Frosting. YUM. While your cake or cupcake recipe is very important for someone’s overall opinion of your baking, it is the frosting that is SEEN and sometimes TASTED first. So, the frosting is just as important for the overall product as is the cake or cupcake.
I think the frosting is the most fun part of every project. Gone are the days where frosting is just vanilla or chocolate. Now you can have mint or mango or strawberry, etc, etc, etc. And, in addition to the flavors, frosting can be made into any color you want!
But, before we get all crazy with flavors and colors, we do NEED a basic Vanilla Buttercream frosting, and I have an amazing one for you today. I’m pretty picky when it comes to frosting. I know we all have our favorite flavors and consistencies, but a lot of the stuff that comes from the chain stores just does not taste good. AT ALL. And, I wonder what all is in that frosting. Don’t get me wrong, frosting is not healthy. But, if you make it at home, at least you know what went into it, and we can try to keep the extra preservatives to a minimum.
There are very few ingredients that you need to make this awesome recipe.
Butter. It’s right in the name. You can use salted or unsalted. But, if you do use the unsalted butter, add about ¼ to ½ tsp of salt to the recipe. Doesn’t matter if it is name brand or generic. Just make sure that your butter is at Room Temperature. Remember, room temperature butter is still a little cold and firm, it is NOT soft and squishy.
Vanilla Extract. For this recipe I like to use the Wilton imitation vanilla extract. The only reason for this is I don’t want any extra color in my frosting. The pure Vanilla extract turns the frosting a bit more yellow. If you are making a white cake with white frosting, we want to keep all extra colors out of the recipe.
Confectioners Sugar. Again, it doesn’t matter if this is name brand or generic. Find your favorite and go with it. Sift it if you would like, but it is not necessary prior to blending.
Milk. Whole, 2%, Heavy cream. Use whichever you would like. I do not recommend using 1% or skim as the flavor will change dramatically. I typically use 2% because that is what is always in our house, but the flavor will be a bit richer with whole or heavy cream.
Okay, let’s get started! This recipe will make enough frosting to GENEROUSLY frost 24 cupcakes and I usually have a little left over.
Instructions:
With your stand mixer, cream the butter on HIGH for 2-3 minutes. The longer you cream it the more fluffy your frosting will be. If you cream it for a full 5 minutes, you will have a light and fluffy frosting. I’m more of a 2-3 minute person myself.
Add in your Vanilla (yes, that is 1 full Tbsp), Confectioners Sugar, and about 3 Tbsp of milk. Mix this on LOW initially until the Confectioners Sugar is at least a little blended or you will have a tornado of powdered sugar in your kitchen. Also, if your stand mixer came with a cover that fits over the bowl, this is the time to use it! Once the Confectioners Sugar is a little blended, turn your mixer up to HIGH for at least 1 minute.
Test your frosting. It will likely be pretty firm at this point. Depending on temperature, what time of the year it is, how much humidity is in your area, and the firmness of your butter at the start, will determine how many more Tbsp of milk you will need to reach your desired consistency. If it is summer, I usually add an additional 2 Tbsp (5 Tbsp total in the recipe). If it is winter and cold in my house, I typically add an additional 3 Tbsp (6 Tbsp total in the recipe). You will learn over time what your favorite consistency is.
Finding your favorite frosting consistency will take practice. At this point I can tell by looks and sound when my mixer is running if the frosting is the right consistency. But, in the beginning it took trial and error. You want a frosting that does not break apart while frosting cupcakes with your bags and tips - this means the frosting is too dry/hard and needs more milk. You also don’t want a frosting that is too “wet.” With the warmth from your hands as you are squeezing on the frosting bag, frosting that is too wet will become soupy near the last cupcakes.
Okay, now that you have the perfect base recipe for Vanilla Buttercream frosting, what can you do with it? The possibilities are endless! Here are some ideas to get you started, but do some experimenting on your own as well!
1. Replace ½ Tbsp of the vanilla extract with either mint or peppermint extract. If you use the mint extract you can also color your frosting green (see my favorite gel color below) to make a grasshopper cake or cupcake. If you use the peppermint extract, you have a wonderful Christmas cake or cupcake. For this, the frosting could either be colored to a Christmas theme, or simply left white with the addition of peppermint (candy cane) candy chunks mixed in.
2. Raspberry Vanilla Buttercream: Squeeze enough fresh raspberries through a cheesecloth or wire strainer to get about 3 Tbsp of fresh raspberry juice. Make sure there are no seeds! Replace 3 Tbsp of milk with the 3 Tbsp of raspberry juice. It gives the frosting a beautiful pink color and raspberry taste.
3. If you own a Ninja or similar smoothie maker, buy FREEZE DRIED strawberries (or mangos, blueberries, etc) from the grocery store. Put the freeze dried fruit into the Ninja by itself and mix them until they are dust. Adding this to your frosting gives it a burst of flavor and some color. Freeze dried fruit that has been crushed like this will give you a MUCH BETTER flavor than extract.
4. Color, Color, Color: Liven up your cupcakes by coloring your frosting to match your project. I recommend using Gel color. Only a couple drops are needed to provide vibrant color to your frosting. To achieve the same color using the liquid food color, you would need to use a lot more, thus changing the consistency and possibly also the flavor of your frosting. I am a huge fan of the AmeriColor Gel colors. Here is a link to my Amazon supply list, which includes these colors. For page transparency: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I used to have many more colors than this, but after watching my favorite fondant coloring video I found that I really only needed these colors to create just about any color I wanted using the right theory behind it.
Be sure to check out my other frosting posts. I have an amazing Chocolate Frosting recipe, and a Crusting Cream Cheese Frosting recipe as well.
Enjoy!
I think the frosting is the most fun part of every project. Gone are the days where frosting is just vanilla or chocolate. Now you can have mint or mango or strawberry, etc, etc, etc. And, in addition to the flavors, frosting can be made into any color you want!
But, before we get all crazy with flavors and colors, we do NEED a basic Vanilla Buttercream frosting, and I have an amazing one for you today. I’m pretty picky when it comes to frosting. I know we all have our favorite flavors and consistencies, but a lot of the stuff that comes from the chain stores just does not taste good. AT ALL. And, I wonder what all is in that frosting. Don’t get me wrong, frosting is not healthy. But, if you make it at home, at least you know what went into it, and we can try to keep the extra preservatives to a minimum.
There are very few ingredients that you need to make this awesome recipe.
Butter. It’s right in the name. You can use salted or unsalted. But, if you do use the unsalted butter, add about ¼ to ½ tsp of salt to the recipe. Doesn’t matter if it is name brand or generic. Just make sure that your butter is at Room Temperature. Remember, room temperature butter is still a little cold and firm, it is NOT soft and squishy.
Vanilla Extract. For this recipe I like to use the Wilton imitation vanilla extract. The only reason for this is I don’t want any extra color in my frosting. The pure Vanilla extract turns the frosting a bit more yellow. If you are making a white cake with white frosting, we want to keep all extra colors out of the recipe.
Confectioners Sugar. Again, it doesn’t matter if this is name brand or generic. Find your favorite and go with it. Sift it if you would like, but it is not necessary prior to blending.
Milk. Whole, 2%, Heavy cream. Use whichever you would like. I do not recommend using 1% or skim as the flavor will change dramatically. I typically use 2% because that is what is always in our house, but the flavor will be a bit richer with whole or heavy cream.
Okay, let’s get started! This recipe will make enough frosting to GENEROUSLY frost 24 cupcakes and I usually have a little left over.
With your stand mixer, cream the butter on HIGH for 2-3 minutes. The longer you cream it the more fluffy your frosting will be. If you cream it for a full 5 minutes, you will have a light and fluffy frosting. I’m more of a 2-3 minute person myself.
Add in your Vanilla (yes, that is 1 full Tbsp), Confectioners Sugar, and about 3 Tbsp of milk. Mix this on LOW initially until the Confectioners Sugar is at least a little blended or you will have a tornado of powdered sugar in your kitchen. Also, if your stand mixer came with a cover that fits over the bowl, this is the time to use it! Once the Confectioners Sugar is a little blended, turn your mixer up to HIGH for at least 1 minute.
Test your frosting. It will likely be pretty firm at this point. Depending on temperature, what time of the year it is, how much humidity is in your area, and the firmness of your butter at the start, will determine how many more Tbsp of milk you will need to reach your desired consistency. If it is summer, I usually add an additional 2 Tbsp (5 Tbsp total in the recipe). If it is winter and cold in my house, I typically add an additional 3 Tbsp (6 Tbsp total in the recipe). You will learn over time what your favorite consistency is.
Finding your favorite frosting consistency will take practice. At this point I can tell by looks and sound when my mixer is running if the frosting is the right consistency. But, in the beginning it took trial and error. You want a frosting that does not break apart while frosting cupcakes with your bags and tips - this means the frosting is too dry/hard and needs more milk. You also don’t want a frosting that is too “wet.” With the warmth from your hands as you are squeezing on the frosting bag, frosting that is too wet will become soupy near the last cupcakes.
Okay, now that you have the perfect base recipe for Vanilla Buttercream frosting, what can you do with it? The possibilities are endless! Here are some ideas to get you started, but do some experimenting on your own as well!
1. Replace ½ Tbsp of the vanilla extract with either mint or peppermint extract. If you use the mint extract you can also color your frosting green (see my favorite gel color below) to make a grasshopper cake or cupcake. If you use the peppermint extract, you have a wonderful Christmas cake or cupcake. For this, the frosting could either be colored to a Christmas theme, or simply left white with the addition of peppermint (candy cane) candy chunks mixed in.
2. Raspberry Vanilla Buttercream: Squeeze enough fresh raspberries through a cheesecloth or wire strainer to get about 3 Tbsp of fresh raspberry juice. Make sure there are no seeds! Replace 3 Tbsp of milk with the 3 Tbsp of raspberry juice. It gives the frosting a beautiful pink color and raspberry taste.
3. If you own a Ninja or similar smoothie maker, buy FREEZE DRIED strawberries (or mangos, blueberries, etc) from the grocery store. Put the freeze dried fruit into the Ninja by itself and mix them until they are dust. Adding this to your frosting gives it a burst of flavor and some color. Freeze dried fruit that has been crushed like this will give you a MUCH BETTER flavor than extract.
4. Color, Color, Color: Liven up your cupcakes by coloring your frosting to match your project. I recommend using Gel color. Only a couple drops are needed to provide vibrant color to your frosting. To achieve the same color using the liquid food color, you would need to use a lot more, thus changing the consistency and possibly also the flavor of your frosting. I am a huge fan of the AmeriColor Gel colors. Here is a link to my Amazon supply list, which includes these colors. For page transparency: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I used to have many more colors than this, but after watching my favorite fondant coloring video I found that I really only needed these colors to create just about any color I wanted using the right theory behind it.
Be sure to check out my other frosting posts. I have an amazing Chocolate Frosting recipe, and a Crusting Cream Cheese Frosting recipe as well.
Enjoy!
Full Recipe:
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