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Vanilla buttercream

By: Emily Gussin
Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.

Published: 9 May 23
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Classic vanilla buttercream is a baking staple for covering cakes. Use it as your base and adapt to suit your needs – add a little cocoa powder for chocolate icing or almond extract in place of vanilla.

Once made, buttercream can work in a variety of cakes such as these easy cupcakes.

Easy
May 2023

Test kitchen approved

Makes 750g – enough to decorate 12 small cupcakes or a 20cm cake.
Hands-on time 10 min

Once made, buttercream can work in a variety of cakes such as these easy cupcakes.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 76kcals
Fat: 4.1g (2.6g saturated)
Carbohydrates: 9.9g (9.8g sugars)

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Ingredients

250g unsalted butter, softened
500g icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean extract

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Method

Put the softened butter in a large mixing bowl and beat using an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add half the icing sugar and beat until just combined, then add the remaining sugar along with the vanilla. Whisk or beat until smooth and paler in colour.