Easy buttercream is one of the most useful frosting recipes every cake decorator should know. This frosting is smooth, creamy, stable enough for piping, and not nearly as sweet as traditional American buttercream. If you've struggled with overly sugary frosting in the past, this easy buttercream recipe gives you a much more balanced flavor while still being incredibly simple to make.
Quick Glance: Easy Buttercream
- Recipe Name: Easy Buttercream
- Why You'll Love It: Smooth, creamy, not too sweet, and easy to make with no heating required
- Time and Difficulty: 10 minutes • Beginner
- Main Ingredients: Pasteurized egg whites, powdered sugar, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, salt
- Method: Whip pasteurized egg whites with powdered sugar, then add softened butter and whip until light and fluffy
- Texture and Flavor: Silky, creamy, stable buttercream with a light texture similar to Swiss meringue buttercream, but easier!
- Quick Tip: If your buttercream looks curdled after adding the butter, keep mixing. It will come together.
Jump to:
- Quick Glance: Easy Buttercream
- Why This is My Go-To Recipe
- Easy Buttercream Ingredients
- How to Make Easy Buttercream Step-By-Step
- Frosting Calculator
- Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
- Cups of Batter Needed
- Cups of Frosting Needed
- Common Problems & How To Fix Them
- How Stable is Easy Buttercream Frosting?
- Final Thoughts
- Easy Buttercream FAQs
- Watch: How To Decorate A Cake Step-by-Step
- Recipe
Why This is My Go-To Recipe
The secret to this easy buttercream is using pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar as the base, then whipping in butter to create a silky frosting that has a texture very similar to Swiss meringue buttercream but without heating the egg whites. It pipes beautifully, spreads easily, and works perfectly for cakes, vanilla cupcakes, and even under fondant covered cakes.
This frosting is my go-to for my easy chocolate cake recipe - simple, reliable, and always a crowd-pleaser.
When I first started decorating cakes professionally, I used the traditional super-sweet American buttercream that most beginner decorators learn first. It was easy to make, but I always felt like it tasted way too sugary and heavy on my cakes. Plus, it was really hard to get smooth!
I came across this buttercream recipe from Lauren Kitchens, and it revolutionized how I make buttercream. I realized there was a way to get the smooth, silky texture of Swiss meringue buttercream without having to cook egg whites or deal with a complicated meringue process. Start with pasteurized egg whites, which are already (pre-cooked), add in the sugar, butter, salt, and vanilla, and boom! Done!
I tweaked the original recipe because I thought it was too buttery, but that's where this easy buttercream recipe came from. It's become my go-to frosting for cakes because it's simple, pipes buttercream flowers, cupcake flower bouquets, rosettes, and vintage piping beautifully.
Easy Buttercream Ingredients
This easy buttercream frosting uses just a few ingredients, but each one plays an important role in creating the smooth, creamy texture. Always make sure your cold ingredients, like the egg whites and butter, are at room temperature.
Pasteurized Egg Whites create the base for this easy buttercream. When whipped together with powdered sugar, they form a light and stable mixture that helps give the buttercream its silky texture. You can find pasteurized egg whites in the refrigerated section with the eggs.
Powdered Sugar is used in this recipe for sweetness and structure. Make sure you are using powdered sugar from cane sugar, not from beets. Beet sugar can sometimes end up tasting gritty.
Unsalted Butter is needed for this recipe. If you only have salted butter, you can still use that, but I would use half butter and half vegetable shortening so your buttercream doesn't end up being too salty. You can also replace the butter with any type of vegan butter that you like.
Vanilla Extract adds classic buttercream flavor and rounds out the sweetness of the powdered sugar. You can pretty much use any kind of extract flavor you like instead of vanilla. Just keep in mind some extracts like almond or peppermint are stronger than vanilla, so decrease or increase amounts as needed. My favorite vanilla is Nielsen Massey.
Salt balances the sweetness and enhances the overall flavor without making the frosting taste salty.
How to Make Easy Buttercream Step-By-Step
- Combine pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip the mixture on medium speed until it becomes thick and glossy.
This creates the base for the easy buttercream.
- Begin adding softened butter one piece at a time while mixing on medium speed.
At first, the mixture may look curdled or separated. This is completely normal.
- Mix in the vanilla extract and salt. Then whip on high until light, fluffy, and no longer tastes like butter.
- Optional: Switch to the paddle attachment. Mix the easy buttercream on low for several minutes to remove air bubbles and achieve the smoothest possible texture.
Frosting Calculator
This recipe makes about 6 cups of frosting, which is enough to fill, frost, and pipe a 3-layer 8-inch cake with a little extra for decorating. If you're working with a different pan size or need more (or less), use the calculator below to figure out how much frosting you need, then adjust the servings slider on the recipe card to scale the recipe up or down.
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
Select an option below to calculate how much batter or frosting you need. Adjust the servings slider on the recipe card to change the amounts the recipe makes.
Choose a pan type
Choose a cake pan size
(based on 2" tall cake pan)
Choose a cake pan size
(based on 2" tall cake pan)
Cupcake Tin Size
Choose number of pans
Cups of Batter Needed
8 cups
Cups of Frosting Needed
5 cups
Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
BONUS TIP:
If your buttercream looks curdled and is sticking to the sides of the bowl after adding the butter and whipping, don't panic. Remove 1 cup of the frosting and heat it in the microwave until just melted but not hot. Mix it back into the frosting. The extra warmth helps the buttercream become smooth.
Common Problems & How To Fix Them
Buttercream looks curdled: This usually happens right after adding the butter. Keep mixing, and the frosting will smooth out. If it's taking a long time, the butter or the egg whites could have been too cold. Remove 1 cup of the buttercream, melt it, and mix it back in.
Buttercream is too soft: Chill the buttercream for 10-15 minutes in the fridge. Mix before using to make it smooth.
Buttercream is too stiff: Remove 1 cup of the buttercream, melt it, and mix it back in, or you can use a heat gun or blow torch on the metal mixing bowl while mixing on low to warm the buttercream up slightly.
How Stable is Easy Buttercream Frosting?
Easy buttercream frosting will not crust, but is stable enough to pipe buttercream decorations and will last at room temperature for 2 days.
It is ok at temperatures up to 85ºF but will melt in direct sunlight in about 20 minutes, so keep it in the shade! You can replace half the butter with shortening to make it more stable in high temperatures.
Easy buttercream is not as stable as American or Italian buttercream, but it is more stable than cream cheese frosting or whipped cream.
You can also make a white chocolate buttercream frosting by adding melted white chocolate to the buttercream frosting. This makes a SUPER stable buttercream frosting that is a combination of buttercream and white chocolate ganache.
Final Thoughts
Easy buttercream is one of the best frosting recipes to learn if you decorate cakes regularly. It has a silky texture similar to Swiss meringue buttercream but skips the complicated steps, making it perfect for beginner cake decorators.
Once you master this easy buttercream recipe, you'll have a reliable frosting that works for cakes, cupcakes, and piping decorations. Pairs perfectly with my easy drip cake recipe
Easy Buttercream FAQs
Easy buttercream is a frosting made from pasteurized egg whites, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt that creates a smooth buttercream similar to Swiss meringue buttercream but without cooking the egg whites.
Yes. Easy buttercream tastes less sweet than traditional American buttercream because the egg whites and butter balance the powdered sugar.
Yes. Easy buttercream is excellent for piping decorations like rosettes, borders, and flowers.
Yes! Pasteurized egg whites are heat-treated (like milk), so they are safe to eat. They usually come in a box carton in the egg aisle. If you don't have pasteurized egg whites, then you can use my SMBC recipe instead. Note: undercooked egg whites are not recommended for pregnant women, just to be on the safe side.
This recipe is not very sweet, especially if you're used to American buttercream. You can add more powdered sugar if you want it to be sweeter, but you cannot reduce the sugar, or the buttercream will be too soft.
The buttercream splits because it's too cold. Take out 1 cup of the buttercream and melt it in the microwave until it's just melted, and then whip it back in. That little bit of warm butter helps it all come together again.
Buttercream is soft or firm depending on how warm it is. If it's too soft, it could be that your butter was too soft when you added it in, or the mixer warmed it up. Put the buttercream in the fridge for 20 minutes, then whip it again, and it should firm back up.
Yes. Easy buttercream is stable enough to use under fondant when properly chilled.
Watch: How To Decorate A Cake Step-by-Step
Before you start decorating, watch the video below where I show you every step of decorating a cake from start to finish. Seeing the process in action makes it much easier to follow along
- Liz Marek.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 oz pasteurized egg whites room temperature
- 24 oz powdered sugar sifted if not from a bag
- 24 oz unsalted butter room temperature. You can use salted butter but it will affect the taste and you need to leave out additional salt
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 TINY drop purple food coloring (optional) for whiter frosting
Instructions
- Place egg whites and powdered sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Attach the whisk and combine ingredients on low and then whip on high for 1 minute to dissolve the powdered sugar
- Add in your salt and vanilla extract
- Add in your butter in chunks and whip with the whisk attachment to combine. It will look curdled at first. This is normal. It will also look pretty yellow. Keep whipping.
- If your buttercream looks curdled, remove about ⅓ cup of buttercream and melt it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds until JUST barely melted. Pour it back into the whipping buttercream to bring it all together.
- (Optional) Add your drop of purple food coloring. Whip on high with the whisk attachment for 8-10 minutes until it's very white, light and shiny. Taste the buttercream, if it tastes like sweet ice cream then it's ready!
- Switch to a paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes to make the buttercream very smooth and remove air bubbles. This isn't required but if you want really creamy frosting, you don't want to skip it.
Cheryl says
How many batches would I need for a two tier cake (6&8 inch) and a dozen cupcakes.
The Sugar Geek Show says
I don't know exactly. I would start with three batches and see where you're at 🙂
Lynda says
Thank you for this recipe! Will this buttercream crust over? I ask because I would like to use it to make cookies that need to be packaged.
The Sugar Geek Show says
no this doesnt crust over, check out the american buttercream recipe for a crusting recipe https://sugargeekshow.com/american-buttercream-recipe/
Salina says
Hi Liz, thank you for all of the free information you provide! I apologize in advance for my silly questions but if you could help me I will be forever grateful.
I am making a two tier cake - four layers of 8" cake and four layers of 6" cake
Approximately how many batches of the above recipe (16 oz butter and 16 oz sugar) do you suggest would be enough to use for filling, crumb coat and final coat?
My cake will be completed Saturday night. Should I then refrigerate my cake overnight and then leave it at room temperature from the time it is delivered at 9 am Sunday to be enjoyed around 6 pm? Or is that too long for the cake to be sitting out? I am in New Jersey so I am assuming the venue will be about 68-70 degrees. Thanks again.
The Sugar Geek Show says
I'm guessing two batches would be enough for your cakes. Yes I would leave the cake out for at least a couple of hours but longer is just fine.
Cynthia Verbitzky says
Hi Liz:
Thank you for all your help and support I love your videos.
I have a question. Can I use this recipe if I need to decorate the cake around with fondant flowers and fondant ? Or is going to melt ? Should I use American buttercream instead ?
Thank you again
The Sugar Geek Show says
Absolutely you can. I use this recipe all the time
Kristin says
Hi Liz! I'm excited to try this recipe out but I have a question. Was looking between the measurements and I'm seeing 16oz or US butter and 680g of US butter for metric. Pulled out my scale and I'm getting 24oz of butter = 680g. Which is it? 4 sticks of butter or 6? In the white chocolate easy buttercream I'm seeing it at 24oz/680g so is this just a typo or am I mistaken? Questioning myself as clearly so many people have done this recipe and I don't see it asked. Thank you!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Sorry that must be a mistake with the calculator. It should be 448 grams. I'll go through and double check for you
Kristin Bell says
No worries! Thanks for the quick reply. So 1 lb of butter and powdered sugar. I will make this on Sunday and let you know how it goes!
Denise M says
Would it be possible to add softened cream cheese to the easy buttercream recipe? If so, how many ounces for 1 batch.
The Sugar Geek Show says
I have never been able to make cream cheese frosting that way, it always curdles. But I do have two cream cheese frosting recipes
Denise M says
thank you . Thought I'd ask before wasting great tasting buttercream. 🙂
Laura Gray says
Hi Liz. I have made this buttercream several times and it has turned out perfect. The other day I made it for the first time with my heat on. It was not overly warm in my house but I attempted it two times with both being very lose. Any suggestions? Will I have to use American Buttercream in the winter due to my heat? Love this recipe!!!
The Sugar Geek Show says
As you may have guessed, the warmer the buttercream the looser it will be. This is normal 🙂
Ezinwanne says
Over here we don't have pasteurized eggs,how do we substitute?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I would use my swiss meringue buttercream recipe
Dnyee' Schierholz says
Have you successfully made this into a peanut butter version?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Just add a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter and whip but I prefer to add some ganache too mmmmm
sharon knabb says
This buttercream is the best, so smooth, creamy and easy to work with. I live in Florida and will be doing a birthday cake with fondant. Can I use this buttercream recipe with shortening for stability or should I use your American buttercream recipe instead? Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and passion for baking and creating with us.
The Sugar Geek Show says
You can replace half the butter with shortening and add two extra cups of powdered sugar for more stability
Sarah Davis says
Oh my GOD!!!! Where has this been all my life? I doubled the recipe because I make giant cakes, and it was perfect. Heavenly. I wanted to eat all the frosting. It was so tempting. I'll never use anything else again.
Sofia says
My stand mixer is not working, can I use my hand held mixer?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you sure can, it will just take a little longer to get that fluffy texture
keilani says
Hi Liz! I wanted to ask how many cups this buttercream recipe makes as it's written? In your description at the top of the page you mention it makes A LOT (12 cups) of buttercream to fill to the top of your mixer bowl but the recipe (when you scroll down) states it yields 6 cups. May I ask which one it is because I'd to make 12 cups of finished buttercream and didn't want to double the recipe as it's written and end up overflowing my mixer bowl.
Thank you!
The Sugar Geek Show says
It makes 6 cups because I had complaints of it being too much buttercream so if you want 12 cups then double the recipe 🙂
Sarah says
Can you use this recipe for making flowers?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you sure can, check out my easy buttercream flowers tutorial
Tatiana says
Hi there...
I tried your recipe and it was a fiasco. I would like to know what I did wrong. I see a lots of good reviews here but my buttercream was not smooth at all. It was too thick, hard to spread on my cake (almost ruin it) and seemed to have a lots of air because my cake looked like a sponge with bunch of holes. I used 16 oz of powder sugar (half of a standard bag), 16 oz butter (4 sticks), exactly 4 oz of egg whites and everything else listed in the recipe. I followed step by step and even used a timer to make sure I beat it the time suggested I the recipe. Not sure but too me it didn’t have a rich flavor, it tasted more like butter with a slight sweet taste. Please advise.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Sounds like it was not whipped enough
Jessica E says
I'm used to making american buttercream with my cupcakes but its not a taste I enjoy a whole bunch, especially the next day when its all...hard. I was inching to make a Swiss Meringue Butter cream but then came across your recipe and decided to try it. I used coconut emulsion instead of vanilla extract and at first I was worried because it looked grainy and curdled and definitely too sweet but as I let it mix and it became white and fluffy I had a taste and omg it was so delicious! This is going to be my go to recipe now and I'm looking forward to using it with different flavourings! Thank you so much for this recipe