\nThe best Vanilla Buttercream you will ever make! Four simple ingredients are all you need to make this classic American buttercream recipe.<\/p>\n
I made my own birthday cake. I think this is pretty standard for bakers, and I\u2019m totally ok with it. I was actually not\u00a0going to make a cake at all, since I was knee-deep in Pastry School at the time, but my husband insisted that we needed one, even if that meant buying one from the grocery store.
\nThis is harder and harder for me to do these days. Buying a grocery store birthday cake used to be a thing (I know they are gross to some, but I love the sickly sweetness \u2013 I\u2019m sorry!). These days I know I can (and have) made better, so I can\u2019t bring myself to buy them.<\/p>\n
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It helped that I still had a couple cake layers in the freezer from when I baked them for my Flat Top Cakes post. The recipe I used there was my Almost Scratch Cake. It is such a simple and delicious recipe and goes perfectly with this easy vanilla buttercream recipe.
\nSo with the cake layers already done, all I had to do was defrost them, make the frosting, and decorate. I decided to go for an American Buttercream for ease.
\nWhat is American Buttercream Frosting?
\nI\u2019ve actually had a hard time nailing down a good, simple vanilla buttercream recipe \u2013 what some would call American Buttercream \u2013 that uses mainly butter and powdered sugar.
\nI usually make Swiss meringue buttercream, which I love but takes a bit more effort, and I was most certainly looking for something with very little effort.
\nThe BEST vanilla frosting I\u2019d ever had was on my wedding cake, a cake we commissioned from\u00a0Gannon\u2019s,\u00a0the restaurant we had our reception at. We didn\u2019t do any tastings or see any samples, we just sent them a picture of what we wanted it to look like and chose our flavors.<\/p>\n
This cake was unbelievable, the buttercream so smooth and delicious. We had a ton of leftovers, which we happily took back to our condo and devoured over the next few days.
\nI\u2019d mentioned multiple times to Ryan that I wondered how they made it. I assumed it was a meringue-based one because it was so silky smooth, but it was less buttery than ones I\u2019d made before. Powdered sugar-based buttercreams always feel so gritty\u2026 so it couldn\u2019t be that.
\nUnbeknownst to me, Ryan had emailed Gannon\u2019s and asked them for the recipe. He should probably get some kind of award, right?! I would never do this. I honestly did not think they would divulge their secrets, but they sent over a recipe!
\nHow to make American Buttercream
\nThis American buttercream consists of four simple ingredients \u2014 butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and cream. But there are a few key things you can do to make sure your buttercream is nice and smooth with as little grit as possible.<\/p>\n
The first step is to really whip the butter on its own, before adding any powdered sugar.
\nSift your powdered sugar! This is a bit of a pain, but really helps to break out those clumps
\nAdd your powdered sugar slowly \u2014 1\/2 cup to 1 cup at a time to the buttercream and whip well in between additions.
\nOnce all the sugar is added, give it a good whip for at least 3 mins, more if needed.
\nAdd only as much cream as needed to reach the consistency that you want and whip some more until completely smooth.<\/p>\n
Frosting Tip! <\/p>\n
Help ensure a super smooth American buttercream by sifting that powdered sugar first to get rid of any clumps!<\/p>\n
Now, I\u2019m not convinced this is the exact same vanilla buttercream that was on our cake (it still felt a little gritty when I made it, not\u00a0as\u00a0gritty as others before), but it was delicious. I am super happy with the end result and will definitely be making this buttercream again!<\/p>\n
How to make a rosette cake
\nFor the decorating, I wanted to try something new (to me) and a rosette cake. I\u2019ve seen this done before and it looked amazing, so I wanted to give it a try.
\nI had done rosettes before, but usually just as decoration on top of the cakes or on cupcakes, not something that would cover the whole cake. I could have winged it, but I\u2019m glad I checked out a couple of video tutorials first. I wouldn\u2019t have thought to offset each row of roses to fill in the gaps.
\nI stacked and iced the cakes and did a crumb coat layer on the outside \u2013 thicker than just a crumb coat, but not too thick, as the rosettes would add a lot of icing already.
\nFor this rosette cake, I started at the bottom and worked my way around, then the next layer, then the top.<\/p>\n
All in all, the rosette part was really easy and probably took less than 10mins. I\u2019m surprised at how easy it was, really. It\u2019s a simple way to decorate your cakes and make them look stunning!
\nThis particular vanilla buttercream is a bit less sweet than most you\u2019ll find. I don\u2019t like mine super-sweet, so I just added less powdered sugar. You can adjust this to your liking though \u2014 just use more\/less if you prefer, but be sure to adjust the cream as needed!
\nIf you\u2019re looking for an easy and delicious vanilla buttercream recipe, this one is for you!<\/p>\n
Frequently Asked Questions<\/p>\n
How much buttercream does this recipe make?<\/p>\n
This recipe makes enough to frost an 8\u2033 two-layer cake or one three-layer 6\u2033 cake.
\nIt should be enough to frost 18-24 cupcakes depending on how much frosting is used.<\/p>\n
How can I flavor this buttercream?<\/p>\n
For a chocolate version head on over to my Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe.
\nFor citrus, add 1-2 Tbsp of zest or curd. If adding the latter, skip the cream and only add that if needed.
\nFor other fruit flavors use freeze-dried berry powders. Add 1 Tbsp at a time at the end until you reach the desired flavor.
\nFor peanut butter frosting I recommend using peanut butter powder. Add 1 Tbsp at a time at the end until you reach the desired flavor.<\/p>\n
Tips for making this vanilla buttercream<\/p>\n
Add\u00a0cream 1 Tbsp at a time until you reach the desired consistency, make sure it\u2019s at room temperature.
\nFor the rosettes, it\u2019s best to practice a few on some parchment first. When ready, pipe the bottom row of rosettes, then offset them for the next row.
\nI used a 1M piping tip to do the rosettes.
\nIf you\u2019d like to try a meringue buttercream check out my Swiss Meringue Buttercream tutorial.
\nTo help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, see my\u00a0Flat Top Cakes\u00a0post.<\/p>\n
Simple Vanilla Buttercream (American Buttercream Recipe)<\/p>\n
The best Vanilla Buttercream you will ever make! Four simple ingredients are all you need to make this classic American buttercream recipe. <\/p>\n
Course DessertCuisine American<\/p>\n
Prep Time 20 minutes minutesTotal Time 20 minutes minutes<\/p>\n
Servings 5 cups \u2013 enough to frost a 2-layer 8\u2033 cake
\nCalories 1257kcal<\/p>\n
Ingredients\u00a0US CustomaryMetric\u00a01x2x3x6 cups powdered sugar sifted2 cups unsalted butter room temperature2 tsp vanilla extract or flavoring of your choice4 tbsp heavy whipping cream room temperature
\nInstructions\u00a0Prepare a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.Whisk butter until creamy.Reduce speed to low and add in icing sugar 1 cup at a time until well blended. Increase speed to med and beat for 3 minutes.Add vanilla and 2 Tbsp cream and continue to whip on medium for 1 minute.Add more cream as needed until desired consistency is reached (I added all 4 Tbsp).Whip until the frosting is smooth and silky.Use a 1M tip to do rosettes around the cake if desired.<\/p>\n
Calories: 1257kcalCarbohydrates: 144gProtein: 1gFat: 78gSaturated Fat: 49gCholesterol: 212mgSodium: 18mgPotassium: 31mgSugar: 141gVitamin A: 2445IUCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg
\nThe nutritional information and metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favorite nutrition calculator and\/or metric conversion tool.<\/p>\n
This recipe was originally published on Jan 4th, 2015. It was updated with new content on Jan 12th, 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The best Vanilla Buttercream you will ever make! Four simple ingredients are all you need to make this classic American buttercream recipe. I made my own birthday cake. I think this is pretty standard for bakers, and I\u2019m totally ok with it. I was actually not\u00a0going to make a cake at all, since I was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-219","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cakes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sanabaking.snipsglow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}