• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Sweetly Cakes
  • Home
  • Recipe index
  • Cakes
  • Frosting & filling
  • Cupcakes
  • Cake basics
  • Brownies
  • Cookies
  • About
  • Contact
  • Français
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipe index
  • Cakes
  • Frosting & filling
  • Cupcakes
  • Cake basics
  • Brownies
  • Cookies
  • About
  • Contact
  • Français
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home / Cake basics / Frosting & filling

    Vanilla Whipped Buttercream Frosting

    Last update: May 1, 2025 Published: Oct 13, 2014 by Fadela This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe· 4.5 from 16 reviews

    Elevate your treats with this easy vanilla whipped buttercream frosting recipe with just simple steps to make a velvety-smooth frosting that adds a touch of vanilla goodness to your favorite vanilla birthday cake and vanilla cupcakes.

    Cake decorated with vanilla buttercream
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients You Need
    • How to Make Whipped Buttercream Frosting
    • How to use this buttercream
    • Tips for this recipe
    • Variations & Substitutions
    • Recipe Questions
    • More Buttercream Recipes
    • Whipped Buttercream Frosting

    This whipped buttercream frosting is simply my lighter, less sweet version of the very popular and traditional buttercream frosting recipe.

    Made primarily from butter and confectioners' sugar, the whipped version adds a higher content of heavy cream to make the frosting even more fluffy and creamy.

    This perfectly textured whipped cream buttercream frosting is ideal for decorating all your cupcakes, layer cake, brownies, cheesecakes, and cookies. It's the recipe to remember for elevating all your desserts without needing a pastry degree.

    Ingredients You Need

    You need these ingredients to make my whipped buttercream frosting:

    • Butter: Use unsalted butter with at least 80% fat and softened at room temperature, for a lightly salted version use semi-salted butter.
    • Sugar: Use extra fin sugar like powdered sugar, icing sugar, or confectioners sugar. Don't use granulated sugar, as it may result in a grainy buttercream with a not-at-all-smooth texture.
    • Heavy cream: You can use heavy cream, heavy whipping cream (double cream) or milk.
    • Vanilla: As an option, pure vanilla extract adds a delicious flavor to this plain frosting, or you can use the seeds of a vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste.
    Bowls with ingredients

    How to Make Whipped Buttercream Frosting

    Here are some quick visual instructions. Don't forget that full instructions with exact ingredients can be found in the main recipe card below!

    Step 1: Place softened butter cut into pieces in the mixing bowl of an electric mixer or in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.

    Step 2: Whip on high speed until butter turns white for about 3-5 minutes, it increases in volume and is very creamy with a fluffy consistency.

    mixing bowl with butter pieces
    large mixing bowl with beaten butter

    Step 3: Add the sifted confectioner's sugar to the creamy butter in batches while leaving the mixer running at medium speed and until incorporated.

    Step 4: Add the vanilla extract and heavy cream and whip on high speed for a further 5 minutes or so, until you have a fluffy buttercream frosting is thick and smooth.

    mixing bowl with whipped butter vanilla extract and powdered sugar
    mixing bowl with wipped vanilla buttercream frosting

    How to use this buttercream

    • Classic Cakes and Cupcakes: This classic buttercream frosting is perfect for frosting cakes, a sheet cake and cupcakes like in these chocolate cupcakes or vanilla bean cupcakes.
    • Decorative Piping: Utilize various piping tips to create flowers, rosettes, stars, and other intricate designs on your baked goods. Whipped buttercream holds its shape well, making it suitable for detailed decorations.
    • Filled Desserts: Use whipped buttercream as a filling for pastries like eclairs, cream puffs, or whoopie pies. Its light texture complements the pastry without overpowering it.
    • Cookie Sandwiches: Spread or pipe a generous amount of frosting between two cookies for a delightful treat. You can match the cookie flavor with the frosting for a cohesive taste experience.
    • Dessert Toppings: Dollop or pipe whipped buttercream on top of dessert bars, brownies, or fruit tarts for an extra touch of sweetness and elegance.

    Tips for this recipe

    • Take the butter out of the fridge 30 minutes before! The texture of the butter is important, it must not be cold otherwise the cream will not be homogeneous or melted otherwise the cream will be runny.
    • Beat the butter for at least 3-5 minutes! The butter should be whipped until it increases in volume and has a lighter color.
    • Sift the sugar! For a better blend of all ingredients.
    • Beat on high speed for at least 5 minutes! When sugar is well incorporated add another 5 minutes of mixing to whiten the buttercream.
    • Finish with the paddle attachment! After so much mixing at high speed, a lot of air bubbles been incorporated into the buttercream and to get a smooth texture it should be mixed at low speed for at least 1-2 minutes.

    Variations & Substitutions

    • Add nut butter: Easily add nut butter like peanut butter, almond butter or others to have a delicious nutty flavor.
    • Fresh fruits: like fruit puree such as a strawberry puree, strawberry compote like in this strawberry buttercream, or this raspberry buttercream, raspberry compote, blueberry compote, lemon curd for a lemon buttercream.
    • Cookie Crumbs: chocolate chip cookie crumbs, biscoff cookies, Oreo cookies like this Oreo buttercream frosting, and more.
    • Natural flavors: Lemon juice, lemon extract and lemon zest, orange juice and other citrus fruits, or almond extract, rose water, almond blossom water.
    • Spreads: like chocolate Nutella spread and this Nutella buttercream, Lotus biscoff cookie butter spread, strawberry jam, lemon curd and more.
    • Caramel buttercream: Incorporate melted French salted butter caramel for a sweet, creamy flavor like this salted caramel Swiss buttercream.
    • Chocolate buttercream: Unsweetened cocoa powder or melted chocolate for a chocolate buttercream frosting or dark cocoa powder for a super black frosting like this Black buttercream frosting.
    • Cream cheese frosting: For a version of Philadelphia buttercream follow my recipe for Cream cheese buttercream.
    • Colored buttercream: with food coloring like in these Chocolate Christmas tree cupcakes.

    Recipe Questions

    Can whipped buttercream frosting be flavored?

    Absolutely! You can add various extracts, fruit purees, zests, or melted chocolate to flavor your whipped buttercream frosting according to your dessert needs.

    How long can whipped buttercream frosting sit out?

    Whipped buttercream frosting can generally sit out at room temperature for several hours due to the sugar content, which acts as a preservative. However, if it's very warm or if the frosting contains perishable ingredients like cream cheese, it should be refrigerated.

    Can you color whipped buttercream frosting?

    Yes, whipped buttercream frosting can be colored with gel or liquid food coloring. Gel coloring is recommended as it's more vibrant and won't alter the consistency of the frosting.

    How can I get whiter buttercream?

    To achieve a whiter buttercream, use clear vanilla extract and a touch of purple gel color to neutralize the yellow tint.

    Why is my buttercream frosting grainy?

    Your buttercream frosting may be grainy due to insufficient mixing or the sugar not dissolving completely, ensure thorough mixing and use superfine sugar for smoother texture.

    More Buttercream Recipes

    • Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
    • IMBC italian meringue buttercream
      Italian Meringue Buttercream
    • Fluffy Oreo Swiss Buttercream Frosting
    • Russian Buttercream
    Cake covered with vanilla buttercream frosting

    I hope you love this Whipped buttercream frosting. If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Happy Baking!

    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    American buttercream frosting recipe

    Whipped Buttercream Frosting


    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    4.5 from 16 reviews

    • Author: Fadela
    • Total Time: 20 minutes
    Print Recipe
    Save Recipe Recipe Saved

    Description

    Easy whipped vanilla buttercream frosting recipe, to fill and smooth a 2 tiers 6 inch/15 cm cake or decorating 12 cupcakes. 


    Ingredients

    • 200 g (1 cup) Butter - unsalted and softened
    • 350 g (3 ¼ cups) Powdered sugar - sifted icing sugar
    • 80 ml (⅓ cup) Heavy cream - full-fat
    • 2 tsp Vanilla extract 
    • 1 pinch salt - optional

    Instructions

    1. Place the softened butter cut into pieces in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk at high speed for about 3-5 minutes until you obtain a smooth and creamy mixture.
    2. Lower the speed of the mixer and add the sifted confectioner's sugar in several batches until completely incorporated.
    3. Add the vanilla extract and full-fat heavy cream and beat on high speed for a further 5 minutes until you have a smooth, voluminous frosting.
    4. Beat the whipped buttercream with a rubber spatula or the flat spatula of your stand mixer for 2 minutes at low speed to evacuate air bubbles and obtain a smooth frosting.
    5. Use immediately on your cakes or store in the fridge under plastic wrap.

    Equipment

    Hand mixer

    Buy Now →

    Stand mixer

    Buy Now →

    Notes

    Conservation: 1 week in the refrigerator and up to 3 months in the freezer.

    • Prep Time: 20 minutes
    • Category: frosting, icing,
    • Cuisine: american

    Nutrition

    • Calories: 101
    • Sugar: 23
    • Sodium: 15
    • Fat: 1
    • Saturated Fat: 1
    • Carbohydrates: 23
    • Cholesterol: 3

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @sweetlycakes on Instagram

    Vanilla Sponge Cake »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. lisa

      October 08, 2015 at 9:51 am

      Hello,
      I would like to make a chocolate buttercream, how much chocolate should I add to this recipe? Should I use powdered or melted chocolate? Thank you for your answer

      Reply
      • Fadela

        August 27, 2023 at 9:32 pm

        Hello, yes it's possible to make it in chocolate with melted chocolate or cocoa powder.

        Reply
    2. Charlene

      May 04, 2016 at 3:02 am

      Hello can this frosting be put under sugar paste please?

      Reply
      • Fadela

        May 04, 2016 at 10:49 am

        Yes, it's a stable enough cream to fill a sugar-paste cake or as a covering frosting before applying the sugar paste.

        Reply
    3. Tatiana

      July 01, 2016 at 12:42 pm

      Hello, if we keep the buttercream in the fridge, the day we want to use it to make cupcakes, do we have to beat it again? Thank you for your answer.

      Reply
      • Fadela

        July 01, 2016 at 12:46 pm

        Yes, because it will harden in the fridge and to make it smooth you'll need to whip it with a mixer.

        Reply
    4. Gael

      December 20, 2022 at 3:12 am

      Really excellent, I followed it to the letter and it's perfect, thank you for your explanations.

      Reply
      • Fadela

        December 20, 2022 at 6:59 am

        Thank you very much for your feedback

        Reply
    5. Gama Mirella

      February 10, 2023 at 2:45 am

      I enjoyed it a lot, thank you very much.

      Reply
      • Fadela

        February 11, 2023 at 1:57 am

        Thank you very much for your feedback ❤️

        Reply
    6. Apsara Ahmed

      September 23, 2023 at 3:03 pm

      Can we use don dairy whipping cream?

      Reply
      • Fadela

        September 26, 2023 at 8:37 am

        Hello yes, considering the small amount of whipped cream you don't risk messing up the recipe by using non-dairy whipped cream, just it must have a good percentage of fat equivalent to dairy whipped cream.

        Reply
    7. Aleah

      September 30, 2024 at 8:04 pm

      I’m baking a wedding cake, and the cake will be standing outside of the fridge for a bit of time. What vanilla buttercream recipe do you recommend. As well as what vanilla cake recipe. I need layers. Might be a 2 tier cake.

      Thanks☺️

      Reply
      • Fadela

        October 01, 2024 at 9:32 am

        Hi, for a wedding cake that will be out of the fridge for a while, I'd recommend using either this American buttercream, Swiss meringue buttercream, or a chocolate ganache—these are all stable options at room temperature and great for a wedding cake that will be on display for a long time.

        For the cake itself, you could use a Molly cake, a sponge cake, or a buttermilk cake, as they all work well for layered cakes and are sturdy enough for a two-tier design. Let me know if you need any more tips!

        Reply
    8. Donna

      December 28, 2024 at 2:20 am

      I use this recipe all the time. I also add a softened block of cream cheese to the butter, whip it until light and fluffy then add powered sugar by the cupful until fluffy and add your vanilla and salt. It's yummy.

      Reply
    9. Audrey

      March 25, 2025 at 10:42 pm

      Hello,
      Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I have used it a couple times now and get so many compliments! It’s the perfect level of sweetness! Definitely my new go to!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    Primary Sidebar

    Hello and welcome to my blog! Fully addicted to cakes, blogging, and beautiful pictures! I share with you on this blog some tips and my favorite baking recipes which I hope will help you to enjoy your loved ones!

    More about me →

     Popular Posts

    • Blueberry Cake

    • French Macarons

    • Lemon Buttercream Frosting

    • Lemon Curd Cake

    Follow us

    Search on the blog

    Sweetly Cakes has been featured on:

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • About me
    • Recipes

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Work with me
    • Français

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 SWEETLYCAKES