Vanilla Buttercream Icing – In the past, when I made birthday and special occasion cakes for people, vanilla buttercream icing was the single most requested icing that I used. I suppose it’s the universal standard for decorating cakes and cupcakes. Vanilla buttercream is really a blank canvas that can be easily transformed using different flavorings or zests. By adding flavorings such as almond or lemon, it can be transformed into any flavor you like.
A classic vanilla buttercream will often use all butter, but in general, it usually comes down to the preference of the baker. For this icing I chose to use part solid vegetable shortening to stabilize the butter, without adding a conflicting flavor. On a hot day, at an outdoor event, an all butter icing can become very soft and turn into a real disaster, if you’re not careful. 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.
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Vanilla Buttercream Icing
Ingredients
- 3 sticks [1 1/2 cups] softened unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
- 2 lb powdered sugar
- 8 Tbsp heavy cream [plus add'l as needed]
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
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.
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.
Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!
Kimberly H says
November 8, 2013 at 2:20 amOh boy! I took a few Wilton Classes a few years ago but I wasnt wild about the recipe we got for butter cream frosting. The one time I made a huge amount, it was a disaster.. lol.. I wound up fixing it but it was a very scary process. 🙂
Looking forward to trying yours soon!
Thanks!
Melissa says
November 8, 2013 at 3:25 amHi Kim, oh goodness, that’s never fun! I’ve used this combo over and over again, I do hope it suits your taste. ☺ I actually prefer purchasing the powdered sugar in the 32 oz bags rather than 2 [16] oz boxes, it seems to me that it makes a buttercream that is more fluffy, at least to me. Add cream until it’s the texture that you need for your project and you should be good to go. Thanks for stopping by, Melissa
Anonymous says
November 8, 2013 at 5:06 amHello Melissa,
. This is my first time at your site looking forward to trying the vanilla butter cream frosting. I have a question do happen to know of a diabetic friendly recipe for the frosting?
. Thanks Talana
Melissa says
November 8, 2013 at 11:58 amHi Talana,
Welcome! What a great question, I really need to research that option since I’m not certain what low sugar ingredient would work best. I’ll see what I can find out and perhaps develop a recipe or add a footnote to this recipe. Thanks for stopping by, Melissa