Buttercream frosting

Use this simple buttercream icing recipe to decorate your birthday cakes, cupcakes and sandwich biscuits. Try buttercream frosting a little food colouring gel for a splash of colour to your butter icing.

Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and vanilla extract and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the remaining milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture. Stir in the food colouring, if using, until well combined. For the orange buttercream variation, omit the milk and vanilla from the basic recipe. Stir in the orange zest and juice until thoroughly combined.

For the chocolate variation, omit the milk from the basic recipe. Cream the butter and sugar, as above, also adding the cocoa powder. Allow the melted chocolate to cool for 10 minutes before adding to the whipped butter and sugar. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.

Please log in with your username or email to continue. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. How is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. This article was co-authored by Maha Mohamed. Maha Mohamed is a Custom Dessert Artist and the Owner of Sweet Treats SJ. Maha has over ten years of experience creating custom treats for special occasions.

How marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article has been viewed 58,671 times. Buttercream is the frosting of choice for cupcakes, birthday cakes and wedding cakes alike. That’s because the rich, sweet flavor pairs perfectly with any type of cake. Best of all, it’s very easy to make!

Basic buttercream should be in any aspiring pastry chef’s repertoire. See Step 1 to learn how to make it. Buttercream’s texture is dependent on light, fluffy butter. Start with 3 cups of confectioner’s sugar. Measure it out and dump it gradually in your mixing bowl with the fluffy butter, then beat on low until the mixture is thoroughly combined.

Turn the mixer to a higher speed and keep beating until the combination is light as a feather. If you want to make chocolate buttercream, now’s the time to add some unsweetened cocoa powder. You can flavor your buttercream with other spices if you’re not into chocolate. Consider cinnamon, cardamon, dried crushed rose or lavender – whatever suits your fancy.