There are two kinds of people in the world: cake people and icing people.

While we love a super fluffy sponge or indulgent and dense mud cake, buttercream truly does make a cake.

If you’re an avid baker or keen cake decorator, then it’s an absolute must that you have a trusty buttercream recipe in your repertoire.

Our buttercream recipe is a simple but effective buttercream that can be used on any cakes or cupcakes you’ll be whipping up.

How to make buttercream

Buttercream is incredibly easy to make, consisting of just butter, vanilla icing sugar and a dash of milk.

What you’ll need

125 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
250 g icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon milk
Food colouring (optional)

Step 1

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and vanilla extract together for at least 5 minutes. You want to make sure the butter has lightened in colour and is fluffy.

Step 2

Add the icing sugar and beat until the sugar is completely incorporated. Add the milk and give the buttercream one final whip.

Step 3

If you want to colour the icing, slowly add drops to the mix, beating after each addition, until you reach the desired colour. We recommend using gel food colouring as it doesn’t alter the consistency of your buttercream like liquid buttercream can. Plus, it produces a much more vibrant colour!

How to use buttercream

Buttercream can be used to simply top cakes, or can be used to pipe on cupcakes. It’s also firm enough that it can be used between layers of a tall cake. Here are a few of our favourite recipes that hero buttercream: