Best Buttercream Frosting

Make delicious cupcakes fast with this simply delicious buttercream frosting. You’ll never use store-bought frosting again!

Here are a few more frosting recipes we think you’ll enjoy – Cream Cheese Frosting, Raspberry Buttercream, Royal Icing Tips, and Easy Glaze Recipe.

Easy Homemade Frosting

You guys know that I love a good homemade cupcake, but today I want to talk about my favorite part… the frosting! The frosting gives your cupcakes some flavor, some color, and some delicious personality.

And while I am not too picky when it comes to frosting cakes and cookies, let’s go back to the basics with a simple, but so delicious, buttercream frosting recipe.

Frosting Variations

The best part about this simple recipe is that you can change up the flavor by swapping out the vanilla for so many other flavorings. The consistency stays perfectly the same, but instead of a classic frosting, you can get a lemon flavor, a maple flavor, or even a cinnamon flavor if you’d like to! Here are some of my favorite flavor variations –

Follow the buttercream recipe, but substitute the vanilla extract with any of the following –

• Red Hot Cinnamon Buttercream: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 teaspoon cinnamon extract
• Lemon Buttercream: 2 teaspoons lemon extract + 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• Vanilla Bean: 1 Vanilla Bean, scraped
• Cookie Shop Sugar Cookies: 1-2 teaspoons of almond extract

Substitutions – Feel free to substitute a vegan butter spread for the regular butter and/or soy or rice milk in place of the heavy cream. I like using Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread and vanilla soy milk.

This buttercream frosting is such a good base or jumping off point. Here is how to make it –

Recipe Ingredients

• Butter
• Powdered sugar
• Heavy cream
• Vanilla extract

Making Homemade Buttercream Frosting

Mix – With a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.

Cream – Add heavy cream and vanilla extract and mix on medium high until just combined. 

Tip – If your frosting is too thick, you can add additional heavy cream one tablespoon at a time. If it is too runny add additional powdered sugar a quarter cup at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.

… and that’s it!

Yes, it’s really that simple. You don’t need a lot of ingredients to make a delicious cupcake!

Recipe For Your Frosting

• Graduation Cupcakes
• Cake Mix Cookies
• New Year’s Eve Cupcakes
• Easy Lemon Cupcakes
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Heres the printable recipe card for your convenience –

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Servings: 1 Batch

Make delicious cupcakes fast with this simply delicious Buttercream Frosting. You’ll never use store-bought frosting again!

Prep Time:5 minutes mins

Total Time:5 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

• With a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.
  
• Add heavy cream and vanilla extract and mix on medium high until just combined. If your frosting is too thick, you can add additional heavy cream one tablespoon at a time. If it is too runny add additional powdered sugar a 1/4 cup at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.
  

Notes

VARIATIONS – Follow the recipe, but substitute the vanilla extract with any of the following –

• Red Hot Cinnamon Buttercream – 1 teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 teaspoon cinnamon extract
• Lemon Buttercream – 2 teaspoons lemon extract + 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• Vanilla Bean – 1 Vanilla Bean, scraped
• Cookie Shop Sugar Cookies – 1-2 teaspoons of almond extract

SUBSTITUTIONS – Feel free to substitute a vegan butter spread for the regular butter and/or soy or rice milk in place of the heavy cream. I like using Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread and vanilla soy milk.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 g · Calories: 3155 kcal · Carbohydrates: 361 g · Protein: 3 g · Fat: 195 g · Saturated Fat: 124 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 7 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 51 g · Trans Fat: 7 g · Cholesterol: 529 mg · Sodium: 1640 mg · Potassium: 96 mg · Sugar: 353 g · Vitamin A: 6114 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 78 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Other Notes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 3 ingredients, 30 minutes or less, baked goods, cakes, cookies, cupcakes