BEST EVER American Buttercream Frosting
This American buttercream frosting is light, fluffy, silky smooth, and surprisingly not too sweet. Unlike traditional American buttercream that can sometimes taste gritty or heavy, this newer whipped method creates a glossy bakery-style frosting with an incredibly smooth texture.
The secret is whipping the butter until very light and airy, then adding hot heavy cream before the powdered sugar. The warmth helps soften the sugar while the long whipping time creates a mousse-like buttercream that pipes beautifully and spreads like a dream.
I used to make large batches of buttercream every week when I ran my cake business from home. Back then, I relied on meringue powder and decorator-style methods because most of my cakes needed to survive transport, heat, and hours of decorating. Over time, though, I simplified the recipe for everyday baking — and honestly, I prefer this version now. It’s easier, silkier, and tastes more like real buttercream instead of pure sugar.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Silky smooth texture with no gritty mouthfeel
- Light and fluffy despite being an American buttercream
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
- Perfect for cakes, cupcakes, layer cakes, and piping swirls
- Stable enough for decorating while still soft and creamy
- Pipes beautifully and crusts lightly
- Much less sweet tasting than traditional American buttercream
Why This Buttercream Is So Smooth
Most American buttercream recipes are made by simply beating butter with powdered sugar. While easy, that method can leave the frosting dense, overly sweet, or slightly gritty.
This whipped buttercream method works differently:
- the butter is whipped first until extremely light,
- hot cream helps soften the powdered sugar,
- and the frosting is whipped for much longer than traditional recipes.
The result is a silky smooth buttercream with a glossy finish and a texture closer to bakery frosting or Swiss meringue buttercream — but without cooking egg whites.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Unsalted butter – Use softened butter but not greasy or melted. Good-quality butter gives the best flavor.
- Powdered sugar – Sift if lumpy. Use less for a softer frosting or more for a firmer piping consistency.
- Heavy cream – Hot heavy cream is the secret to the silky texture. Whole milk works too, but cream gives a richer result.
- Vanilla extract – Use clear vanilla if you want bright white buttercream.
- Almond extract – Just a tiny dash adds bakery-style flavor without overpowering the vanilla.
- Salt – Essential for balancing the sweetness.
Step-by-step: How to make the best American Buttercream
Cream the butter
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the softened butter on medium-high speed for about 10 minutes until very pale, light, and fluffy.
Pro tip — Don’t rush this step. The butter should almost look whipped before adding anything else.
Add the hot cream
Warm the heavy cream until hot but not boiling. Slowly pour it into the butter while mixing on medium speed.
Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt.
Continue whipping for another 5 minutes until smooth and creamy.
Pro tip — The buttercream may look slightly loose at first. Keep mixing and it will become silky smooth.
Add the powdered sugar
Add the powdered sugar in two batches on low speed.
Once incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and whip for another 8 to 10 minutes until very light and fluffy.
Pro tip — Long whipping creates the smooth glossy texture and removes the heavy sugary feel common in traditional buttercream.
Consistency Guide
This buttercream is very versatile and can easily be adjusted depending on how you plan to use it.
- For frosting cakes – Use the recipe exactly as written for smooth frosting and filling layer cakes.
- For cupcakes – Perfect for piping swirls and rosettes.
- For stiffer piping – Add an extra ½ to 1 cup powdered sugar.
- For softer buttercream – Add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm cream and whip again.
- For hot climates – Replace part of the butter with vegetable shortening if needed.
Can I make chocolate buttercream?
Yes. Add cooled melted chocolate or cocoa powder after the buttercream is fully whipped.
American Buttercream Frosting
My American buttercream has a glossy sheen due to the unique method I use in making it. This simple and easy recipe makes a delicious velvety smooth texture, not grainy buttercream. This will soon become your favorite frosting recipe.
Video
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2 lb) Unsalted butter softened
- 1 kg (2 cups) Powdered sugar
- 60 ml (4 tbsp) Hot heavy cream or whole milk
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp Almond extract
- ½ tsp Salt
Method
- Cream the Butter – In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 10 minutes until pale and fluffy.1 kg Unsalted butter
- Add the Hot Cream – Heat the heavy cream until hot but not boiling. Slowly pour the hot cream into the whipped butter while mixing on medium speed. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt. Continue mixing for 5 minutes until smooth.60 ml Hot heavy cream, 2 tsp Vanilla extract, ¼ tsp Almond extract, ½ tsp Salt
- Add Powdered Sugar – Add the powdered sugar in two batches on low speed until fully incorporated. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and whip for another 8 to 10 minutes until light, fluffy, and silky smooth.1 kg Powdered sugar
- Use or Store – Use immediately or store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Use less powdered sugar for a softer, creamier frosting.
- Add more powdered sugar for stiff piping consistency.
- The buttercream will lighten in color significantly as it whips.
- If refrigerated, bring to room temperature and rewhip before using.
- Clear vanilla extract keeps the frosting bright white.
- This frosting works beautifully for cakes, cupcakes, layer cakes, and simple piping work.
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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Tips for Success
- Use room temperature butter
- Whip the butter long enough before adding sugar
- Add powdered sugar slowly to avoid lumps
- Don’t skip the final whipping time
- Use the paddle attachment instead of the whisk for smoother frosting
- Gel food coloring works best without thinning the frosting
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Buttercream feels gritty | Sugar not whipped enough | Continue whipping several more minutes |
| Frosting too soft | Butter too warm | Chill 10–15 minutes then whip again |
| Buttercream too stiff | Too much powdered sugar | Add warm cream 1 tbsp at a time |
| Buttercream looks curdled | Temperature imbalance | Keep mixing — it usually comes together |
Frequently asked questions
A buttercream frosted cake can be left at room temperature for up to 3 days unless it has a perishable filling.
And, beyond that, you can keep it in the fridge. In fact, I like to place it in the fridge for an hour until the buttercream firms up slightly, then wrap plastic around it to protect it from other food odors.
Yes. Store in the fridge for up to one week. Bring to room temperature and rewhip before using.
No. This recipe uses less powdered sugar than traditional American buttercream, which gives it a lighter texture and less sugary taste.
Yes, absolutely. And, the trick to covering a buttercream cake with fondant is to make sure you chill the cake really well, for more than a few hours. In fact, I like to keep my cakes overnight, so when it’s ready for fondant the cake is chilled completely, and I have a nice firm surface to work with.
Yes. Freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
Yes, lightly. Enough for smoother decorating but still soft and creamy when eaten.
Absolutely. Gel food coloring works best.
This is a general guide I use. Also note, I have given you the filling and frosting separately so you can choose another filling with your buttercream. If you choose to fill and frost the cake with buttercream, you can use the last column/total.
The amount is in cups – 1 kgs frosting makes about 8 cups
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It looks so delicious but i have acuestion for you can you use other sugar becouse i have diabetesis there anything outs can be use thank you for sharing all look sos beautiful!!
Hi Veena, it's been a while now that I've noticed that people from the Orient and far East have a kind of natural cake making genetic mutation that (sigh..) I (a westerner) lack. I gravitate to all of your tutorials because nothing flops and your hands do something that looks right. Thank you so very much for all of this. I am going to sit during the coming weekend and do it all. (I am now afraid of what that kitchen will look like) but I am diving in. Just a question, I guess it's okay to fold something like a thin-ish compote (strawberry???) or nutella or such through this American BC? It looks very accommodating? Thank you again.
Hi, I'm going to try your buttercream recipe but we do not get Meringue Power or Dry Egg Whites. What can I use instead ? Maybe corn starch or a teaspoon of Gelatine ?Thanks a lot.
Hello! I'm from Portugal and I love your page and your recipes 😀
The only big problem I have is that most of it have the measures (units) in pounds or lbs or cups and here we use mostly the kilo unit, so do you know any tool I can use to solve this problem??
Thank you so much for your help.
Hi Veena! Love your stuff!! I tried your american buttercream recipe and it was wonderful you're truly a genius in the kitchen 🙂 I'm trying to make an ABC with alcohol/liquor. I need enough that you can really taste the flavor but without adding too much liquid to the frosting so it won't pipe. Any ideas? Could I replace the heavy cream with liquor? Or perhaps add more meringue, or corn starch or some other thickener? Thanks so much!!!
Hi veena,
I made pineapple buttercream by replacing fresh cream wid pineapple juice and omitted meringue powder since I did not get it.overall it had a very mild pineapple taste. I shld have added pineapple essence as well? Also I made different shades of orange ombre style but d buttercream turned out salty after I added too much of powder food color to get d darkest shade.of orange color!did d food color made it salty? Which form.of color is d best to use with buttercream? And which ones to avoid completely. The lighter shades were noy salty.please help.
Thanks in advance
Mru.
I used gel colors for my buttercream Thanks
I have been using this recipe since last AUGUST as I had no skills in decorating cup cakes. By January using this recipe I decorated 84 cupcakes for my son's wedding. Everyone asked where we purchased them from! We were all so very happy with the taste and professional look. Where can I post my photo?
Hi veenaartofcakes.com,
Here u go again..a loud applause for allow hard work u do in all aspects..I tried ur ABC which us d firsssttttt time ever I tried buttercream since I hated store bought buttercream cakes..never bothered to make one at home.always made fresh cream cakes n d decorations too. But dis buttercream of urs is yummy. The consistency n taste as per d instructions is really gud for filling in d layers n coating d cake.I omitted meringue powder since it was unavailable in most of d stores I know.still everything worked great for me..I did pipe d roses but had to add more sugar since it was not holding d shape n fade details. Does.meringue powder really make a difference n how? Also my cake is out in room temp..it’s lil hot here..the roses n ruffles which I hv piped dried out..how to store d cake to avoid drying of d roses or its just gonna b like dat nehow.made mocha n choc flavor..it was great.thanks again
Mru
Thank Mru, Glad you like the buttercream. Yes Buttercream will crust over time. and if it is hot and humid it will melt too!
You must treat buttercream like you do butter! Meringue powder does help some with the humidity but it will still dry and crust.
Veena I cant thank you enough for all your recipes and tutorials . You are simply amazing! I tried your American butter cream & it was so delicious everyone commented on its taste. Does it have to be refrigerated if used in a cake covered with fondant because of the cream if not eaten on the same day? Thank you again from Ireland x
hi if i use cream will it need to be refridgerated thanks x
The sugar content in it is really so high that it works as regular fondant Thanks