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.
247 Comments
This is now my favorite buttercream! It is incredibly adaptable and holds up great to different methods of flavoring. So far I made it with cherry extract, mint extract, lemon powder, lime powder, eggnog powder, raspberry powder, espresso powder mixed in the cream, and white chocolate hot cocoa powder mix.
Thank you so much for the feedback Kyle! So happy to hear you’re loving this buttercream, and all those different additions sound incredible! 😀
It was perfect i think this is the best one i made its good for beginners and easy ty
Yay! So happy you loved the frosting recipe Julia 😀
Hi! I’m going to try this recipe soon. I was wondering if it can be frozen for later use.
Hi Joanne! 🙂 I haven’t tried freezing this recipe myself so I can’t say for sure, but I think it should be fine. Just be sure to let it come to room temp and rewhip it to make it light and fluffy again. Enjoy!
Hi. Beautiful video. Does this make 3 or 4 cups of frosting cream ? The recipe above says 3 cups of servings. Also are you referring to this standard cup where 1 cup is 250 ml ?
Hi Bhargavi! 🙂 This recipe makes about 3 cups of frosting, and cup size im referring too is a US cup which is 237ml 🙂
Salaam.
Can you add different gel colours to this buttercream to pipe onto cupcakes?
Thank you
Wassalaam Kan! Yes totally 🙂 enjoy!
Hi!
Does this have to stay in the fridge because of the cream?
Hi Amy! 🙂 It’ll be fine to stay at room temp for a day or two as the sugar prevents the cream from spoiling (and given the weather isn’t very hot and humid), however after that it’s best to refrigerate 🙂
Well, well! This is delicious. I followed directions to the letter, measuring in grams each ingredient. I will never make regular American Buttercream again. I make a lot of cakes, several each month. The one thing that I hear people say is they do not like icing because it is so sweet. For this purpose I often have made ‘naked’ cakes..or cakes with a thin layer of icing. This recipe is the fluffy stuff I have been looking for and the taste is perfect. Thank you!
Awesome! So happy to hear you loved the recipe Lorraine 🙂
Salam! I was wondering if this buttercream is good for piping flowers? I’m not really a fan of sweet American buttercream either, but I need a thick icing that can be used to pipe roses an a cake:)
Wassalaam Layla 🙂 Yess this frosting is great for piping! It’s a relatively stable frosting too so even if the weather is a little warm it should hold up well 🙂 just be sure to keep the cake out of direct sunlight. Enjoy!
Hi, how much frosting dose this make? Thank you.😊
Hi Sarah! This recipe makes about 4 cups of frosting 🙂 enjoy!
Hi! Is the cream you used condensed milk or heavy whipping cream?
Hi Kam! It’s heavy whipping cream 🙂 enjoy!