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.
Martha Sims says
I tried to make this recipe but it turned out to be a disaster. I followed complete directions, but it was a soupy buttery mess. What could I've done wrong. I might try again.
Elizabeth Marek says
Sorry it didn't work out for you. Sounds like your measurements were off somewhere and not whipped long enough.
Lisa says
Thanks for the recipe. I’m excited to try it! Maybe I missed it, but when do you add the purple food colouring? And would any kind of purple shade work as I have several “purple” colours but none of them are actually named purple...
Elizabeth Marek says
You can add it at any time but I add mine at the end during the whipping stage. A tiny dot. I use violet usually
Katie C says
The only buttercream recipe I use now!! Soooo silky, just like smbc but easier! It doesn’t crust so for flowers/decoration I often use a mixture of this & abc or just abc.
Mon says
Hi... I've just made this and it's tastes delicious!! However it's rather yellow and I don't have purple food coloring. Is there any other way too make it more white?
Elizabeth Marek says
Sorry, butter is yellow so adding the purple is the only way to counteract that.
Jenn says
This recipe sounds great!!!! I only have a hand mixer currently. Do you think that will work?
Elizabeth Marek says
Yes you can use a hand-mixer
Joan M Taylor says
So, why didn't I see this recipe when I was doing 5 Wedding cakes a weekend too? Lol. 😆 FABULOUS RECIPE! I found you on a cake site, but we have a bunch in common small world!
ss says
Hi there!
If I wanted to make this an Oreo buttercream, do you have an idea as to how many Oreo's I'd have to add?
Elizabeth Marek says
Yep! Just grind up oreos super fine and then add them in. I dont know how much
Dinika Johnson says
Hi! Can you add cream cheese to this recipe to make an easy cream cheese buttercream ?
Elizabeth Marek says
I haven't tried that 🙂 let me know if you do and it turns out!
Teresa says
Oh also, should the egg whites be at room temperature or straight out of the fridge? I used at room temp. Thanks for your videos, I’ve learned so much from you
Elizabeth Marek says
I use mine straight from the fridge
Teresa says
Liz,
What are your thoughts on the use within 7 days of opening on the pasteurized egg whites, do you follow that rule? Also I made a batch of the easy chocolate buttercream and it was delicious but a little soupy and hard to work with, I feel like my kitchen aid heated it up from mixing it so long, should I cut down on how long I whip after I’ve added the butter? Thanks!
Elizabeth Marek says
I've not heard of that. I use as much as I need and refrigerate or freeze the rest. If your buttercream is too soft from heat then just pop it into the fridge for 20 minutes and it will firm it up
Anne-Patricia says
I love that your recipe renders a lot. I couldn't find any pasteurized egg whites at my supermarket, but saw several powdered versions on Amazon. Have you used the powdered version and what was the outcome?
Also, I'd like to make a 3-4 layer 9 inch cake and decorate with sprinkles at the bottom and cake toppers and flowers on top; would half of the recipe be enough? I will be using a hand mixer, and my mixing bowl is not that big.
Elizabeth Marek says
I haven't tried this recipe with powdered egg whites, let me know if it works out for you! You will definitely need a full batch for a 9" cake
Cristina says
I would like to make this recipe but its my understanding that no oil can be in the bowl or grease or the eggs will break. I have a Bosch bowl mixer with a plastic bowl. Its more for mixing dough. I don't have a Kitchen Aid. Could I still makes this frosting or do I need metal bowl?
Elizabeth Marek says
That only applies to making a meringue. This recipe does not make a meringue. Just add everything into the bowl and mix! 🙂 Easy. I also use a bosch and I use it for everything. Just use the whisk attachments.
Amy says
Trying this recipe out for the first time! Can I use pasteurized egg whites from a carton? In the past, I've tried using those to make meringue cookies and they didn't whip up well. Thanks for sharing your recipes!
Elizabeth Marek says
This isn't a meringue recipe and I actually say to use pasteurized egg whites. Fresh egg whites would not be safe to use for this frosting.
Kay says
Hye Liz, can i know what is the 'room temperature' there coz mine here is 30 Celsius Deg, so i could use the butter at the right temperature. Or else it will be too mushy at my room temperature. Secondly, if i want to add in any thick puree for natural flavour, should i add more icing sugar to balance out the consistency? I have a very humid kitchen and struggle with butter and chocs 😔
Elizabeth Marek says
Room temperature is when the butter is soft enough to impress your finger into it and leave an indent but the butter still holds it's shape
Denyel says
Hi Liz!!! First off i want to say THANK YOU for all of your amazing recipes and tutorials, your page is my absolute GO TO for all my baking recipes and tips. I have been looking for a frosting recipe that is not as sweet as A.B. and also has a more whipped consistency. Whipped cream frostings just taste like plain whipped cream to me. I am hoping that this is going to be my new favorite frosting recipe to use on cakes for my friends and family who call on me to make them the whipped cream frosting "that is like the grocery store" ughhhh.
Cant wait to try this tonight!