This Wedding Cupcake Buttercream recipe has been featured in an extensive how-to post on The Recipe Girl blog: How to Make Wedding Cupcakes.
This Wedding Cupcake Buttercream recipe was first featured here on RecipeGirl many years ago when I baked cupcakes for my son’s kindergarten teacher’s wedding. She wanted cupcakes and had heard that I might be able to do them for her. I worked for a catering company in college, but this was a little outside my comfort zone and expertise! She loved my blog, and she begged me to help. How could I resist?
I ended up taking on the project, and it was so much fun. Her wedding wasn’t terribly big, but I was tasked with making about 125 cupcakes. My kitchen was covered in cupcakes! It was a lot of work, but it was terribly satisfying to know that I was helping out this sweet teacher.
The wedding cupcakes were a huge hit at her wedding, and everyone specifically noted how much they loved the frosting. This is the frosting recipe! It’s so delicious, and it’s now a big-time favorite for a lot of people.
If you have questions about this icing and wedding cupcakes… it may be helpful to read through the comments/questions/answers below the recipe- many of your questions may be answered there! Also visit this post: How to Make Wedding Cupcakes for all of the details on when to make the cupcakes and how to store and transport them to the wedding.
This Wedding Cupcake Buttercream is my go-to recipe for icing basic cupcakes and wedding cake. Every time I share the recipe on Facebook, I hear from other people who say it’s their go-to recipe too. It turns out perfect every time. It’s so easy to make, and it works through a piping bag well. The recipe will frost 12 cupcakes with a generous swirl. Double, triple, or quadruple the recipe to frost more cupcakes!
Note that this recipe also works wonderfully for layer cakes. It spreads on smoothly, and you can pipe on decorations too. I use it for everything. It has been my go-to frosting recipe for so many years!
A simple swirl on cupcakes creates a beautiful dessert for weddings with little candy pearls sprinkled on top.
This Wedding Cupcake Buttercream is a very popular buttercream recipe- made by thousands who sing this recipe’s praises. I have used this very recipe for all of my cupcakes for so many years now. It’s a keeper recipe!
It does work beautifully for weddings, but it’s not limited to just weddings! This buttercream is a nice one to use for all sorts of occasions. I call it Wedding Cupcake Buttercream because of my original story in using for the first time for the wedding.
There are a few questions that people tend to ask related to this recipe, so I’ll go ahead and address them here.
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
I like to use salted butter for just about everything, but I definitely use salted butter for this recipe. The salt will tend to cut down on the sweetness a bit. That’s a good thing!
How far in advance should I frost the cupcakes? And should I refrigerate them?
When I make these, I like to frost them the same day if at all possible. If you’d like to frost them the night before, that’s ok too. After adding the frosting, I like to put them in cupcake boxes and refrigerate them until they are ready to serve (overnight is fine). Once you put them out on display, they will defrost nicely and taste just as good as if you’ve made them the same day.
What should I do with leftover Wedding Cupcakes?
Keep leftover cupcakes in a covered container in your refrigerator for a few days. I’ve also frozen them in a covered container and they thaw nicely and taste pretty good that way too!
If you’re looking for more frosting recipes you might also enjoy my Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting or Cookies and Cream Frosting. My Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is another favorite for topping wedding cupcakes. Swiss Meringue Buttercream is a beauty as well.
Wedding Cupcake Buttercream
Ingredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (use clear extract, if you really want it white)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy or regular whipping cream
Instructions
- In a large bowl, with a hand or stand mixer, cream together sugar and butter on low speed. Mix until well blended. Increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
- Add vanilla and 1 tablespoon of cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more. Add more cream if needed for desired spreading/piping consistency.
- Scoop into a piping bag and pipe decoratively onto cupcakes, or spread onto cupcakes as desired.
Notes
- *This recipe doubles or triples well.
- *There is no need to sift the powdered sugar, unless you're worried that your sugar is quite lumpy.
- *Do not try to replace the butter with margarine or shortening- it won't work out well.
- *Add in color, if desired. I like to use colored gel paste instead of liquid food coloring- then you're not messing with adding additional liquid to the perfect consistency of the frosting. Gel paste is sold at craft stores and baking supply shops.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi . Do I use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe?
I like to use salted butter.
I’ve used this buttercream recipe for years with only one stick of unsalted butter and a few tablespoons of half and half I always have on hand for my coffee. I start out with 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and add more until the butter flavor is gone. I use half and half to reach the texture I want so I have no clear measurement of it. For chocolate, add a 1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder.
Thank you for your tips!
I made the white wedding cake recipe and wanted to use this icing, but I’m guessing maybe the butter I used was not the best. I used unsalted butter because that’s what I had on hand. It was room temp and did NOT cream up nicely when mixing it in with the powdered sugar. It was very dry and clumped. After I couldn’t get it to blend better I went ahead and tried adding the rest of the ingredients. I had to use a great deal more heavy cream. The icing tastes great but the texture is off. Definitely does not look like the icing here 🙁 I will have to try again maybe with salted butter. Any suggestions?
Hi Toni,
I’m not really sure what went wrong. I always use a good quality butter, always at room temperature, and always salted butter. Be sure to watch the video and follow the same process. Good luck!
Hi Lori,
I really like your buttercream frosting. My question is: I’m making a birthday cake with a edible image on it & also I’m making a 50th wedding anniversary cake (both are sheet cake size). My question is: Is your buttercream frosting stable enough for the edible image, and can I make roses with luster dust on them? I would like to make the roses ahead of time but I don’t know when to add the luster dust ( before or after I refrigerate them. Thank you for any help you can give me.
Keep up the great work you are doing.
Hi Pat, I’m not a cake decorator… so I’m afraid I cannot answer that question. My best advice to you would be to try it out and see what you think– if it works for you!
Not good, I’m sorry. My kids took one bite of a (lightly) frosted cupcake and said it tasted like butter. I tried it myself and found it way, way too sweet. Waste of ingredients.
Sorry you didn’t care for it. Buttercream does, in fact, taste like butter. It sounds like you and your kids would perhaps enjoy a cream cheese type frosting instead of a butter-based frosting.
This buttercream looks amazing! So easy to make and such a lovely result ?
What would you say about using rose water or lavender in the frosting? I’ve been wanting to experiment with those flavors.
Can this be made in a bundt pan?
The buttercream?
Will this or can this icing recipe be used like the Wilton recipe to make flower designs for the cupcakes if using the proper icing tip?
I think so… it’s a pretty good frosting for piping– but you’ll have to experiment to see if it works for you!
I’m making 200 cup cakes for a party and want to pipe on the icing in a swirl on top. How much icing do you think I need. Thanks,
Connie
That’s a lot! This recipe makes enough for 12 cupcakes swirled as you see in the photos.