Buttercream Cupcake Frosting Recipes
Basic butter cream or American buttercream is an easy cupcake frosting to make. Today we will look at the basic recipe and some of my favourite variations.
UPDATE: See seven different frosting recipes in a taste test and in the Aussie sun for a heat test on this more recent post. You may also like to check out the chocolate frostings taste test.
To completely cover and fill two 20cm (7.87 inches) round cakes layered on top of each other you will need to double this recipe.
Basic Buttercream Frosting for Cupcakes Recipe
120g (4.23 ounces) or 1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 1/2 cups or 315g (11.11 ounces) icing sugar (icing mixture is fine-it does not have to be pure icing sugar)
0-4 Tbsp or 0-60 millilitres (2.03 fluid ounces (60.03 millilitres)) milk or cream Often when using margarine I don’t use any milk at all.
Leave the butter to soften at room temperature, then beat together with the icing sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk (or cream ) until smooth and light in colour. Add extra spoons of milk one at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting for Cupcakes Recipe
Follow the basic buttercream recipe above and add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract with your first tablespoon of milk.
My Very Vanilla Buttercream Recipe
300 millilitres (10.14 fluid ounces) or 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp cream
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups or 315g (11.11 ounces) icing sugar
Whip the cream and then continue to whip until it turns to butter. Pour off the liquid, mix slowly for 30 more seconds, pour off any extra liquid – repeat until most of the liquid is gone. Add the vanilla and icing sugar and beat until smooth.
Lemon Buttercream Frosting for Cupcakes Recipe
Swap the milk in the above basic buttercream recipe for freshly squeezed lemon juice. Yum! The tartness of the lemon helps offset the sweetness of the buttercream.
Coffee Buttercream Frosting for Cupcakes Recipe
Dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of instant coffee in 1/4 teaspoon of boiling water. Add it in with your first Tablespoon of milk in the basic buttercream recipe above.
Fresh Raspberry Buttercream Frosting for Cupcakes Recipe
1/2 cup or 70g (2.47 ounces) frozen raspberries
50 millilitres (1.69 fluid ounces) or 3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice
Combine in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the raspberries soften and fall apart. Strain through a fine metal seive – you will need to push the pulp through so that you are left with mainly seeds.
Return the raspberry puree to the pan and heat until it reduces in volume down to two tablespoons. Cool completely – to speed up the cooling process you may wish to spread on a plate and place in fridge.
Swap the milk in the basic buttercream recipe for the raspberry puree.
Top cupcakes with a swirl of raspberry buttercream and a fresh raspberry.
Smooth Coconut Buttercream Frosting for Cupcakes Recipe
240g (8.47 ounces) or 1 cup plus 1.5 Tbsp butter
1 cup or 78g (2.75 ounces) shredded coconut
2 1/2 cups or 315g (11.11 ounces) icing sugar
1-4 Tbsp or 15-60 millilitres (2.03 fluid ounces (60.03 millilitres)) milk or cream
Heat butter and coconut in a pan and bring to the boil. Strain through a fine metal sieve – push on the coconut until you have 120g (4.23 ounces) or 1/2 cup of butter. Allow to cool.
Whip the now flavoured butter, icing sugar and 1 Tablespoon of cream until smooth. Add remaining cream one tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
Top cup cakes with coconut butter cream and sprinkle with shredded coconut.
Fresh Stem Ginger Buttercream Frosting for Cupcakes
Fresh ginger is such a unique flavour. Here is my recipe (shhh it’s a secret) for infusing that flavour into butter cream.
300 millilitres (10.14 fluid ounces) or 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp cream
10g (0.35 ounces) or 2 tsp peeled and grated fresh ginger
2 1/2 cups or 315g (11.11 ounces) icing sugar
Place the cream and ginger in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Leave to cool completely, this allows the ginger flavour to infuse into the cream.
Strain using a fine wire sieve – pushing on the ginger will give a more intense flavour. Discard the ginger.
Using a stand mixer, beat the cream for approximately 10 minutes. It will thicken and whip and then separate into butter and a milky liquid. Drain off the liquid and beat for another 30 seconds. Repeat this last step until most of the liquid is gone.
Add the icing sugar and beat until smooth.
Popping Sugar Buttercream Frosting for Cupcakes
This one is always popular at kids parties and when the boys take cakes in for cake day at school.
Make the basic vanilla butter cream recipe (or any of the flavours you like) and mix in 2 tablespoons of popping sugar. When the kids, or adults take a bite the popping sugar pops on their tongue.
Banana Buttercream Frosting for Cupcakes Recipe
180g (6.35 ounces) or 3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp butter
2 really over-ripe bananas, mashed
2 1/2 cups or 315g (11.11 ounces) icing sugar
1-4 Tbsp or 15-60 millilitres (2.03 fluid ounces (60.03 millilitres)) milk or cream
Melt the butter in a pan, add bananas and stir and cook for a minute. Leave for 10 minutes to cool slightly but not set.
Strain through a fine metal sieve – do not push the banana through you just want the butter. Leave the butter to cool completely and set.
Measure 120g (4.23 ounces) of the banana butter and beat with the icing sugar and 1 tablespoon of cream. Add more cream as needed to reach desired consistency.
Pipe onto cupcakes and top with candied fresh banana – for help making candy see sugar decorations post
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting for Cupcakes
120g (4.23 ounces) or 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp butter
1 1/3 cups or 168g (5.93 ounces) icing sugar
1/2 cup or 60g (2.12 ounces) cocoa powder
1-2 tsp milk
Leave the butter to soften at room temperature then beat together with the icing sugar and cocoa powder and 1 tsp of milk. Beat until smooth adding an extra tsp of milk if needed. Note for a more intense choc flavour frosting beat this in equal quantities with dark chocolate ganache.
Smooth Buttercream Base Colour for Piping Designs or Flowers
125g (4.41 ounces) or 1 cup icing sugar
25g (0.88 ounces) or 2 Tbsp butter
Melt the butter, add the icing sugar and mix well. It may be a little runny at first, simply allow to cool a little and then place on cupcakes.
Alternatively if you have already made your buttercream you can heat some spoonfuls of it in the microwave and add extra icing sugar to make the desired consistency. Covering the cupcake in the warmed buttercream gives a smooth glossy finish.
N.B Two quantities of this buttercream will cover the top and sides and one inside layer of a cake 20.5cm (8.07 inches) in diameter and 9cm (3.54 inches) tall
Also check out these gourmet cupcakes – lemon meringue cupcake recipe, chocolate orange cupcake with gnache frosting, choc mint cupcake recipe,
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Hey Ann,
I have tried making different recipes of buttercream frosting and in the end product I can always feel the powderiness of the icing sugar, the texture is great and it pipes easily too, but the feel of sugar is annoying and it makes the frosting too sweet, usually ive found that a 1:2 ratio of butter to icing sugar is prefectly sweet for me but then it does not pipe as well for decorations… is there a time limit for beating in your recipe so that there is no residual sugar ?
Can you do Part4 for the chocolate truffles I want candy truffles
hi Ann my daughter and my son BD is this month i want to make a Birthday cake for them.
What is icing sugar? where do i find them
thanks
icing sugar is simply powdered sugar (looks like a very white dense powder), happy birthday!
Hi I’m going to try to do the buttercream frosting but I dint have superfine sugar can I still make it with granulated sugar?
using granulated sugar (the normal sugar in put in tea for example) will not work properly, they will cream, but you will feel it crunch in your mouth eating it, you can simply put the granulated sugar in the blender or use a coffee grinder, hope i helped!
Me encantaria hacer tus recetas pero no se ingles y no le entiendo muy bien a las instrucciones ya que viene explicado en los dos idiomas me gustaria k realizaras tambien las instrucciones en español sin que tengan ingles gracias: )
Hey Ann,
I have tried making different recipes of buttercream frosting and in the end product I can always feel the powderiness of the icing sugar, the texture is great and it pipes easily too, but the feel of sugar is annoying and it makes the frosting too sweet, usually ive found that a 1:2 ratio of butter to icing sugar is prefectly sweet for me but then it does not pipe as well for decorations… is there a time limit for beating in your recipe so that there is no residual sugar ?
Hey ann
My brothers b day is coming up and he likes call of duty can you please help me out.
Hi
I liked this recipe, its very simple n taste good.
My Very Vanilla Buttercream Recipe
300ml cream
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups or 330g (11.64 ounces) icing sugar
Yesterday I have put stall in my society, I have made cupcakes, pop cakes ………, I have used this recipe, its gr8, but it became dry.
How long can I keep this frosting outside. Can I use this forsting on cupcakes and take it out for 2days. How long will it stay without refrigerator.
300ml cream u told, so I used 300ml whipping cream.
Here is the picture plz find which I have done yesterday.
Please reply me as soon as possible.
Thankyou
Hi, thank you for the recipes. I wonder what exactly the “cream” you mean in your recipe? Can I use cream cheese instead?
hi My brothers birthday is near by is going to be 18 so i need ur help to make a nice cake that will be nice
Hi, I tried making the basic butter cream with the exact amounts given here. While making the icing, initially it was having good texture but as and when I was putting more icing sugar, it became lumpy at first and then I added some milk, but so it became too runny. It was already too sweet so I did not add more icing Sugar. I really want to know if we necessarily have to incorporate all the sugar as in the recipe or we can reduce the amounts when we see a nice texture and a good taste. I did beat the butter initially for 5 mins , so it was nice and pale but later it just got spoiled.
Thanks,
Kanika
Hi Ann,
I was searching how to make a princess cake (fondant or buttercream, not sure which one i’ll try to make for my daughter)
just made my first cake with buttercream (make with fresh strawberry’s) just to try, tonight we’ll see how the taste will be and if everyone likes it.
one question, could i make the princess cake a view days before i need it and than put in in the refrigerator?
Thank you for sharing your recipes, HowToCookThat will be in my fav. list from now on.
kind regreds from the Netherlands
Rob
Hello,
I tried to make the butterfrosting, but it still have
The suger dots. Please help me to make it smooth.
Thank you in
advance 🙂
Hi There
Please can you tell me which cream did you use in the icing? There’s a lot variety of cream in market.I am planning to make it for an birthday party, so after icing do i need to keep the cake in fridge.
Please can you tell me the exact measurement of icing to make this doll cake.
I am inspired by your cake it is amazing….
Many thanks…
I tried making the chocolate buttercream , and it was great ! Thanks Ann !
thats great ella 😀
Thank you for your superb frosting recipes. PLease can you tells which nozzles you have used to make the basic butter cream ( white rose) & the coconut butter cream ( yellow rose)
Thank you again
Hi Nefer the white one was piped quickly without a tip by cutting a ziplock bag a specific way… see instruction here https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/how-to-pipe-butter-cream-flowers-using-only-a-ziplock-bag/
My daughter is allergic to the casen in dairy. What can I use in place of the butter and milk. Would Almond Breeze and coconut butter or Earth Balance work or do you have a brand that would be better?
Instead of dairy products, use soy or coconut milk. Instead of butter, substitute the same measurement of butter with 50% Earth Balance (dairy veg oil spread) and 50% Crisco veg oil baking sticks or just use all Crisco baking sticks. Again, the measurements remain the same.
http://www.crisco.com/products/baking-sticks-all-vegetable-shortening-17-803 – can buy on Amazon and many grocery stores
Can you PLEEAASSEE make strawberry cupcakes? PPLLEEAASSEE
hey , can i use margarine instead of butter ?
Yes you can
Can i use for macarons too?
miss ur recipes & decorations r simply awesome & superb! i wish u to do more in future!!..