This is my go-to basic vanilla American Buttercream recipe. There are several types of buttercream, American being one of the easiest and most forgiving. It's also one of themost versatile and is my favourite for decorative piping onto cupcakes. The accompanying video covers everything you could need to know whilst making it!
Useful Video Timestamps:
Ingredients breakdown
Butter. Salted or unsalted?: 00:11
The finger test: 00:46
Icing sugar: 00:57
Milk. What type, why, alternatives: 01:08
Vanilla. Paste vs Extract vs Essence: 01:39
Making the buttercream
The most common mistake: 02:21
Tips to prevent icing sugar mess: 03:16
Consistency: 03:57
The most important tip: 04:31
How to store: 05:28
Printable Recipe PDF
Time to prepare: 15 minutes
Makes: Enough buttercream to generously pipe 12 cupcakes
Check out this guide on how to fill a piping bag
This guide on how to pipe a basic buttercream swirl
* always eat buttercream at room temperature when it's buttery and soft, not straight from the fridge when it's cold and firm. If you're storing cupcakes or a buttercream cake in the fridge, remove it before serving about 30 minutes before.