Vanilla Buttercream

Vanilla Buttercream – smooth, creamy, and perfectly balanced with butter and shortening, this delicious, crusting buttercream is ideal for frosting and piping.

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They say it's your birthday. Well, it's my birthday too, yeah!

Today is my birthday. I am officially 35. I am not expecting much to change except that I am now in a different age division for running races, 35-39. Woohoo! I am the youngest again. 😉

I wanted to bake a super special birthday treat to share with you on my birthday, like these Birthday Cake Oreo Truffles I shared earlier this month, but for a plethora of reasons, that didn't work out. I probably should have waited with the Oreo truffles, but I was just too excited to share that recipe.

Today, I will be sharing with you a wonderfully delicious and all-around perfect frosting recipe, Vanilla Buttercream. I stumbled upon this fab recipe from the VERY talented Rose of Rose Bakes. Seriously, have you seen this cake or that one? FABULOUS! Suffice to say, not only are her cakes beautiful, but this buttercream frosting is going to be your go-to Vanilla Buttercream!

If you love my American Buttercream, you will LOVE this Vanilla Buttercream! I still adore my American Buttercream recipe, but I love that this Vanilla Buttercream is equal parts butter and shortening.

This Vanilla Buttercream makes a whopping amount of buttercream, enough to fill and frost a two-tier cake. It’s A LOT of buttercream! You’ll want your KitchenAid Stand Mixer for this one. I ♥ mine!

The benefit of making such a large quantity of Vanilla Buttercream is that the beater will be fully immersed in your buttercream, which allows less air to get incorporated into it. This will make your buttercream frosting creamier and easier to smooth.

You can easily cut this recipe in half if you need less; the buttercream will still be creamy but will have more air in it. In my experience with halving the recipe, I usually get some air bubbles when trying to frost smooth. If you are using it for cupcakes or to eat with a spoon, no worries!

This monstrous batch of Vanilla Buttercream is also great for multiple projects. It will store for at least 2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. I’ve stored mine in the fridge for upwards of a month with no problems. Just pull it out, let it thaw to room temperature, and re-whip. If necessary, add milk to achieve the desired consistency.

Honestly, I have nothing but wonderful things to say about this Vanilla Buttercream. It’s DELICIOUS! It’s a crusting buttercream, which is wonderful for frosting cakes. It’s also perfect for piping cakes, cookies, or cupcakes. It is a versatile buttercream with a great flavor and texture.

You really can’t go wrong with this Vanilla Buttercream! What will you be frosting?

Vanilla Buttercream

Smooth, creamy, and perfectly balanced with butter and shortening, this delicious, crusting buttercream is ideal for frosting and piping.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups vegetable shortening
• 4 lbs powdered sugar ¹
• 1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract ²
• 1 tablespoon butter vanilla ³
• 6-8 tablespoons milk

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream butter and shortening until creamy and smooth. Add vanilla and butter extracts; mix until combined.
• Turn mixer on lowest speed and slowly add 1 lb of powdered sugar; mix until creamy. Scrape down bowl as necessary. Adding the powdered sugar gets dusty - place a damp towel over the top of the mixer to shield flying powdered sugar dust.
• Continue to slowly add remaining powdered sugar; blend until completely combined.
• Once all powdered sugar has been mixed in, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time and mix. Continue to add and mix until desired consistency is achieved. Eat & Enjoy!

Notes

Store Vanilla Buttercream in an airtight container in the fridge; will keep 2+ weeks.
When you are ready to use, thaw to room temperature and re-whip; adding milk as needed.

¹ For a creamy buttercream use pure cane sugar powdered sugar. If it doesn't say "pure cane sugar" it is beet sugar, which can leave buttercream gritty.

² Pure non-clear vanilla extract can be used instead of clear vanilla extract, however this will effect the color of the buttercream. It will make it less white.

³ Butter vanilla adds more butter flavor to the buttercream; it is subtle and worth adding but is not necessary.

Recipe from Rose Bakes.

DID YOU BAKE THIS RECIPE? I'D LOVE TO SEE IT!Mention @sarahsbakestudio or tag #sarahsbakestudio!