Need fabulous buttercream frosting ideas?
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Buttercream is so incredibly versatile. Add some Lemon Curd and you’ve got whipped Lemon Mousse filling. Throw in some cream cheese and you’ve got a fabulous all-purpose frosting. Or scoop it in to a Ziploc sandwich bag and you’re all set to decorate!
I’ve tried a ton of recipes over the years, but this one is definitely my favorite. It’s super easy, quick and foolproof and it works for any purpose – filling, frosting or decorating.
There's butter, for good flavor and shortening, for good stability in this recipe. So your buttercream holds up well for frosting, filling and piping decorations.
There's a list of great flavors to try after the basic recipe. They may seem simple but don’t let that fool you – they pack a big flavor punch.
And to make your frosting, filling and decorating really easy, check out these great cake decorating basics.
ingredients for the perfect buttercream frosting
- 2 pound bag of powdered sugar
- 1 cup milk or water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 2 sticks butter, cut into ½ inch slices
- 2 ¼ cups shortening (not butter flavor)
- using the whisk attachment on your electric mixer, mix the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and milk or water at low speed until smooth and creamy.
- add butter, one slice at a time, until incorporated
- add shortening and whip at highest speed 10-12 minutes, until almost doubled in volume
Flavoring Your Frosting
Unadorned Buttercream is perfectly fine but if you really want people to remember your cakes, add a dash of flavor to your frosting. For half a basic recipe of buttercream, add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of any of these great extracts:
- almond extract – this flavor will perk up just about any cake
- mint extract – adds a great fresh taste to vanilla frosting and it’s fabulous in chocolate frosting. Mint and lemon together are amazing!
- lemon extract – especially good when you’re using whipped lemon mousse filling
- orange extract – great choice when using orange creamsicle filling
- lime extract – use this plus coconut extract and fill the cake with coconut lime mousse, amazing!
- root beer concentrate (use up to 1 tablespoon) – this is great on chocolate cake
Let’s take this buttercream Frosting to the next level
Bananas and Cream Frosting
Make a half batch of the basic recipe, using:
- 1 package Banana instant pudding mix added with the powdered sugar
Chai Spice Buttercream
Try White Chai Tea Cake made up as cupcakes and frosted with this – it will blow your mind!
To half of the basic recipe, you add:
- ¼ cup Chai tea concentrate
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- add the spices with the powdered sugar
- replace 1/4 cup of the milk or water in the basic recipe with the chai concentrate.
Chocolate Buttercream
To half of the basic recipe, you add:
- 3 ounces of melted chocolate chips
- add after the milk or water.
Chocolate Hazelnut Buttercream
To half of the basic recipe, you add:
- ¾ cup Nutella (or similar) spread
- add the nutella after the butter and shortening.
Cinnamon Spice Buttercream
To half of the basic recipe, you add:
- 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
- add the cinnamon with the powdered sugar.
Coconut Lime Mousse
This is phenomenal with Banana Cake
Make a half batch of the basic recipe, using:
- substitute coconut milk for the milk or water in the recipe
then add:
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup Lime Curd
to make Lime Curd:
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup key lime juice (available at good supermarkets)
- zest of 3 limes
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons butter, melted
- In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth.
- Stir in lime juice, zest and butter.
- Cook for one minute intervals on high, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
- Cover the curd with cling film placed directly on the surface of the curd and refrigerate until set.
Espresso Buttercream
To half of the basic recipe, you add:
- Substitute strong espresso coffee for the milk or water.
Extra Rich Chocolate Buttercream
This is so good it should be illegal!
To half the basic recipe, you add:
- Half a recipe of Chocolate Ganache
- add the chocolate ganache with the butter.
Key Lime Pie Frosting
To half of the basic recipe, you add:
- ¾ to 1 cup Lime Curd (to taste)
to make Lime Curd:
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup key lime juice (available at good supermarkets)
- zest of 3 limes
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons butter, melted
- In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth.
- Stir in lime juice, zest and butter.
- Cook for one minute intervals on high, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
- Cover the curd with cling film placed directly on the surface of the curd and refrigerate until set.
Orange Creamsicle Frosting
To half of the basic recipe, you add:
- ¾ to 1 cup Orange curd (to taste)
to make Orange Curd:
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
- zest of 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons butter, melted
- In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth.
- Stir in orange juice, zest and butter.
- Cook for one minute intervals on high, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
- Cover the curd with cling film placed directly on the surface of the curd and refrigerate until set.
Root Beer Float Buttercream
To half of the basic recipe, you add:
- 1 tablespoon root beer concentrate
- replace the milk or water in the basic recipe with same amount of root beer (1/2 cup for half the recipe etc.)
Whipped Lemon Mousse
To half of the basic recipe, you add:
- 3/4 cup Lemon Curd
to make Lemon Curd:
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons butter, melted
- In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth.
- Stir in lemon juice, zest and butter.
- Cook for one minute intervals on high, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.
- Cover the curd with cling film placed directly on the surface of the curd and refrigerate until set.
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