Easy American Buttercream Recipe

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American buttercream takes only 5-10 minutes to make. This is my tried and true recipe and get great compliments whenever I use it to frost cakes and cupcakes!

This post has all of your ABC (American buttercream) questions answered and my tried and true recipe.

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5 Ingredients

• unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• pure vanilla extract
• powdered sugar (also called icing sugar or confectioners sugar)
• fine sea salt
• heavy whipping cream (or whole milk)

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How To Make American Buttercream

• Equip the paddle attachment to your stand mixer. Or use a hand mixer.
• Add the softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high speed for one minute.

• Turn the mixer off and add 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix on low for 30 seconds. Continue to add powdered sugar one cup at a time to avoid sugar clouds. After all the powdered sugar is all added, scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
• Add the salt, vanilla, and whipping cream and mix everything on medium speed for two minutes.

• Then, change the speed to low and mix for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, if the buttercream is too stiff, add 1 tbsp of additional whipping cream and mix on low. Continue to add whipping cream until it looks smooth and silky but not wet.
• *Optional* Mix the frosting on low for an additional 5 minutes. This helps eliminate air bubbles, lightens the color, and makes the frosting creamier, silky, and easier to pipe.

All Your Buttercream Questions Answered

What Is American Buttercream?

ABC or American buttercream, is the sweetest frosting out of all the other frosting styles.

This is because powdered sugar is one of the main ingredients. I know many people find this too sweet, but this buttercream does have its benefits. Although there is a lot of powdered sugar added, the benefit is that this allows for the buttercream to crust and become stable.

To make things even easier, American buttercream does not need to go through a heating process like meringue based frostings.

Why Does My Buttercream Look Yellow?

A yellowish hue depends on the butter you use. Some butter brands are more yellow than others due to the cows diet.

Cows that are grass-fed usually have higher beta-carotene levels, which produces a butter that is more yellow. Cows that are being fed hay/grains will have lower beta-carotene levels, and produce butter that is less yellow in hue.

Always check you butter to see what additives are in it!

The brand of butter I use is Kirkland Signature Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter, 4-count from Costco. This comes in 16 oz. and is usually a better deal than buying the single 4 oz. packages.

If you don’t have a Costco membership, I recommend Whole Foods unsalted butter.

How Do I Make My Buttercream White?

There’s 3 ways to whiten buttercream.

Whip: after you add all your ingredients and the buttercream comes together, whip it some more. Whipping buttercream for 5-10 minutes on low speed with a paddle attachment will help to naturally lighten its color and get a silky texture.

Purple food gel: or use the smallest drop of purple food gel coloring. Think about the color wheel – purple is opposite of yellow which will cancel each other out. Don’t add too much or it could turn grayish purple.

White food gel: use white food gel coloring to lift the color. The amount of food gel you need varies depending on how yellow the buttercream is.

Why Is My Buttercream Grainy?

If your American Buttercream’s texture is grainy, it could be because your powdered sugar is not dissolving properly.

I’ll be honest – I don’t always sift my powdered sugar and I don’t have any issues. Many powdered sugars are already fine enough. But if you are having clumps, try sifting it next time!

I use the Powdered Sugar – 2lbs – Good & Gather from Target. It’s affordable, usually always available, and it’s my favorite out of the brands I’ve tried.

Another reason for grainy buttercream is that your butter was too cold. Cold butter has a hard time incorporating with the other ingredients and therefore clumps the powdered sugar together.

Always use room temperature butter to make buttercream. You’ll know it’s soft when you can push your finger into to and leave an indent (pictured above).

How dO you Get Rid Of Air Bubbles?

Tiny air bubbles appear in buttercream when too much air has been incorporated during the whipping process.

Theres a fine line between whipping enough and over whipping. Air bubbles are annoying but you can get rid of them a few ways.

Fix #1: Always let your butter come to room temperature. The softer the butter, the less whipping, and less air incorporated.

FIX #2: Use a spatula to manually “push” the air out. Push the frosting against the mixing bowl. It takes time, but it works (see image above).

FIX #3: Always use the paddle attachment when mixing buttercream. The whisk attachment helps to incorporate air, which we don’t want for this recipe.

How To Get Vibrant Colors?

Gel food coloring!

My favorite gel food coloring is by Americolor. I have never had any issue with this brand.

With that being said, there are colors that are hard to achieve no matter what brand food gel you use. I have a post on how to get black frosting without too much buttercream.

Why Does American Buttercream Crust?

American buttercream “crusts over” thanks to the high sugar content. Being exposed to the air lets the process work faster. This frosting will feel hard to the touch around 20-30 minutes after exposed to air.

This is why a lot of people recommend this buttercream for cakes and desserts that you want to display outside. (BUT – all buttercream will melt outside eventually, especially if in direct sun.)

It’s still delicate.

In the picture below, I purposely pressed down onto the icing in the center and right below, so you can see that it’s stable, but still fragile.

Although the outer most layer of ABC does crust, the icing is soft inside.

How To Store/ How Far In Advance Can You Make American Buttercream?

If you store it properly in an airtight container, it will last in the refrigerator for up to 1 month and in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

When you need buttercream, take it out of the fridge or freezer and leave it on your counter to thaw overnight.

This is important. You cannot work with chilled or frozen buttercream (trust me, I’ve tried).

The downside to making frosting in advance is air bubbles will appear after thawing. But fear not, we can bring it back to life!

Mix your room temperature buttercream on a low speed with a paddle attachment. If the buttercream looks wet, it’s due to condensation, just keep on mixing.

Another way to release air bubbles is to use your spatula and push the frosting against the side of the mixing bowl (another arm workout!).

How Long Can Buttercream Sit Out At Room Temperature?

American buttercream cakes and cupcakes can sit out at room temperature for up to 2 days. I do recommend covering the cake with plastic wrap or a cake stand with a dome.

No. Sitting on the counter for a day won’t spoil the cake. American buttercream has a high amount of fat and sugar which, in a way, insulates the cake. (However, if its filled with fresh fruit, I recommend refrigeration.)

People recommend using American buttercream for cakes that need to sit outside. ALL cakes melt. You may get a few more minutes with this frosting, but ultimately, it will melt if left in direct sun on a hot day.

What Can I Do With American Buttercream?

There are endless things to use this buttercream for.

• Use this as a base to add flavor with extracts, emulsions, fruits, powders
• Pipe any design that you would with meringue based frosting
• Use under fondant
• Frost cakes, cupcakes, cookies, etc.
• The possibilities are endless

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