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This easy buttercream frosting recipe makes smooth, fluffy vanilla frosting that’s SO good on cupcakes and cakes. It’s simple to make and pipes beautifully, making it a go-to for holiday treats and special celebrations.
The Vanilla Buttercream I Always Come Back To 🍰
I have always loved making frosting! In my early twenties, I dreamed of opening my own bakery, so I worked at four different bakeries and spent countless weekends testing different frosting recipes. And this vanilla buttercream? It’s the one I kept coming back to.
It is SO good. Smooth, light, fluffy, and full of that classic vanilla flavor. It’s rich and creamy without feeling too heavy, and once it’s whipped up, the texture is just right for piping onto cupcakes and cakes.
I even used this frosting on my wedding cupcakes, and it held up beautifully. I stored the cupcakes in the refrigerator for a couple of days, then let them sit at room temperature on a cake stand for about 3 hours. It worked perfectly!
And if you need a cupcake to go with it, my Billy’s Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting are a great place to start.
This is one of those frosting recipes I come back to again and again. It’s easy enough for a batch of homemade cupcakes, but special enough for birthdays, weddings, and all those celebrations where you want the cake to look (and taste!) extra good. 🧁
Homemade Vanilla Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 7 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- Mix two sticks of softened butter with three cups of powdered sugar in a mixer.
- Add in 1 tsp vanilla extract and ½ cup of milk and mix.
- Gradually add four more cups of powdered sugar as you continue mixing until your frosting is smooth.
Notes
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How much frosting does this recipe make? Can I divide the recipe for a smaller batch?
my vanilla frosting recipe makes about 5½–6 cups of frosting, which is enough for around 24 cupcakes with generous swirls, a 2-layer 8″ or 9″ cake, or a large sheet cake with a thin layer (or a super thick layer on a 9×13). And you can always just divide the recipe in half if you want to small batch it too! 💕