How to Make an Easy Butter Cream Frosting Recipe

I used to run to the store every time I needed something. I never even thought to make anything from scratch. Frosting was no different. If I was making a batch of gluten free cupcakes, I needed to make sure had a can of frosting to go with it. That is until I started making this easy buttercream frosting.

As I dove deeper into what was really in certain foods, the more I had the urge to make things from scratch. You will always find me staying clear of artificial flavors and ingredients and grabbing onto whole foods in their rawest form. 

Yes, even sweets are better for you when you are using real ingredients.

However, just like with every food, even whole foods, it is always wise to eat foods in moderation. So even though I stated that it is better for you, doesn’t mean you should over indulge. 

But one cupcake every now and again never hurt nobody!

This easy buttercream frosting recipe uses simple ingredients and is so delicious! I bet you even have everything in your kitchen. 

Making Homemade Powdered Sugar.

Did you know that making your own powdered sugar at home is so easy?

I didn’t either until one day I was making a sweet treat and ran out of powdered sugar. I don’t live close to town and being newly on this health journey I thought, “I wonder if I can make it homemade?”

One quick google search and bam! I had powdered sugar in seconds!

​Fast forward to now and I have not bought powdered sugar at the store in years. That’s how easy it is. 

All you need is sugar and cornstarch. And to be honest if you are going to use it right away you don’t even need the cornstarch. The corn starch just helps it to not clump together.

Place 2 cups of sugar in a high powered blender with 2 TBSP cornstarch. Blend together on high until you have a nice smooth powder and you are done! This would also work well in a food processor or coffee grinder (if you clean it real well. Otherwise you will have coffee tasting powdered sugar). 

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar). Use store bought or homemade
• 4 TBSP milk or heavy cream

How to Make Easy Buttercream Frosting:

1. Beat the room-temperature butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with an electric mixer by hand. Beat on medium speed until light and a fluffy consistency.
2. Slowly add in powdered sugar and beat as your adding.
3. Beat until it is fully mixed in.
4. Add in vanilla and milk or heavy cream beating for 1-2 minutes until smooth. If it’s too thick, add a splash of heavy cream or milk until you reach the right consistency that you want.
5. Divide cups of frosting into separate bowls and add in different colors of food coloring if desired. There are different brands of natural food coloring but I like to use the Watkins brand.  They are dye free and colored using nature. Sometimes I will also use different foods like beet root powder for red, dehydrated spinach or kale blended into a powder for green, and turmeric for yellow. Get creative on how you color your frosting!
6. Use the fluffy frosting to frost cooled cupcakes, cakes, or cookies.

Can you make this fluffy buttercream frosting into different flavors?

Yes you can! The best thing about this homemade frosting recipe is it is so versatile. You can add different things to it, in order to get different flavors.

The recipe above is the base recipe for a standard vanilla frosting but get creative and change it up!  One thing to remember is some variations will add some form of liquid which will change how much powdered sugar you need to add. So adjust accordingly. 

Here are some of our favorites. 

Chocolate Frosting:

To make chocolate frosting, add 1/4 cup cocoa powder to your powdered sugar when mixing. You can also add in 1 tsp of chocolate extract if you want a real powerful chocolate taste. But that is optional.

Follow all other instructions the same. If it is not chocolatey enough for you, try adding a little more cocoa powder. However, I would start with 1/4 cup to make sure you don’t add too much too quickly. 

Lemon Frosting:

Making lemon cupcakes? This frosting is so delicious with lemon!

​After the butter is fluffy, add in 2 TBSP of lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of lemon zest with the vanilla. Follow the rest of the instructions the same.

This gives a nice zing to your frosting!

Funfetti Frosting:

This one is just fun! The kids love this when I do it for a birthday or special occasion.

Simply add in 1/2 to 1 cup of rainbow sprinkles of choice at the end. Once your frosting is at the right consistency gently fold in the sprinkles. I like to use the Watkins brand of rainbow sprinkles since they are dye free.  

Strawberry Frosting:

My family loves strawberries!

​Whenever I buy a flat of strawberries they will be gone in one meal. I have to portion them out to make them last. 

​Every year in the garden I never have enough strawberries to make jam with. That’s because I have little hands out there picking and eating instead of picking and putting in my bowl!

This strawberry buttercream frosting is a favorite. It’s very simple to make too. Wash and cut the stems off of 1/2 cup strawberries. You can add more if you want a more powerful strawberry flavor. 

Place strawberries in a high powered blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth and pureed. Add the puree into the butter after it is creamed and fluffy. 

Follow the rest of the instructions the same. You will need to add more powdered sugar to get the right consistency. 

Peanut Butter Frosting:

Chocolate and peanut butter….. yes please! 

I am a sucker for all things peanut butter and this variation is to die for. Make a batch of chocolate cupcakes and frost them with this delicious peanut butter frosting. Oh man my mouth is watering!

After your butter is whipped and fluffy add in a 1/4 cup of good quality peanut butter. I like to use my homemade peanut butter or I also will buy the Costco brand of natural peanut butter since it doesn’t have any added junk in it. 

Proceed with the rest of the instructions. You will likely need to add in more powdered sugar to get the right consistency. 

Best way to store leftover frosting.

I usually try and make up enough frosting for whatever baking project I am doing at that time. But there are times where I have a good amount of frosting left over. 

If you find yourself with lots of left over frosting you can pop it in the fridge for up to a week. I only do this if I know I will be making something within the week where I need more frosting. This usually is not the case. 

So for long term storing I will freeze it! I like to freeze the frosting in a mason jar with a lid and ring. Make sure to label the jar so you don’t forget what’s in it. Especially if you did any of the variations above and it is a different flavor. I promise after a few months you will forget what you did. At least I know I do!

When I am ready to use it I take it out the night before and place it in the fridge to defrost slowly. 

Once defrosted, give it a good stir and add milk or cream if needed to make it the right consistency. I usually don’t have to add anything. Now you are ready to frost whatever your baking heart desires.

 We like to use this recipe to frost cakes, cupcakes, and even sugar cookies! I’m not sure there is a container of store-bought frosting that can compare to this easy buttercream frosting recipe.