The Best Buttercream Frosting

This is the best buttercream frosting recipe and our favorite one! It is creamy, and silky, melts in your mouth, and is easy to make. You can use this buttercream for cakes, cupcakes, cookies, or anything you want to frost. 

In this post, I explain how to make the best buttercream frosting you’ll ever try. I promise it will be your favorite! If you like baking, then you know that the basic ingredients are butter, powdered sugar, milk, and flavoring. Well, this buttercream requires butter and powdered sugar but instead of milk, we use whipping cream and other ingredients that you probably have in your pantry.

I use this buttercream for almost all my cakes and cupcakes, except for my traditional Puerto Rican Cake recipes. The Puerto Rican frosting is made using vegetable shortening instead of butter. The shortening gives the frosting more consistency and is great for outdoor birthday cakes. Now, let’s talk about how to make this easy buttercream recipe.

Tips to Make The Best Buttercream Frosting:

• Use good quality ingredients and when possible organic.
• The secret to making the best buttercream is to double-sift your powder sugar. I use a regular flour sifter that you can find on Amazon. This is what gives this buttercream a silky texture. I sift my sugar before measuring to remove any large clumps that will ruin my buttercream. Trust me, always sift your powdered sugar!
• The cream of tartar works the same way as the meringue powder. Therefore, it serves as a binder and will create volume. Making your buttercream more fluffy and airy.
• For this buttercream, use slightly cold butter that you leave on your countertop for about 30 minutes. That way you don’t overwork your buttercream.
• Use unsalted butter, or if using salted butter skip the pinch of salt on the recipe card.
• Instead of milk or water use whipping cream. The whipping cream will give your buttercream a creamy and melt-in-your-mouth consistency.
• Add whipping cream one tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency.
• For this recipe, I used vanilla extract, but you can use other flavors like almond, coconut, or lemon.

Make it Vegan!

• First, for a vegan buttercream, I recommend you use Earth Balance unsalted buttery sticks. If you use salted butter, just skip the pinch of salt.
• Secondly, you can replace the whipping cream with coconut milk or buy vegan whipping cream.

I used this buttercream recipe for these cakes and cupcakes:

Steps to Make The Best Buttercream Frosting:

• Take the butter out of the refrigerator and let it rest for 30 minutes before using.
• Sift powdered sugar, salt, and cream of tartar.
• Cream the butter and vanilla for 5 minutes on low speed. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl before moving to the next step.
• Add powdered sugar slowly alternating with whipping cream until you get the desired consistency. Don’t forget to stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl.
• Keep mixing on medium speed until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
• Always taste your buttercream to adjust flavors if needed.

Tips to Use and Store Your Buttercream Frosting:

• The amount of buttercream you will need for a cake depends on the size of the cake. This recipe covers a 9X13, a loaf cake, two 6X3 cake pans, and also one 8X3 cake pan.
• If you are coloring your buttercream using commercial food coloring, I recommend you use the brand Americolor. The colors are beautiful, and there are no animal products in their food colors. However, if you want to use a natural alternative you can use beet powder, turmeric, blue spirulina, or other natural powders. But keep in mind that using these natural powders will cause some separation in your buttercream.
• Also, you can use your buttercream right away for the best results. If you are not using it immediately, cover it with a damp paper towel.
• Also, you can store your buttercream inside an airtight container inside your refrigerator for up to 7 days. Before using it, place it on the countertop for at least 30 minutes until is smooth and ready to use.

Other Recipes You Will Love:

Pineapple Upside Down Cake | Easy Recipe

Coquito Tres Leches Cake  – Puerto Rican Dessert

Berry Whipped Cream Pound Cake

Lemon Raspberry Scones

Vanilla Almond Cupcake Recipe

ARE YOU MAKING THIS RECIPE?

If you give this recipe a try, let me know what you think! Leave a comment and don’t forget to take a picture and share it on my Facebook page or tag it #thehungrydragonfly on Instagram! I love seeing your delicious creations!