Perfect Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is an easy-to-make, delicious, 10-minute frosting recipe that is perfect for frosting cupcakes. It’s the perfect blend of buttercream frosting and cream cheese frosting.
If you are looking for a frosting recipe is is lighter and fluffier than most, this perfect vanilla buttercream frosting is the one to make. The light and fluffy texture looks so pretty on top of cupcakes. It’s the kind of frosting you can pipe on top using an open tip, and it looks like a beautiful, soft pillow. It looks especially lovely on top of my red velvet cupcakes.
If you’re frosting a cake, I recommend using my Wedding Buttercream instead. That one has a thicker, more firm texture that is good for frosting cakes, and it’s perfect for piping too.
How to make Perfect Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
Use an electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer) to combine butter and cream cheese, and beat until creamy. Slowly mix in a whole pound of powdered sugar. Then add in milk and vanilla. This recipe will frost 24 cupcakes at 2 tablespoons of frosting per cupcake. If you’re more generous with your frosting, you may not be able to frost 24 with a single recipe.
If you want the “cloud” look to your cupcakes with a fluffy texture, then beat the frosting longer to whip some air into it. The frosting should become light and fluffy. This is especially nice for things like rainbow cupcakes where you want the cloud look on top.
How to pipe frosting onto cupcakes:
Use a pastry bag with an open tip. If I don’t have a coupler on hand to hold the tip in place, I’ve been known to use scotch tape to tape it to the bag to hold it in place while piping!
Cut the tip of the pastry bag and slide the tip in. Add the coupler (or use the scotch tape trick!) Spoon the frosting into the bag. Twist the bag to move the frosting to the tip. Twist and push as you push the frosting out of the tip and onto the cupcake. Using an open tip is easy because you will just push the frosting out to create a puffy layer on top of the cupcake.
Do frosted cupcakes need to be refrigerated?
Because this perfect vanilla buttercream frosting has cream cheese in it, you should refrigerate frosted cupcakes. Store them in a covered container or a bakery box.
Perfect Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
- 3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 16 ounces powdered sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended. Increase the speed to medium, and slowly add in the milk and vanilla, beating until smooth. Beat in drops of color if you wish to tint the frosting.
Notes
- This recipe will frost 24 cupcakes at 2 tablespoons of frosting per cupcake. If you're more generous with your frosting, you may not be able to frost 24 with a single recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi – Do you need to refrigerate cupcakes with this frosting or are they okay at room temperature? Thanks!
Since there is cream cheese in the recipe, they should be kept refrigerated in a covered container until ready to serve.
Hi, I found this recipe via another food blog, and used it this weekend on some cupcakes. I LOVE this frosting! It’s a perfect combination of buttercream and cream cheese frosting. I will surely be making this over and over! Thanks! 🙂
Halved this recipe and made it for 12 cupcakes yesterday. Beat it extra long and it became white and fluffy. Yum! Perfect “cloud” topping for rainbow cupcakes. 🙂