Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream
This delicious Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting is crusting recipe that is perfect for cake decorating! This American Buttercream is similar to our Classic Vanilla Buttercream recipe, however, it has a lighter, fluffier texture due to the shortening in the recipe.
Table of Contents
Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream: A Crusting Recipe
- What is a crusting buttercream? As the name suggests, crusting frostings like this one develop a very thin crust when exposed to air. In as little as 5-10 minutes, a cake frosted in a crusting buttercream can be lightly touched without removing any of the frosting. Beneath that thin layer, the frosting remains soft.
- Many cake decorators love to use the "Viva Paper Towel method" of smoothing when working with crusting buttercreams. Simply frost the cake, sweep around the sides and top with your spatula (or bench scraper) of choice, and then allow it to sit for a few minutes before smoothing over it with a paper towel.
- (Viva brand paper towels are a popular choice for this paper towel method of smoothing because it has no quilting or impressions.)
- You can find more information on this method of smoothing here: Leopard Print Buttercream (using the Viva Paper Towel Method).
Helpful Hints
- This Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream frosting contains both butter and shortening. Because of the shortening, it is slightly more heat resistant than an all-butter frosting recipe, and it is lighter in color than an all-butter buttercream recipe.
- If heat is more of a concern, you could switch to an all shortening (no butter) frosting recipe like this one: High Ratio Frosting. All frostings will melt if the weather is hot enough, but shortening certainly is more resistant than butter.
- If you are looking for a crusting frosting that does not contain any shortening, we love our Classic Vanilla Buttercream recipe also. You can find it here!: Classic Vanilla Buttercream.
- We often use clear vanilla in our buttercream frosting recipes because real vanilla gives vanilla buttercream more of an off-white or ivory color. However, this may not bother you! It simply comes down to personal preference or the design of your cake.
Does Brand of Confectioners Sugar Matter?
** Important note about the sugar: We’ve had great results with Domino’s confectioners sugar and US Sugar (we buy ours from Costco). Some brands of confectioners sugar don’t work as well with buttercream frosting recipes. If a package doesn’t say pure cane sugar, it contains beet sugar which is more likely to give you a grainy outcome.
In addition to that, we’ve noticed that even some brands that say “Pure Cane Sugar” will give a grainy consistency. So frustrating! One example is Dixie Crystals (although it used to work great for us a few years ago.) Something has changed…it’s a mystery. Anyway, this recipe should not be grainy, and so if it is, experiment with a different brand of confectioners sugar.
Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. confectioners' sugar 910 g
- ½ cup 1 stick (113 g ) unsalted butter softened (soften on countertop rather than microwave for best results)
- 1 ½ cups solid vegetable shortening such as Crisco or Trex 286 g. or 10 oz. by weight. ** If using hi ratio shortening, see below)
- 2 Tablespoons clear vanilla extract 24 g
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon butter flavoring if you are leaving out the butter and using all shortening
- ¼ teaspoons lemon or almond extract 1 g OPTIONAL
- ¼ cup milk 57 g any milk is fine but I like milk with higher fat content. You could substitute water too (See below)
- ½ teaspoon salt to cut the sweetness. We use popcorn salt because of its fine grain. If using table salt you can dissolve it in the milk before adding.
Instructions
- Cream butter, shortening , salt and extracts until creamy and smooth.
- Add powdered sugar and milk. Mix thoroughly on medium speed for approximately 8 minutes. For the last two minutes decrease the mixing speed to VERY SLOW ( number 2 speed on a KitchenAid) until creamy and smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally during the mixing process.
Notes
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Hello ladies! I'm looking to make a raspberry buttercream that will crust. Could I just make the Fluffy Buttercream and add raspberry extract? Thank you! I love this site!!!
Hi Ellen, yes, you can add raspberry extract to the Fluffy recipe. You can also add a very small amount of pink color if you want it to have a raspberry look. We have tried adding raspberry preserves for the color and it just does not work.....just gives a brownish color. Thanks for your nice comment about the site.
Thanks BeBe! Should I still use the almond extract in addition to the raspberry or replace the almond with raspberry?
Hi Ellen, I would replace the almond with raspberry. Do a taste test until it is what you like.
Hello, will you possibly think about doing a video tutorial for this recipe? Thanks in advance for your response.
Hi can I use this fluffy buttercream under fondant? or just fondant accents? Sometimes my fondant pieces pull the buttercream away from the cake or run down the sides???
Hi there,
It's very humid here (Hawaii) so I use this recipe for piping flowers as it's more likely to hold shape. However, I have been experiencing jagged edges on my petals. Any tips on how to fix? More shortening or milk maybe? Corn syrup?
Hi Jess, If your frosting is too stiff it can cause the jagged edges. If you feel that the consistency of your buttercream is right, then I would add a small amount of light corn syrup. You will also want to rule out that there is not a small bit of dried frosting in the piping tip because that can cause problems also. Because this is a crusting buttercream, you can also tap down any jagged edges with your finger or a dry paint brush.....but if you are doing a lot of roses this would be too time consuming.
Tried this recipe on my Thanksgiving cake and it was very good. I made the adjustments you suggested when using high ratio shortening. Came out perfect.
Hi Joan, that's great, thank you for your post!
Hi, Melissa and BeBe! I have a question for you or any fellow cake makers with a possible answer. Have you ever turned this recipe into a strawberry buttercream and if so then what do you add to it? Thanks!
Hi OxyJenandTonic ;) I have not turned this into strawberry buttercream. I think that there are some strawberry buttercream recipes floating around out there that use strawberry puree (from frozen strawberries), but if I were trying to convert this one, I would probably experiment with strawberry extract so that the flavor will be more intense without adding too much additional liquid.
Just as a side note, I also like to spread the inner layer of my cakes with pureed frozen strawberries and then use a cream cheese filling when I'm looking for a subtle strawberry flavor, it's a good combination! ;0)