Hi MK! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. I have always struggled with making American buttercream. It was too sweet and too grainy for my liking. Your recipe changed everything. I can now make buttercream with confidence. It has a slight grittiness, but it is much smoother. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe with us.
Salaams Sofy! So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, really appreciate the feedback! 😀
Best ABC ever!
I can not stand ABC usually and have a shortcut version of SMBC I use or sometimes ermine.
I made this thinking “Yeah yeah everyone says not as sweet and it always end up being too sickly sweet…” and it was fantastic! I added in a little salt and a bit of citric acid and its just perfect for me.
I did make it on a slightly warm day so it was softer than I would have liked but fridge bought it back after an hour or so.
I have just made some Jaffa Chocolate cupcakes so I am going to try this with cocoa and orange essence and see how it comes out. Thanks for the recipe – you legend!
Hi David! So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe 😀 Jaffa chocolate cupcakes sound INCREDIBLE! I’ll have to try that out sometime 😀
I made this completely dairy free and it worked so well. Simply using dairy free butter & plant based heavy cream. It was buttery, not too sweet & very stable in room temperature. Although at one point my hands may have been too warm holding the piping bag & it melted a little. Nonetheless it was perfect. Thank you for this recipe.
Awesome! So happy to hear you enjoyed it and that it worked great with the dairy free substitutes 😀
hellooooo I’m wondering what your cream in NZ is actually called? In the usa there is a confusing number of creams and I know you said to take note of the fat percentage but I’m still curious if its heavy cream or something like that.
thank you!
Hi Leah! In New Zealand it’s just called pure or fresh cream 🙂 I believe in the US you want to be using heavy cream 🙂
Is this buttercream suitable under fondant? Thanks
Hi Dáša! It is a great stable frosting, but it doesn’t crust though, so if you’re looking for a crusting buttercream this wouldn’t work as well. I haven’t tried it under fondant myself so not sure how well it will perform compared to something more stable like a ganache 🙂 sorry about that!