The Only American Buttercream Recipe You’ll Ever Need

The best American Buttercream Recipe does exist. There are a ton of amazing buttercream recipes out there, but trust me, this one is different. It’s an easy-to-follow recipe creating a delicious, perfectly white, smooth and creamy, stable buttercream and has taken years to perfect.

After many sticks of butter, bags and bags of powdered sugar, and months of trial and error, I finally crafted, what I believe to be, the best American Buttercream Recipe. The butter to powdered sugar ratio is what makes this recipe an absolute stand out, and I’m going to show you how to make it!

My Buttercream Must-Haves:

• Easily Smooths
• Minimal Air Bubbles
• Pipeable
• Bright White
• Stable
• Smooth & Creamy
• Delicious, of course!
• Provide a Solid Foundation for Tiered Cakes
• Egg-Free (My son, Brady, is highly allergic, and it’s important to our family for him to be able to enjoy cakes we make in our home.)

American Buttercream Ingredients:

• Electric Hand Mixer (or)
• Stand Mixer with the Paddle Attachment
• Unsalted Butter
• Powdered Sugar
• Vanilla Extract (I use Magnolia Baking Company)
• Heavy Cream or Milk
• White Gel Food Coloring (optional)
• Silicone Spatula
• Measuring Spoons
• Salt
• Food Scale (Optional, but highly recommended!)

Tips for Buttercream Frosting Success:

butter:

Your butter needs be unsalted and room temperature. Unsalted butter allows control over the amount of salt added to the recipe. I’ve found the sweet spot to be about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, this will be much lower if using salted butter. If your butter is too cold, there can be small lumps of butter in your finished buttercream. If butter is too soft or melted, the consistency will be too soft and won’t be the best texture to work with! You should be able to press your finger into the butter and leave an indentation, without the butter falling apart.

powdered sugar:

Believe it or not, I have found it completely unnecessary to sift the powdered sugar. I have never really noticed a difference in the finished product with sifted powdered sugar as opposed to unsifted. So that being said, I choose to skip this step to save time. Of course, do whatever you prefer when it comes to sifting!

white gel food coloring:

This is the secret behind bright white buttercream! I have always had a tint of yellow in my buttercream. This color is caused by the yellow-tinted butter, and the dark vanilla extract I love to use. I’ve tried the method of adding a tiny dot of violet food coloring to counteract the yellow tint. But I would always stress thinking I was going to ruin a batch of beautiful buttercream by accidentally adding too much violet! This worry is totally eliminated by using a white gel food coloring, and the overall color is better in the end, in my opinion. My favorite is Wilton White Icing Color!

heavy whipping cream/milk:

Be careful when adding the milk or heavy cream, you can easily add too much! Start by adding the 6 tablespoons the recipe calls for, and after adding the white food coloring see what the consistency is like. If too thick, add a tablespoon of heavy cream/milk at a time, until you are happy with the consistency. If you find you’ve added too much cream, you can try adding a bit of powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time, to help thicken it back up!

Well, I’ve finally let you in on one of my best-kept secrets – the best American Buttercream Recipe ever! This recipe can be paired with almost any cake flavor and tops a cookie cake beautifully. Whether you’re frosting a birthday cake or just spooning it straight from the bowl, it will be your new go-to buttercream recipe! This one will impress your friends and family every time, that’s a ‘Sugar Cove’ guarantee!

Continue below for the easy-to-follow recipe, dig in, and enjoy every bite!

Print Recipe

American Buttercream

This easy-to-follow recipe creates a delicious, perfectly white, smooth and creamy, stable buttercream and has been years in the making. The best American Buttercream Recipe does exist!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Ingredients

• 2 sticks Unsalted Butter 226 Grams
• 2 lbs Powdered Sugar 907 Grams
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 4 Grams
• ½ teaspoon Salt 3 Grams
• 2 teaspoons White Gel Food Coloring 12 Grams
• 6 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream 90 Grams

Instructions

• Start by adding the room temperature butter to a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Whip the butter on a medium speed for about 1-2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl at least once during this time.
• Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk to the butter, along with the vanilla extract and salt.
• Turn mixer on medium speed until these ingredients are incorporated. This should only take about 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl.
• Lower mixer speed to the lowest setting, now start adding the powdered sugar in increments. Adding a tablespoon of heavy cream or milk between each.
• Slightly increase the mixer speed to help blend these ingredients, but do not turn on too high or you will whip too much air into the buttercream.
• Remember to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated!
• When finished adding all powered sugar and heavy cream, finish by adding the 2 teaspoons of white gel food coloring. (This step is optional, and only necessary if you want a bright white buttercream)
• Mix on low-medium until all ingredients are incorporated, at this point you should have perfectly white, smooth buttercream!

Notes

*You can adjust the heavy cream amount in this recipe* *For a stiffer buttercream, add less than recommended amount* *For ultra-creamy buttercream, add a max of 10 tbsp of heavy cream*

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