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.
Ana says
I tried this buttercream and it was amazing, I was wondering if I were to add 4 oz of cream cheese or shortening in place of 4 oz butter would that change the consistency or the overall outcome?
The Sugar Geek Show says
You can sub butter for shortening but I haven't tried it with cream cheese
Tracey West says
Hi Marisa, you can buy pastuerised egg whites in any supermarket in the UK. Two chicks or Happy Egg Co - the are in a carton and in our Tesco are with pre-made pastry, lard etc in the chilled section x
Sushmita says
It is considered safe to eat raw eggs in Uk because almost all eggs in supermarkets(Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ASDA, Lidl) are produced under “the British Lion Code of Practice”.
The British Lion Marked Eggs signifies a common welfare standard and shows all the hens are 100% British and have been vaccinated against Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium followed by many more food safety regulations.
This is why in the Uk even infants, children, pregnant women and elderly people can now safely eat raw or lightly cooked hen eggs. Also another reason why it is very unlikely to see labelled pasteurised in Uk eggs.
Side note: locally farmed eggs without the Red Lion labels are not guaranteed to be safe unless you really trust that farmer.
So the thumb rule in the UK is to look for the Red Lion label on the eggs if you are worried about eating safe raw eggs.
Hope this helps. x
Marisa says
Hi, I live in London and never seen pasteurized egg whites. Any suggestions? Replacements?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I would follow the instructions for swiss meringue buttercream instead 🙂
Chinyere says
Hi Liz, I want to make this butter cream since I made use of your Swiss meringue butter cream recipe last 2wks for my kids birthday. But my problem about getting the pasteurized egg white where I live. We only have access to fresh eggs so how can I get the egg whites pasteurized after seperating them. I find this recipe helpful since I live in a very hot country. Hoping to hear from you soon.
The Sugar Geek Show says
I have read that you can carefully heat eggs in water that never goes above 150ºF but I haven't tested it yet. You can google how to pasteurize egg whites for more directions.
Hilary Melear says
Hi Liz,
I’ve used this recipe a couple of times and it is hands down my new favorite!! I’m making a cake for a friend with a dairy allergy. Have you ever tried or heard of anyone trying this recipe with a vegan butter? Just curious what the results weren’t if there is a more tested non-dairy recipe out there I should use?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yep! You can use earth balance butter but I don't know of a substitute for the egg whites
Jacquelyn says
Hi Liz,
Thank you for sharing this recipe! How long will I need to mix this recipe when using a hand mixer? And can you make this recipe in a food processor or a vitamix?
Thank you in advance
The Sugar Geek Show says
Mixing times will vary depending on the mixer you use. I go by visuals and by taste. When the buttercream is light, white and doesn't taste like butter, it's done 🙂
Mary says
I am making cupcake bouquets and I LOVE this buttercream recipe. However, I need something that will crust up so I can wrap my bouquets and not have the frosting everywhere! Is there any way I can still use this recipe, or do I need to use your American Buttercream recipe? I know you can add more sugar to help aid in crusting, but will that totally change the taste?
Thanks Liz, I've learned SO much from you!!!
The Sugar Geek Show says
I would use the crusting American buttercream recipe if you need it to crust 🙂
Mary says
Liz,
I love this recipe! It's all I use! I want to start playing with flavors and was wondering the best way to make a keylime flavored buttercream? I would just add key lime juice, but I know that would change the consistency... Can I do this while removing something else or?
Thanks so much!!
The Sugar Geek Show says
You could make a thick keylime curd following the lemon curd recipe and add some into the buttercream
Stassia says
Hi Liz....
Im quarantined and have decided to try some of your recipes.For the easy buttercream do I weight the ingredients on a scale or use measuring utensils ?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I weigh everything. Makes it super easy.
Emy says
Can regular egg whites be used in place of pasteurized eggs in this recipe?
The Sugar Geek Show says
No, if you have regular egg whites then use my swiss meringue buttercream recipe
Stacy Bobian says
This is the best frosting I have found so far!! The only thing I changed was 3 sticks of butter and a scoop of Crisco. I hate salt so I didn’t add it. The texture was so smooth and silky. Luckily I was able to find a carton of egg whites today as they have been hard to find at a few stores. Now to find toilet paper ?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Stay safe out there <3
Tracie says
How do I prevent the frosting from cracking? Ive done the frosting and stuck the cake in the fridge overnight. When I take the cake out, the frosting shows crazy cracks.
The Sugar Geek Show says
What cake recipe are you using? Ive never had any issues with cracking.
Ann Austin says
Question:
The printed version shows Crisco in it and it doesn't tell when to add the salt and vanilla. I've shared it with a lot of beginning bakers so I hope they could figure it out. Do you happen to know the grams for this recipe? It would be awesome to adjust it for one 32-oz. bag of powdered sugar to not have to measure that, since the frosting freezes. Thanks!
The Sugar Geek Show says
I used to have it as a large batch but so many people complained about having too much frosting so I had to choose one or the other 🙂 Select the metric button for grams.
Nats says
Amazing! Made this for my daughters Birthday party and it was delicious, super creamy and sweet at the same time. So easy to make!! Thank you so much for sharing!!! You rock!