Vanilla Buttercream Icing

Easy Vanilla Buttercream Icing Recipe

How to Make the Best Homemade Vanilla Buttercream Icing Recipe

• Ingredients you'll need to make this recipe for whipped Vanilla Buttercream: Butter, solid vegetable shortening i.e. Crisco, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt.
• For this icing I choose to use part solid vegetable shortening to stabilize the butter, without adding a conflicting flavor. On a hot day or at an outdoor event, an all butter icing can become very soft and turn into a real disaster, if you're not careful.
• How do you make a bright white frosting? If you want a pure white icing, you'll need to use all vegetable shortening, clear butter flavoring and clear vanilla for the best results.
• By adding fresh orange or lemon zest or extracts such as almond, orange or lemon the flavor of this frosting can be transformed depending on the flavor profile you're looking to create. You can also use vanilla bean paste in place of vanilla extract.
• You could also add sprinkles to the frosting for a birthday cake party.
• This frosting can be made in advance and chilled in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Allow it a few minutes on the counter to soften and then whip with an electric mixer to bring it to frosting consistency before using.
• Can I freeze buttercream icing? You can freeze extra frosting for up to one month. Thaw in the fridge and whip with a mixer before using.
• Any cakes you frost with this vanilla buttercream recipe should be stored chilled in the refrigerator. It should last for up to 1 week when stored properly.
• Other homemade buttercream frosting recipes in the MSSK recipe index is this peanut buttercream frosting, dulce de leche cream cheese frosting and chocolate frosting. 
• You may also like this lemon buttercream frosting from My Cake School.

Pastry Tips Used in Images from Left to Right:

Use Vanilla Buttercream Icing to Frost these Homemade Cakes

You can use this buttercream to frost cupcakes, sheet cakes or layer cakes. I have several classic cake flavors in the recipe index that you may like to try.

• Old Fashioned Butter Cake is a classic yellow cake recipe that's sometimes called 1-2-3-4 Cake.
• Make your own sweet White Buttermilk Cake. 
• Double Chocolate Cake or Chocolate Buttermilk Cake will work for any special occasion.

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Vanilla Buttercream Icing

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Cakes, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: homeade-vanilla-buttercream-icing, vanilla-buttercream-frosting

Servings: 8 cups

Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
• ½ cup solid vegetable shortening
• 2 lb powdered sugar
• 8 tablespoon heavy cream plus additional as needed
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt

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Instructions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream together the softened butter and vegetable shortening. Beat for 3-4 minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color.
• If you'd prefer, you can use the exact same technique using all butter. In that case, it would be 4 sticks total. [The small amount of vegetable shortening stabilizes the frosting.]
• Add the sifted powdered sugar alternately with the heavy cream.
• If you'd like the icing to be easily spreadable for frosting cakes, add more cream one tablespoon at a time. If you'd like a more stiff icing to maintain it's shape for piping onto cupcakes, add slightly less.
• After all of the powdered sugar has been added whip in the vanilla and salt. Adjust the mixer speed to medium-high and whip for 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy.
• If you'd like to add color to this buttercream, I recommend using color gel additives so as not to change the consistency of the icing.
• Makes enough tol frost [2] 8/9" rounds for a layer cake or 30 cupcakes.
• Freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to one month.

Notes

Buttercream icing prepared in this way will form a "crust" rather quickly. So, keep a damp cloth over the bowl of icing while you frost your cake or cupcakes to slow this process.

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