Tutorial Tuesday: My Delicious Buttercream Recipe

There are so many buttercream recipes out there and I have finally found the one that tastes great, is easy to frost/decorate with, and only uses 4 ingredients!


1 cup of salted butter
4 cups of powdered sugar
1-2 tbs. of heavy whipping cream (or milk)
1 tsp. vanilla (preferably clear)

Start with 1 cup of butter. It needs to be room temperature so that there aren't any butter clumps and it turns out to be really creamy. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar mixing in between each cup. Mix in the vanilla and heavy whipping cream. Then you're ready to add the last 2 cups of powdered sugar (mixing in between each cup again).

If you have questions about what consistency it should be and if you need to add more heavy whipping cream, watch my tutorial (start at 3:14). I show the exact consistency it should be to frost a cake.





Remember to slowly add more heavy whipping cream or milk if you are going for a thinner consistency. If you do find that it is too thin, add a little bit more powdered sugar and you should be fine!

Contact me if you have any questions! Add this to you Pinterest board to save this recipe!





**This does not work well with the Viva paper towel technique!! Here is a recipe that will: Classic White Frosting


55 comments:

  1. how many cups of frosting does this make?

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  2. Have you posted this on pinterest?

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    1. Yes! It is a popular one on pinterest!

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    2. Can you direct me to it? I am not sure what your pin picture is, and I'd like to have this one saved!

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    3. Sure! Here is the link!

      http://pinterest.com/pin/263390278177411886/

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  3. Is this enough frosting to cover a cake the size of the one you used in your "frosting with a paper towel" tutorial? Thanks!

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    1. It is! That cake was a 6 inch with two layers and it covered it all! Just make sure that you put a thin layer in between the cake layers and a very thin layer for your crumb coat then you can put the rest of the frosting on next :) Don't forget to freeze in between layers so the frosting hardens and you will be able to use my paper towel technic to smooth it out :) Let me know how it goes!

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  4. I can't wait to try your recipe for frosting and the technique for smooth frosting. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

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    1. I'm excited for you to try it! Definitely let me know how it goes and I would love to see pictures too!

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  5. I am planning to try this along with the paper towel technique on my son's birthday cake (he'll be ONE!). I am going to use a 9x11 cake and make the number '1' - do you think this will be enough frosting?

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    1. Oh that is SO exciting!! I definitely think that will be enough frosting! And if you run out you can always make half of the recipe to finish off the cake. That sounds very cute :) I would love to see a picture of it when you are done! Good luck!

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  6. I'm fascinated that you use the whisk with the butter. I've always used the paddle attachment. Will need to try the whisk next time!

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    1. I like using the whisk attachment so that it gets all the lumps out of the butter :) Then you have a very smooth frosting!

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  7. Thanks for posting this! I am having a "Very Hungry Caterpillar" themed party for my daughter (she will be 6) this Saturday and I am excited to try this and the paper towel idea for her cake. I'm going to do a rainbow cake (six layers), and then drawing the butterfly with icing. Do you think the thin icing will be a problem when I'm decorating? Also, do you think it will drip if the cake sits out for a few hours?

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    1. That is so exciting! I think that before you let the frosting get thin enough to actually frost the cake, take some out while it is still thick so that you can use that to draw the butterfly. Then finish thinning out the rest of the frosting to frost the cake with. It don't think that it will drip and you should be fine! Try not to let it sit outside if it is hot or humid though! Cakes never stand a chance with heat/humidity! Good luck! I would love to see a picture of the finished product :)

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    2. Any advice on proportions to make chocolate frosting with this recipe? I have another that says to substitute 1/2 cup of sugar with cocoa powder but it calls for 4 1/2 cups of sugar and 1/3 cup butter so I'm not sure how it would translate to your version.

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    3. Never mind, I should have watched the video first! I'm going to try this for a cake for my boss's going away party...

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  8. You listed you could use milk instead of heavy cream. Is there certain kind like 2percent or homo .

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    1. I think you could use any kind of milk that you have on hand. The main purpose is to get a great taste and a good consistency!

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    2. Thank you! I can't wait to try it! I have a cake to make for this Sat. How well does this icing stand up to heat? We seem to be going through a heat wave right now and they Sat. is going to be the hottest day so far this week.

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  9. I tried making the butter cream frosting but it came out really thin and almost liquidy. I tried to add powdered sugar and it only made it worse and basically slid off my cake.... what did i do wrong!?

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    1. Oh no! I have never had that happen to me! It shouldn't have done that... Do you live in a humid or really hot climate? I'm wondering if it kind of melted the frosting?!

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  10. I live in St. George which does get hot, but I keep my house pretty moderate.... if I use regular milk rather then heavy cream would that do it?

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    1. I just added a recipe for my classic buttercream frosting and I know that this will work better for you with the paper towel technic. Sorry you had such trouble!

      http://www.thelittledelightsinlife.com/2012/07/classic-white-frosting-recipe.html

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  11. I am making a graduation cake this saturday for my sisters college graduation and would love to try this recipe with the paper towel technique. She loves chocolate frosting though, how can i make the chocolate, or do you have a recipe for a chocolate buttercream?

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    1. Yes for chocolate just use 1/2 a cup of cocoa powder and it makes chocolate! :)

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  12. I have been in a cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby, and the icing recipe they had us use for decorating tasted awful! However, we had to put merengue powder in it so it would be good for decorating. Would this icing be good for decorating? And should I add merengue powder to it? This one just sounds so tasty!

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    1. I used that same recipe and hated it! It is a little harder to decorate with this frosting because it doesn't form a "crust" so it stays soft. You can try and use merengue powder if you live in a hot or humid place!

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  13. I just loved this icing. Now I am wondering if it is possible to make royal icing without using eggs ( we do not use eggs being vegetarians) Do provide the receipe if it is at all possible.
    thanks

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    1. I will research if that is possible! :) I'll let you know!

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  14. My daughter's 3rd birthday is coming up and it is princess themed. No one in my family or my husband's like fondant and I'm so excited to try this on her Aurora and Rapunzel cakes.

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    1. That is so exciting!! I hope it works well! It might have some trouble in the heat... just make sure that it is stored in a cool place before the party!

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  15. How long would you say this frosting can sit out at room temperature?

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    1. I would say 2-3 hours and you should be fine! I guess it also depends on how hot/humid it is :)

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  16. Hi I was wondering if this recipe only works with a stand up mixer? Can I use a handheld one?

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  17. How can you do a strawberry buttercream frosting and can you use food coloring?

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    1. Here is a recipe for strawberry buttercream:
      1/2 of an 8 oz. package cream cheese
      1 tsp. vanilla
      1/4 cup butter
      4 cups powdered sugar
      red food coloring
      3 Tbs. strawberry syrup (you drain the strawberry syrup out of a frozen package of strawberries with syrup)

      Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature for 30 minutes. Mix cream cheese, butter vanilla, and strawberry syrup on medium until it is light and fluffy. One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar. Then if you want you can add 1-2 drops of red food coloring.

      I hope this helps! :)

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  18. I made this tonight and I don't know what I did wrong (the 2nd time) I know I put 3 Tbs of heavy whipping cream and it was so thin it was horrible so I made another batch with just 2 Tblspns and it too was too thin.

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    1. I am so sorry! I'm not sure what is happening! I posted a new recipe today because this recipe is hard for a lot of people to use the Viva paper towel technique on also. You can still make it taste great depending on the flavoring you add with this classic white frosting recipe. Here is the link:
      http://www.thelittledelightsinlife.com/2012/07/classic-white-frosting-recipe.html

      I hope this works out better for you!!

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  19. What if I need white icing? And, does the yellow color make it hard to color?

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    1. Here is a great recipe for a white frosting recipe that I just posted!
      http://www.thelittledelightsinlife.com/2012/07/classic-white-frosting-recipe.html
      It is perfect if you need it to be a specific color!

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  20. Can you make this ahead of time and put it in the fridge until you need it? (a day or two)?

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    1. Yes you sure can! The fridge makes it harder to work with when it is cold but you can let it sit out for a while before you are going to use it.

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  21. I was wondering if you could use this for cookies, and also if you had a nice recepie for cookies, since mine tend to go wild and en up beeing a mess.
    Thanks

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    1. You definitely can use this for cookies! I will have to try out a few recipes and I will let you know :)

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  22. I love good frosting but generally don't like frosting that is too sweet as is the case with a lot of commercial frostings, we end up scooping off gobs of icing off cupcakes because of that. Four cups of sugar seems like an awful lot for me. Any tips on how to make this nice and thick but minus the excessive sweetness, just moderate? Thanks

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  23. I've alwayed used unsalted butter in my frosting, is there a big difference between them and if there is what is it?

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  24. How would I do the frosting if I want it to be chocolate?

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  25. I was wondering if there is a way to make the butter cream icing a strawberry flavor and if so how would I do it

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  26. Oh my gosh, I am so glad you posted the comment about this frosting not being good for the paper tower technique. I think you saved me from making a terrible mistake.

    BTW the link in this post to the classic white frosting is dead. Here is the new link: http://thelittledelightsinlife.blogspot.com/2012/07/classic-white-frosting-recipe.html

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  27. Hi...to use the viva paper towel technique. After the crumb coat, do I freeze the iced buttercream a second time before I use the paper towel OR do I use the paper towel as soon as I finished the second iced cake? Thanks

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