Buttercream Icing Recipe

A bowl of fresh buttercream frosting, ready to use for cakes.

5 from 3 votes

Buttercream Icing Recipe

Follow this step-by-step guide to get perfect Buttercream Frosting for your cakes and bakes, every time. It’s easy when you know how!

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Family Food

Servings: cupcakes

Author: Sarah Rossi

Ingredients

150 g Unsalted butter Room temperature
300 g Icing sugar
1 tsp Vanilla paste or extract

Metric - Imperial

Instructions

In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or wooden spoon to beat the butter until soft.
Sieve in the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
Stir in the vanilla extract.

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Notes

Unsalted butter: Use ROOM TEMPERATURE butter from a hard block. It should be soft enough to scoop easily, but not too runny. Spreadable butter won’t give the same result (and please do not use margarine.)

Vanilla paste: I use vanilla paste for this. It’s a bit more of an extravagance than vanilla extract but it adds the most delicious flavour and it will give your icing the little specks of vanilla that take it to the next level.

If stiff: If your buttercream is too stiff, add a teaspoon of boiling water, one at a time, until it is a smooth pipe-able texture.

Don’t overmix: After you have added the icing sugar, be careful not to mix the buttercream for too long as you may add air bubbles. If this happens, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir the buttercream, pushing any air bubbles out against the side of the bowl.

Use an electric whisk: Preferably use an electric whisk, but if you don’t have one, you can do this by hand. It will just take longer.

Decorating: You want to make sure that any cake you are decorating is completely cold before adding on the buttercream otherwise it will either slide off or not hold its shape. When the cakes are cool, pop a star nozzle on a piping bag and fill the bag with the fresh icing.

To store: Keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to use it you will need to whip it again until light and fluffy. You can also freeze it in a container or freezer bag and defrost thoroughly before using again. The same applies to whipping it again slightly.

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