
This American buttercream recipe is my absolute favorite! It tastes similar to storebought, but it’s not as sweet and is made with real ingredients.
There are several different types of vanilla frosting, but American buttercream is one of the easiest and most popular. Other types of buttercream include Swiss meringue buttercream, Italian meringue buttercream, German buttercream, and Russian buttercream. While each has its own unique flavor and texture, American buttercream is known for being quite sweet, creamy, and easy to work with.
Because it’s made with a high ratio of powdered sugar to butter, American buttercream frosting is especially great with recipes that aren’t as sweet such as this Earl Grey yogurt cake. Lemon desserts like this lemon buttermilk cake or these lemon shortbread cookies are also a beautiful match with this basic vanilla frosting recipe.
In this comprehensive guide I try to cover everything you need to know about making the perfect vanilla frosting including choosing the best vanilla, how to store it, how to customize it, and more.
Jump to:
- 🥇 The Best Vanilla For American Buttercream
- 🧈 Salted vs. Unsalted Butter
- 🧐 How To Substitute Shortening For Butter
- 🥛 How To Make American Buttercream Thinner Or Thicker
- 🌈 How To Use Food Coloring With Vanilla Frosting
- 😋 Adding Flavors To Basic Buttercream
- 🍰 Covering Different Cake Sizes
- 🥵 Weather Conditions
- 🤨 Crusting Of American Buttercream And Why It Happens
- 💞 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- 📋 Ingredients
- 👩🍳 How To Make American Buttercream
- 🗣 Expert Tips
- 📝 Recipe Notes
- 🖨 Recipe
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of this post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the PRINTABLE recipe card with ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
🥇 The Best Vanilla For American Buttercream
Vanilla is expensive. In an ideal world, we would all use pure, high-quality vanilla extract or whole vanilla beans, however, this is not always the case. Although I am listing options, the best vanilla for American buttercream is the one you have on hand or can afford.
- Whole Vanilla Beans—Using whole vanilla beans is the pinnacle of vanilla flavor. To use real vanilla beans in this recipe you will need approximately ⅓ of a whole vanilla bean. Take a small sharp knife and split the bean in half down its length. Use the flat edge of the knife to gently scrape the vanilla bean seeds from the inside of the bean. Add the scraped seeds to the butter and mix well before adding the powdered sugar. After the sugar is mixed in you can mix in more vanilla seeds if you like a stronger vanilla flavor.
- Vanilla Bean Paste—You can substitute vanilla bean paste at a one-to-one ratio for vanilla extract. It’s a great choice for buttercream because it tastes great and contains vanilla bean seeds for visual appeal.
- Vanilla Powder—I feel like vanilla powder isn’t as common a choice as vanilla beans or extract. Made from dried vanilla beans that have been ground into a powder, vanilla powder is a great choice for anyone that wants real vanilla flavor without alcohol. I recommend adding vanilla powder ¼ teaspoon at a time to taste.
- Pure Vanilla Extract—Pure vanilla extract has become a luxury and I treat it as such. If you’re going to use it anywhere, use it in a recipe like this where the vanilla is the star of the show.
- Artificial Vanilla Extract—This is what I use 99% of the time. Whether baking a batch of vanilla cupcakes for a birthday party or a school bake sale, artificial vanilla extract has a tried-and-true nostalgic vanilla flavor I really like.
- Clear Artificial Vanilla Extract— I always have clear artificial vanilla extract on hand. It’s a great choice when you want that nostalgic vanilla birthday cake flavor without adding additional color to your buttercream.
🧈 Salted vs. Unsalted Butter
I use salted butter for all of my recipes. That being said, unsalted butter is also a terrific choice for vanilla buttercream. If you use unsalted butter, simply adjust the salt amount to taste after mixing to suit your preference.
🧐 How To Substitute Shortening For Butter
For a firmer texture, substitute ¼ cup (56 grams) of plain vegetable shortening for the butter. This can come in handy if you are frosting cakes in the summer. The shortening doesn’t affect the flavor at all and it helps prevent the frosting from melting in the heat.
🥛 How To Make American Buttercream Thinner Or Thicker
To make American buttercream thinner, simply add milk or cream by the teaspoon until it reaches your desired consistency. To make it thicker, add more powdered sugar or reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe. For best results, adjust the consistency gradually, adding the liquid or powdered sugar in small increments.
🌈 How To Use Food Coloring With Vanilla Frosting
Vanilla buttercream frosting is generally a pale yellow color due to the amount of butter. Using pure or artificial brown vanilla extract makes the yellow even more pronounced.
- For A More Pale Color—Try using clear vanilla extract instead of brown.
- To Make True White Frosting—Add one drop of white food coloring and mix well. Repeat until your desired shade of white is reached.
- Gel Or Oil-Based Colors—I like the control and colors available in gel and oil-based food coloring. A small amount on the tip of a toothpick can go a long way! For beautiful modern colors, check out Colour Mill (not sponsored, I just really love their colors).
- Liquid Colors—There is absolutely nothing wrong with using the old-school four-pack of red, yellow, green, and blue food coloring and there are many online resources on how to mix different shades.
- Powdered Food Coloring—Add this according to the manufacturer’s directions.
😋 Adding Flavors To Basic Buttercream
One of my favorite ways to change up the flavor of basic buttercream is to substitute almond extract for vanilla extract. Here are a few more ideas that are absolutely delicious (you may have to adjust the amount of powdered sugar in the recipe to account for any additional sweetness):
- Add microwave lemon curd by the tablespoon after mixing until you are happy with the texture and flavor.
- Sprinkle ⅛ teaspoon espresso powder into the buttercream and mix. Repeat to suit your taste. Do not feed this to small children or eat it before bed!😅
- Try stirring in your favorite jam to taste.
- Grind freeze-dried strawberries or raspberries. Add the powder, ½ teaspoon at a time, until satisfied.
- To make chocolate frosting, mix in cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon at a time to suit your preference.
- Add lemon zest to make a bright lemon frosting.
- You can also add things like sprinkles, mini chocolate chips, Skor bits, or anything else you like. Keep in mind, larger bits such as chocolate chips may not pass through the tip of your piping bag.
🍰 Covering Different Cake Sizes
This recipe yields about 1 ½ cups of frosting which is approximately enough to cover:
- Six standard cupcakes with a large piped swirl of frosting on each.
- 12 standard cupcakes with the frosting lightly spread on with a knife or spatula.
- A single-layer 8-inch round cake, top and sides.
- A 2-layer naked-style cake (one layer of frosting in the middle of the two layers, and a thin see-through coating on the top and outside of the layers).
Please note, the coverage I’ve listed is an approximation. Other factors can come into play, like whether or not you use a scale, how much milk you add (if any at all), or the size of the piping tip you choose. Everyone’s definition of how-much-is-too-much frosting is different so I always make a double-batch and freeze any leftover frosting for another time.
🥵 Weather Conditions
American buttercream is relatively stable and holds up well in a variety of weather conditions however, in warmer temperatures or muggy weather it may become softer and prone to melting.
To prevent melting in warm or hot weather:
- Substitute some of the butter with vegetable shortening.
- Store your decorated baked goods in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them.
🤨 Crusting Of American Buttercream And Why It Happens
When the surface of American buttercream dries out, it forms a slightly harder layer on top called a crust. Buttercream crust is actually desirable for some cake decorators because it allows a smoother more stable surface to apply additional layers of frosting. To prevent crusting, keep your frosting covered with a damp cloth, damp paper towel, or plastic wrap until you’re ready to use it, and then work quickly when applying it to your baked goods.
💞 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✔️ Vanilla frosting is so easy to make!
✔️ You have complete control over the quality and ingredients.
✔️ It’s highly customizable.
📋 Ingredients

Ingredient Notes
- Vanilla—Jump back up to this section to read about the best vanilla to use for homemade vanilla frosting.
- Powdered Sugar—This is sometimes called icing sugar or confectioner’s sugar.
It’s important to note that when making substitutions in recipes, the texture and flavor may be slightly different. However, these substitutes are the best options if you are looking to change the original recipe.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Butter—For a firmer texture, substitute ¼ cup (56g) of vegetable shortening for butter. This can come in handy if you are frosting cakes in the summer when it’s hot outside. The shortening doesn’t affect the flavor at all and helps prevent the frosting from melting in the heat.
- Vanilla—Jump back up to this section to read about different vanilla options, or this section to read about adding flavors to basic buttercream.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of this post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the PRINTABLE recipe card with ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
👩🍳 How To Make American Buttercream
STEP 1—Place the butter, vanilla, and salt in a mixing bowl.

STEP 2—Use a hand or stand mixer to beat the butter until creamy and smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes.
STEP 3—Sift the powdered sugar through a fine mesh sieve into the bowl. I like to press the powdered sugar through the sieve using the back of a soup spoon.

STEP 4—Sifting the powdered sugar helps prevent lump frosting.
STEP 5—Mix the sugar in on low speed until the butter and sugar are just combined.

STEP 6—Increase the speed of the mixer and whip the buttercream until it becomes light and fluffy about one minute. Use immediately or store for later.
🗣 Expert Tips
1. For smooth creaminess, use room temperature to soft butter.
2. Cream the butter for at least one minute (two minutes is better). This helps make the frosting light and fluffy.
3. If you like a less stiff buttercream, add milk or cream by the ½ teaspoon until you reach the consistency you like.
📝 Recipe Notes
- This recipe doubles and triples well.
- For best results, measure ingredients with a kitchen scale.
- If your butter is too cool to mix smoothly, heat it in the microwave in 10-second increments at 50% power. It’s ready when it squishes slightly when pressed with a fingertip.
- Mix the butter for at least one minute, and two minutes is even better. This helps achieve a light and fluffy texture.
- To prevent lumps, be sure to sift the powdered sugar into the butter.
- When experimenting with additional flavors or colors add them gradually to avoid overpowering the frosting.
- You can store powdered sugar frosting in an airtight container for later use. Plastic or glass containers are both good options. It will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks, or in the freezer for up to three months. You can also leave buttercream icing at room temperature for up to two days, however, be sure to keep it away from direct sunlight or heat.

💃 More Sweet Treats
Did you make this American buttercream? Please rate the recipe and tell me how it went in the comments below. Also, stay in touch with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to see more delicious food and recipes!
🖨 Recipe

American Buttercream
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or digital kitchen scale
- Large mixing bowl
- Hand or stand mixer
- Fine mesh sieve
- Spoon optional
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Place the butter, vanilla extract, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until just combined. Increase the speed of the mixer and cream the butter until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Sift the powdered sugar through a sieve into the bowl of butter. I like to press the powdered sugar through the sieve using the back of a soup spoon. Mix on low speed until the butter and sugar are just combined.
- Increase the speed of the mixer and beat the buttercream until it becomes light and fluffy about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through mixing. The frosting will be fairly thick. Add milk or cream by the ½ teaspoon, mixing well in between each addition, if you like a looser frosting. Use immediately, or store in the fridge or freezer for later.
Notes
- This recipe doubles and triples well.
- For best results, measure ingredients with a kitchen scale.
- If your butter is too cool to mix smoothly, heat it in the microwave in 10-second increments at 50% power. It’s ready when it squishes slightly when pressed with a fingertip.
- Mix the butter for at least one minute, and two minutes is even better. This helps achieve a light and fluffy texture.
- To prevent lumps, be sure to sift the powdered sugar into the butter.
- When experimenting with additional flavors or colors add them gradually to avoid overpowering the frosting.
- You can store the vanilla frosting in an airtight container for later use. Plastic or glass containers are both good options. It will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks, or in the freezer for up to three months. You can also leave buttercream at room temperature for up to two days, however, be sure to keep it away from direct sunlight or heat.
Nutrition
Cupcake Baking Tip
A weird/interesting thing happened when I first posted this recipe in 2010.
I was baking cupcakes to go along with the buttercream in the photos. I baked the first dozen cupcakes at 350ºF (180ºC) until golden, about 22 minutes. While they were in the oven I read over the recipe and realized that I was supposed to bake them at 325ºF (160ºC). I reduced the temperature in a panic for the second batch of cupcakes and here’s what happened:

This cupcake-baking tip was just a random fluke that happened to me, however, thousands of people on Pinterest swear it works!
Angela says
I can't wait to try this buttercream recipe….They look amazing Kelly!
ddimaio@yahoo.com says
two cups of butter 🙂 that's how you make great frosting!
thebravetart@gmail.com says
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear my Swiss meringue buttercream didn't work for you! If you're inclined, shoot me an email; I'd love to troubleshoot it and get to the bottom of what went wrong for you. Cheers!
J says
Just a note about Swiss Buttercream… when it gets curdled like that, it usually means your meringue wasn't cool enough or your butter was too warm. But have no fear! Just pop the curdled mess in the fridge for about 15 minutes and then whip, whip, whip it! I PROMISE that it will come together.
cakejevedeeg@gmail.com says
good it be so simple. I've tried to make a good buttercream many times…maybe I'll give this one a try soon.
H says
when you bake at a lower temperature, whatever you're baking rises more slowly, and therefore much less. that's why you should lower the oven temperature a little to get level cake layers, but you should bake at a slightly higher temp for cupcakes so that you get the pretty dome.
also, if your swiss meringue buttercream seemed curdled, chances are you just didn't keep whipping it long enough. it will seem like it will never come together, but then it finally does and it's amazing. i highly recommend trying again sometime.
Kelly says
If you check out Stella's awesome blog BraveTart (linked above as Swiss Buttercream) you'll see she has tons of great recipes and gorgeous photos to boot!! I'm pretty sure J is right though. I didn't let my buttercream cool long enough – in fact, I'd bet money on it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Stella's recipe – it was just my patience level that day!! Thanks for the comments 🙂
dims_003@hotmail.com says
I also tried swiss meringue buttercream ! it did curdle and look like porridge BUT it cam back together BEAUTIFULLY I almost threw mine out BUT I just let the kitchenaid do its thing and VOILA! perfection here is the recipe I used! ( this woman even has Pictures!! ) I shall try your version of american buttercream but for now its all SWB for me!! great cupcakes BTW 😀 http://sweetapolita.com/2011/04/swiss-meringue-buttercream-demystified/
lontri@hotmail.com says
I made _tried_ to make chocolate cupcakes (i added some melted chocolate and cocoa powder to the recipe) but they didn't turn out pretty. instead the batter just made a horrible mess. I'll still make buttercream and try to make them pretty, but i wonder what went wrong >:
ps.timm@verizon.net says
what is "icing sugar" ?
thx
joannlgilliland@gmail.com says
Cannot wait to try this recipe!!
cait says
made it, so easy so delicious, thank you for sharing it!
Ondine.n@gmail.com says
ooh… what's vanilla PASTE?
angelaliddon@gmail.com says
I saw this on Pinterest and I just had to click over! What a difference. I'll be making my fav chocolate cupcakes at a lower temperature next time to see if they rise even more. Thanks for the great visual side by side!
popich.red@gmail.com says
Hey, the buttercream recipe looks delicious. I worked my way through a fair few that looked good & met disaster every time. Now I have a few fail safe pieces of heaven in my repertoire. As for your swiss buttercream, I make it all the time for the bakery. The trick is, when it looks like it's starting to curdle, just keep on beating it. At some point it stops curdling & starts turning into this silky, fluffy, amazing goodness. It's like it goes from disgusting to amazing by the use of sheer will power.
alp@wildbeanvanilla.com says
I liked this post so much I pinned it twice (without knowing) on my Pinterest boards. LOL Can't wait to try it, thanks for sharing!!
momtoboysinnj@gmail.com says
On the pictures that compare how high the cupcakes bake, the one on the left with the higher peaks- do they start off baking at 350 and then the temp is dropped down to 325? If so, after how long? Or preheat to 350 and once the cupcakes go in, drop it down to 325 right away? Thanks for any information 🙂
kellyjneil@gmail.com says
@Christina – I baked two pans of cupcakes – the first one at 350 degrees. While they were in the oven, I was re-reading the recipe and realized I was supposed to bake them at 325 degrees. I left the first batch in at 350 because I didn't want to disturb them. When they were golden on top I took them out and turned down the temp to 325. Then I popped the second pan into the oven – the side by side pic is the result.
mcalise@gateacouture.com says
I have to say you have made me laugh! This is a great recipe for a quick buttercream! Now, with the Swiss buttercream there is a chemical reactions that happens midway finishing the buttercream It will curdle and it looks like a separated mess like you described. I guess that whomever gave you the recipe did not tell you to continue the whipping process it takes a few seconds to all homogenize into a silky and the most delicious buttercream anyone can taste! i am a pastry chef and i am sorry that you wasted good ingredients! Swiss buttercream is my basic filling cream in my shop. Ad chocolate ganache for a delicious chocolate filling, lemon curd for a citrus one, and the list goes on and on… 🙂
sophia says
do you preheat the oven at 350 and after you put them in reduce it to 325. or do you automatically preheat it to 325 and bake????? please help