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Three cupcakes with white frosting are topped with multicolored sprinkles and pink animal-shaped cookies on a white plate. Additional pink cookies are blurred in the background.
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Homemade Vanilla Frosting Recipe

This is hands down the best vanilla buttercream frosting recipe ever! From my own wedding to my baby shower to birthday parties, this has always been my go-to vanilla buttercream frosting recipe. It's soft, creamy, and perfectly sweet, and you only need 4 ingredients and under 10 minutes to make it!
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Dessert
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Author: Melissa Johnson

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.
    Close-up of a mixture of dry ingredients, likely flour and butter. The mixture appears coarse, with small lumps scattered throughout, suggesting initial stages of baking preparation in a metal bowl.
  • Add in 1 tsp vanilla extract and ½ cup of milk and mix.
    A mixing bowl containing flour and vanilla extract partially mixed, creating an uneven, contrasting pattern of white and brown in the mixture.
  • Gradually add four more cups of powdered sugar as you continue mixing until your frosting is smooth.
    A close-up of a metal mixing bowl containing smooth, creamy white frosting. The frosting appears freshly whipped, with swirls visible on the surface.

Notes

Adjust Consistency: Use milk to thin the frosting if it's too thick. Add more powdered sugar if it's your frosting is too thin.
A paddle attachment is generally best for buttercream.
This vanilla frosting recipe makes about 5½ to 6 cups of frosting, which is enough to frost around 24 cupcakes with generous swirls, a 2-layer 8″ or 9″ cake, or a large sheet cake with a thin layer of frosting (or a super thick layer on a 9×13 cake).
If you don’t need quite that much, you can easily divide the recipe in half to make a small batch, too! 💕