Easy Buttercream Frosting + Video Tutorial

Name: Easy Buttercream Frosting
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 24 oz unsalted butter; 24 oz powdered sugar (sifted if not from a bag); 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1/2 tsp salt; 6 oz pasteurized egg whites (room temperature); 1 TINY drop purple food coloring ((optional) for whiter frosting)

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Easy buttercream frosting is smooth, creamy, not too sweet, and only takes a few ingredients to make. You can pipe with this, use it under fondant, and it tastes SO much better than store-bought! It's very similar to the texture of Swiss-meringue buttercream, but no heating of the egg whites. I promise anyone can make this!

This buttercream frosting is the recipe I WISH I had when I was making 5 wedding cakes a weekend. Now it's the only buttercream frosting I use, and my clients love it. Way better than the super sweet frosting I was used to seeing on cakes.

Ingredients

Pasteurized egg whites are found in the egg section, usually on the top shelf.

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.

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.

What makes this buttercream so good?

You might be like, egg whites... in frosting? What? It wasn't until I went to pastry school in 2010 that I first heard about different types of buttercream. Many types of buttercream, like Swiss-meringue, Italian-meringue, and French buttercream, have eggs in them.

Italian meringue buttercream rosettes on a cake — Italian meringue buttercream is made with whipped egg whites and boiled sugar. It is the most stable and smooth buttercream but also the most technical to make.

swiss meringue buttercream recipe — Italian meringue buttercream is made with whipped egg whites and boiled sugar. It is the most stable and smooth buttercream but also the most technical to make.

The egg white is often whipped into a light and fluffy meringue, and then softened butter is whipped in. When you use meringue as your base for buttercream, you don't have to use as much sugar, resulting in a light, fluffy, and less sweet buttercream that tastes a lot like ice cream. YUM!

Easy buttercream is similar to Swiss Meringue Buttercream except that you do not have to heat egg whites and sugar, whip to a meringue, let cool, etc.

Thanks to pasteurized egg whites, you can skip the whipping stage. The taste and texture of easy buttercream are nearly identical to traditional SMBC. Did I mention this was easy?

What Are Pasteurized Egg Whites

Depending on your country, you may or may not have access to pasteurized egg whites. In most places, they are found in a box in the egg section. The word "pasteurized" will be on the box somewhere, usually very small.

Pasteurizing is the process of gentle heating to kill foodborne illnesses and make a product safe to drink or eat. Many things are pasteurized, such as orange juice, milk, and wine. Pasteurized egg whites are safe for anyone to eat.

If you can't find pasteurized egg whites you can pasteurize them yourself and just use the egg whites or you can use my Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe instead.

How To Make The Buttercream

Place the pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer.
Attach the whisk and combine ingredients on low, then whip on high for 1-2 minutes to dissolve the powdered sugar. You do NOT need to whip to a meringue.
While mixing on low, add in your salt and vanilla extract.
Add in your softened butter in chunks and whip with the whisk attachment on high. If you use pasteurized egg whites from the fridge, you might notice this rim of cold butter forming. This is normal and can easily be fixed.
Simply stop your mixer and remove about ⅓ cup of the buttercream.

Melt this in the microwave for about 20 seconds or until it's just barely melted. You don't want it hot!

Pour the mixture back into your whipping buttercream, and the warmth from the melted buttercream will cause it all to come together and get creamy.

This is honestly easier than taking out the egg whites ahead of time and trying to bring them to room temperature (at least for me).
Now let the buttercream whip until it's white and fluffy. This will take 8-10 minutes with a KitchenAid, but taste it to see when it's done. When it no longer tastes like butter and is sweet like ice cream, it's done!

Pro-tip – If you want your buttercream super smooth, double the recipe so that the buttercream level is above the whisk attachment. As the buttercream whips, it works out all the bubbles, so you get a super smooth buttercream with no bubbles.

FAQ

How stable is this frosting?

This frosting will not crust, but is stable enough to pipe buttercream flowers 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 into the buttercream frosting. This makes a SUPER stable buttercream frosting that is a combination of buttercream and white chocolate ganache.to

How long does this buttercream last?

Easy buttercream will last for 2 days at room temperature, 2 weeks in the fridge, or 6 months in the freezer.

If your buttercream is cold, make sure to whip it up again before using it. Bring your buttercream to room temperature and begin whipping it. Then remove ⅓ cup of the buttercream and microwave it until it's just barely melted, then pour it back in while whipping to make it smooth again.

If you're going to frost your cake tomorrow, just leave the buttercream on the countertop. You don't have to refrigerate it within 2 days because the butter and sugar act as it's own preservation.

If your buttercream frosting has been sitting at room temperature for more than a day, mix it with the paddle attachment before using it to make it smooth again.

Buttercream tends to get spongy after 24 hours and loses its creamy texture.

How to color buttercream

You can add a few drops of gel food coloring to this buttercream to color it. It holds color well and gets darker overnight. Just be sure not to add too much food coloring, or you'll be able to taste it.

If you want to make darker colors, check out my neon buttercream blog post for more information.

Are pasteurized egg whites safe to eat?

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.

Can I adjust the sugar?

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.

Why is my buttercream splitting?

The buttercream splits because it's too cold. Take out ⅓ 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.

My buttercream is too soft, what can I do?

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.

Is this buttercream good under fondant?

YES! I do all the time, just make sure to chill your cakes until the buttercream is firm to the touch before applying fondant. It goes great with my homemade marshmallow fondant too! Check out my video on how to cover a cake in fondant.

Other Recipes You Might Like

How to make buttercream flowers

Ermine frosting (similar taste to easy buttercream but no eggs)

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Easy Chocolate Buttercream

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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.

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