Happy mistakes. Today I made a happy, happy mistake. Whipped Vanilla Buttercream was the result! If you like this recipe you will also like my traditional American Buttercream Frosting.

Pink Velvet Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Buttercream!
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Vanilla Buttercream

I walked away from my stand mixer while making buttercream. I walked over to my computer to check an ingredient and got sucked into a facebook rabbit hole of opinions and drama and insanity. Please tell me I am not the only one who does this?!

And seven minutes later I realized my mixer was furiously whipping butter and sugar into an awesomely light and sweet frosting.

I mean, I know I did not invent this technique. (Heck, I have done it before with whipped chocolate buttercream!) Everyone and their grandma (literally, my great-grandma did this, only by HAND) has done it. But I do not have a whipped vanilla buttercream recipe on my blog so HERE YOU GO.

Pink Velvet Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Buttercream!

Back to this awesome little treat!

I will be sharing the recipe for that beautiful pink velvet cupcake tomorrow… as I loved it SO much that I immediately made it into a layer cake. Because that is what I do. #iamcakemaker

Today is all about that whipped frosting amazingness.

Whipped Vanilla Buttercream!

How to Make Whipped Vanilla Buttercream

Having your butter and milk at room temperature helps greatly.

Substituting whipping cream for milk is a great idea, but not necessary if you get the butter whipped up nicely. (I do not recommend skim milk in this recipe.)

I have seen this recipe as a “quick one-bowl” recipe. To do this simply add all ingredients into the stand mixer then combine on low for one minute. After ingredients are incorporated, turn mixer to high and leave it for 5 minutes. This yields very similar results!

You can definitely leave out the almond extract if that is not your preference, but PLEASE try it once before deciding. If you have a nut allergy simply use Imitation Almond Extract. (You do not need to add more vanilla to compensate.) But do experiment with other extract flavors! Like coffee or root beer or lemon or orange!

And yes, yes you can decrease the sugar content if you want. I have seen it as low as 2 cups. Start with two and then taste test along the way to determine your ideal flavor and texture.

Pink Velvet Cupcakes are made from this Pink Velvet Cake Recipe!

Smooth & Sleek~ this buttercream holds it shape and creates stunning designs!

Here is a PRO-TIP from a high-end Bakery owner:

If you want your buttercream even smoother, put it into the food processor! Right after you have followed the recipe directions above (using a stand-mixer) put the frosting into the food processor and process on low speed for about 5 minutes. It creates a SILK-like texture that is perfection!

Not only is this whipped buttercream one of the best tasting I have ever had, but it is PERFECT for piping!!

I tinted this frosting turquoise for a fun piping experiment:

Fun with piping!

Here is an amazing PRO-TIP on how to get WHITE frosting:

Use pale butter. Quite frankly, this often equates to the most inexpensive butter, which works for me. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Use clear imitation vanilla extract.

And here is the tip that just might rock your world...

try adding the TINIEST amount of purple food color. A VERY small amount.

Here is the video where Cakes by Raewyn describes how to do this!! Trust me, it’s LIFE CHANGING!!! When you do this you don’t have to worry about the color of your butter or extract.

Pink Velvet Cupcakes with Whipped Vanilla Buttercream!
4.88 from 24 votes

Vanilla Buttercream

Prep Time 13 minutes
Total Time 13 minutes
The BEST Whipped Vanilla Buttercream frosting!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks or 226g) butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons McCormickยฎ Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1 teaspoon McCormickยฎ Pure Almond Extract
  • 32 oz confectioners sugar, sifted*
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk, you can use up to 1/2 cup if you need a loose, creamy consistency
  • pinch salt
  • *You can use as little as 16 ounces if you want to decrease sugar

Instructions

  • Beat butter in bowl of stand mixer with whisk attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. (about 3 minutes)
  • Add vanilla and almond extract.
  • With the mixer on low, slowly add in confectioners sugar , milk, and salt; frequently scrape sides and bottom of the bowl.
  • Once incorporated, whip frosting for at least 3 minutes on medium high to high. (My mixer went for 7 minutes)
  • If frosting is too thick to spread, gradually beat in additional milk.
  • Store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

Video

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Meet Amanda Rettke

Amanda Rettke is the creator of I Am Baker, and the bestselling author of Surprise Inside Cakes: Amazing Cakes for Every Occasion โ€“ With a Little Something Extra Inside.Over the course of her 15+ year blogging adventure, she has been featured in and collaborated with the Food Network, New York Times, LA Times, Country Living Magazine, People Magazine, Epicurious, Brides, Romantic Homes, life:beautiful, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Mail, Star Tribune, The Globe and Mail, DailyCandy, YumSugar, The Knot, The Kitchn, and Parade, to name a few.

Reader Comments

  1. Fantastic recipe, I agree about the almond extract! For anyone trying to find the purple dye, the brand used is called Sugarflair, they also make an icing whitener.

  2. My buttercream got runny. I followed directions was careful with liquid and it was still runny I added more 10x sugar it got sweeter and stayed runny so I tossed it. Any idea what happened

  3. Hi, Iโ€™ve uses your recipe in the past and it came out fine, but I didnโ€™t use as much sugar. This time I used the entire 32 oz. I left my stand mixer going for about 7 minutes, and oddly enough the consistency is like play doh??? Any idea what happened ? I used heavy cream instead of milk because we only have reduced fat milk. Would that make a difference?

  4. when you talk about putting the icing in the refrigerator up to two weeks do you mean in the freezer or just the refrigerator part

  5. How do you make the Chocolate and the Strawberry butter cream frosting? I made the orange creamsicle pie and it was amazing thank you so much for sharing you recipes with us on Facebook.

  6. I absolutely LOVE your buttercream icing recipe! it tastes wonderful. I have several cupcakes and a cake to decorate. So I made the icing up ahead of time and put in the refrigerator. My question is, is it ok to leave the icing out of refrigerator the night before I use it since it is so hard cold?

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