Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

  • Prep 10 min
  • Total 10 min
  • Servings 12
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Steps

  • 1
    In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk.
  • 2
    Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar. Frosts 13x9-inch cake generously, or fills and frosts an 8- or 9-inch two-layer cake.

  • Allow your butter to soften at room temperature so it easily beats up smoothly with the powdered (sometimes called confectioner’s) sugar.
  • A real buttercream frosting takes little time to make, can be tinted with food coloring (use paste or gel, not liquid food color), and will hold up to one week if tightly covered and refrigerated.
  • Use a real vanilla; imitations are not recommended. If you can find a vanilla bean paste it’s well worth the investment. The role of vanilla is not only for its flavor value, it also enhances the sweetness of the sugar, so bumping up the vanilla allows you to decrease the amount of sugar in recipes.
  • It’s easy to vary the flavor of this core recipe: stir in a dash of almond extract or grated citrus zest.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving
Calories
170
Calories from Fat
45
Total Fat
5g
8%
Saturated Fat
2 1/2g
13%
Trans Fat
0g
Cholesterol
15mg
5%
Sodium
35mg
1%
Potassium
0mg
0%
Total Carbohydrate
30g
10%
Dietary Fiber
0g
0%
Sugars
29g
Protein
0g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
4%
4%
Vitamin C
0%
0%
Calcium
0%
0%
Iron
0%
0%
Exchanges:
0 Starch; 0 Fruit; 2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 1 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choice
2
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
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