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
Hi, can you add food colour to this buttercream.
Hi Rabail! 🙂 Yes any type of gel color should work well. Liquid color may thin out the buttercream so I would stick to gel 🙂
Wonderful frosting, I was looking for a recipe that wasn’t too sweet and this worked really well. It tastes a lot like the mock Swiss meringue buttercream.
Yay! So happy you loved the recipe MJ 😀 I totally agree on it tasting like a mock SMBC 🙂
You mentioned it is more of a 1 to 1 ratio however the recipe has 1 part butter to 2 parts sugar. This is a bit confusing.
Hi Kristie! 🙂 By 1:1 I mean in terms of gram measurements not cup measurememts 🙂
Hope that helps and sorry for any confusion!
Can you use this buttercream under fondant cake.!
Thank you 🙏
Hi Kiran! 🙂 I haven’t tried this buttercream under fondant myself, but I think it should work fine! Would love to hear how it goes if you decide to try it out 🙂
Hi there. Can I replace some of the butter with shortening to make it more stable? I live in the Caribbean.
Hi Emma! 🙂 Yes you could totally do that, just keep in mind it may change the flavor slightly and make it a little less buttery 🙂
Enjoy!
Absolutely wonderful, you are so right it’s not too sweet and lovely and smooth to use.
Thanks so much Karen! 😀 So glad you enjoyed the frosting 🙂
Hi
Can you tell me after I frost my cake and cupcakes if I can leave them out for a day or two in a cool room want to make ahead for my daughter shower,Thanks! Cant wait to try
Hi Christine! 🙂 Overnight will be fine, but if it’s going to be longer than a day then I would recommend popping them into an airtight container and into the fridge due to the cream in the frosting. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hi there!
Will this recipe be enough to frost an 8inch x 7inch tall cake?
Thank u!
Hi Aileen! 🙂 7 inches is quite tall so for a full coat of buttercream (including frosting the middle of the cake layers), you would probably need to double the quantity 🙂
Hi,
Can you please suggest which cream is good to use in New Zealand.
Hi Geetha! 🙂 The regular cream that you find in the supermarkets (like Anchor or Pams) will work great 🙂
Hi can this frosting be made ahead of time?
Hi Banna! 🙂 Yes you could make it ahead of time, just pop it into an airtight container and into the fridge and once you’re ready to use it, let it come to room temp and then re-whip it for a few mins to make it fluffy and smooth again. Enjoy!
Thank you for making this my mom passed away and she was a cake decorator and her last words were makes cakes in memory so I did and this is such a good recipe she would have loved it!
You’re so welcome Jeff! So so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. I am sure your mum would be so proud of you carrying on her cake legacy 😀