Easy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

By Addie

This basic buttery frosting has unmatchable homemade taste. With a few simple variations, you can come up with different colors and flavors. —Diana Wilson, Denver, Colorado

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5-6 tablespoons 2% milk

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Yield: About 3 cups.
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Easy Almond Buttercream Frosting: Prepare as directed above, use 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon almond extract instead of the vanilla. Yield: about 3 cups.

Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting: Prepare as directed above, except use 4 cups confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup baking cocoa and 6-7 tablespoons milk. Yield: about 3 cups.

Easy Lemon Buttercream Frosting: Prepare as directed above, except use 5-6 tablespoons lemon juice instead of the milk and 1 teaspoon grated peel. Yield: about 3 cups.

Easy Orange Buttercream Frosting: Prepare as directed above, except use 5-6 tablespoons orange juice instead of the milk and add 1 teaspoon grated orange peel. Yield: about 3 cups.

Easy Peanut Butter Frosting: Prepare as directed above, except use 1/2 cup peanut butter instead of the butter and use 6-8 tablespoons milk. Yield: about 3 cups.

Easy Peppermint Buttercream Frosting: Prepare as directed above, except use 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract instead of the vanilla. Yield: about 3 cups.
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REVIEWS:

I've been searching for years for just the right recipe...and here it is! I did add about 1/2 Tablespoons more milk to get it nice and fluffy!!! Thank you for sharing this!!!

I know why it was crunchy for the first reviewer!! She put all of the sugar in at once or she didn't mix it very well when she put it in separately!! You have to add the sugar little by little!!!

Also very good when substituting sour cream for milk! Delicious!

I used half cup of peanut butter some maple syrop with the vanilla and 1 cup of icing sugar and a bit of milk ...peanut butter was just peanuts peanut butter.

As a complete novice...and I do mean NOVICE...I wasn't aware that I should have refrigerated the frosting before applying it. It was a liquidy mess, but worked out fine and tasted great after refrigeration. Are there any substitutes for confectionary sugar? Considering the amount...the calories...

Can also start with one 8 oz. brick of cream cheese then add the rest of these ingredients

This was my standby recipe until I discovered the difference Evaporated milk makes. Much richer and creamier. 1/4 cup will do it!

This is my go to frostingI love it! I use about half the amount of milk though for cupcakes...it makes it easier to work with and set when I'm piping.

I prefer it a little less sweet, so I just use 3 or 3.5 cups of powdered sugar. I also add a good pinch of salt. It's easy to make it vegan, too. Just use non-dairy margarine and soy milk instead of butter and regular milk.

I have a recipe similar to this that I have been making for about 40 years. It has the addition of a few shakes of salt. It seems to tone down the sweetness.

I use this recipe often, but instead of 2% milk, I use evaporated milk. this makes it even creamier.

Perfect! The vanilla and the orange versions are so good! I want to try all the other ones.

Love it! Great taste and easy to make! Will try the chocolate one next!

Just tried a practice run of this recipe last night because I plan on using it for my daughter's birthday cake. It was very good but HOLY COW it was so sweet it blew my mind lol Any ideas on how to tone the sweetness down just a little? I am a baking rookie and I am afraid to try any changes on my own. Any help on this would be appreciated

Can we say amazing? I'm not the type who wants a strong frosting/icing and this is going in the book. It's smooth and the perfect complement to a chocolate cake.

GREAT recipe! I used the food coloring gel instead of the liquid so there was no watering down. My Christmas cookies are delish!

This frosting is soooo good! I wanted to find a frosting for a tonka truck cake that I was making and I tell ya, this was the one! Thank you for sharing your recipe we really enjoyed it :)

This is a really simple recipe with a nice flavor. It is the easiest buttercream frosting I've found and one of the best tasting. Easy to decorate with.

This is a very simple, straightforward recipe for frosting. Please dont give poor rates when you dont bother to read the recipe. It states clearly Confectioners sugar, so why would anyone use regular sugar? Who knows... MAke it right then rate!

I needed to make a quick birthday cake so had to use a cake mix, but wanted a frosting that was home made. This Butter Cream Frosting was just what the cake needed. So easy and I like the different varriations of it. My daughter asked me for the recipe.

Did you use confectioner's (powdered) sugar or regular sugar? 'crunchy' happens to me all the time with regular sugar...

Thank you for a delicious basic frosting recipe. I felt that the amounts shown would make too much frosting, so I used 1/2 c I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cups Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa, and 2T milk. It turned out great and was more than enough to frost 36 cupcakes!

If you want a richer, more confectionary flavor use evaporated milk in place of regular milk.

I love this frosting. Use it for the base on my decorated cakes but use a different frosting for decorating. The two frostings really complement each other.

@Destrena - you said "crunchy" - maybe you used granulated sugar instead of Powdered sugar?

This is the frosting my mother taught me to make! I'm thinking if you want to decorate, you make it thicker--esp. if you add food coloring; use less milk or more p. sugar.

@Destrena--you didn't melt the butter, did you? It's just softened at room temp. And always add milk slowly, no matter what amount a recipe gives--you want to add a little, mix, check texture until you get the consistency you want. And you used powdered sugar, right?

I've been using this recipe for years and it has never let me down. It's delicious!

Buttercream frosting is my go to frosting. It's so easy and we love the taste! I never use that much milk though because I like it to be a thicker consistency (better for decorating). I usually end up using closer to 2 tablespoons of milk, than what this recipe calls for.

Made the chocolate variation with a white layer cake. Very good flavor...not sure it be decorator-type frosting, though.

This recipe saved my hide! I was going to make a cake and forgot to buy frosting, I quickly looked up this recipe and found all the ingredients at home! Soooo easy and tasty!