Quick and Easy Homemade Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Name: Quick and Easy Homemade Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 cup butter (use the butter stick or non-dairy baking stick); 1 cup shortening; 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract; 3-4 tbsp water; 2 lbs powdered sugar; 1/8 tsp salt

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This kosher recipe for quick and easy vanilla buttercream frosting is so simple and delicious you will never even think about buying it from a store again. Ready in under 30 minutes, this frosting can be prepared while your cake or muffins are in the oven. This recipe is kosher, and gluten free, and vegetarian. Read on to learn how to make the best homemade vanilla buttercream frosting from scratch.

vanilla frosting in a mixing bowl — Vanilla frosting ready to put on baked goods

Why This Recipe Works

You probably have all of these ingredients at your house already.
Most of the work is done by an electric mixer.
Tastes way better than canned frosting.
No corn syrup!
Almost every dessert gets better with frosting.

vanilla frosting on cupcakes — Decorative and tasty!

6 Ingredient Recipe

This is how quick and easy homemade vanilla frosting is to make. Just 6 ingredients and a mixer. We made the recipe diary for this post (as you can see by the stick of butter in the pic) but it can just as easily be made vegan, or pareve, by substituting a non-dairy butter stick. If you are going to make that substitution, make sure that you use a stick don't just scoop it out of a tub.

frosting ingredients laid out on a table — Common household ingredients = homemade frosting

A Step by step guide to making this recipe

Time needed: 25 minutes

Quick and easy homemade vanilla buttercream frosting step by step.

Cream the butter and shortening
Most of this recipe is just making sure to add and mix in the right quantities and for the right length of time. So let's start with the glue that will bind the frosting together, the butter and sugar. Put the butter and shortening into the standing mixer and use the paddle blade. Set it to medium and cream until the butter and shortening are fully incorporated.
Add vanilla and water
Once the butter and shortening are creamed, 2 tablespoon of water and the vanilla extract. You will add more water later to thin it out. Mix again on medium for 1 minute.
Add the powdered sugar
Very carefully, add ¼ of the bag of powdered sugar and then mix on the lowest possible setting until incorporated. You are trying to avoid an explosion of powdered sugar all over your kitchen. When the powdered sugar is incorporated, repeat this step 3 more times until the whole bag is used.
Add water and salt
After all of the powdered sugar has been added, add water one tablespoon at a time until you achieve the desired thickness. You are not going to add more than 2 tablespoon here as any more than that will make the frosting runny.
Whip on high
After all of the other ingredients have been incorporated, turn the mixer to its highest setting for 15 minutes. This will aerate the frosting and make it super fluffy. Once it is done, it is irresistable.

Recipe FAQ

What is the difference between icing and frosting?

Frosting usually refers to a fluffier layer that is spread around the outside or on top of a dessert. Icing is traditionally thinner and coats the dessert without the fluffiness.

How do I make my frosting fluffy?

There is no way around it, fluffy frosting comes from beating the frosting on high speed in a standing mixer. This process incorporates a ton of air into the frosting and gives it the airy and fluffy texture that is common in bakery frosting.

vanilla frosting pin — Pin this to your Cakes and Bakery Boards on Pinterest

Tips and Suggestions

Homemade vanilla frosting goes on so many different things. Try it on:

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