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I’m not exactly sure how it has come to be, but it seems that I have become known amongst my friends and their children for my airy and light vanilla frosting. Of course, this isn’t light as in low calorie. It’s light because of its texture. In fact, some of those kids just call it “Mrs. Kauffman’s frosting.” Cute kids, huh? It turns out that they also all loved this homemade almond buttercream frosting too after a big birthday party when we had it.
There is nothing out of the ordinary about the frosting, except that I take a lot of extra time whipping it to give it that light, air-filled quality. That seems to have made all the difference though.
When it came time for Molly’s birthday this past year, we had a big blow out party, inviting not just her friends but their families as well. When you’re a Catholic homeschooler, that can mean that you will be surprised when everyone RSVPs in the affirmative and you end up with over 60 people in your home.
So, to mix it up, I made not only a couple dozen chocolate cupcakes with my normal homemade vanilla frosting (dyed pink and adorned with pink coarse sugar), but I also whipped up a couple dozen vanilla cupcakes with a homemade almond butter cream frosting, which was dyed purple and lightly touched with colored sprinkles.
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Want to change things up? You might also consider this Orange Buttercream Frosting that features fresh orange zest!
Easy Homemade Almond Buttercream Frosting Recipe
I have a duplicate recipe listed below that is formatted in a way that makes it easy to print out. So, if you want to easily print just the recipe, scroll down and click on the “print” button at the top of that recipe.
Homemade Almond Buttercream Frosting Recipe Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar), this can be sifted to remove any lumps (I usually don’t, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 – 3 tablespoons milk – you may need more, depending on your desired consistency (but not too much more)
Homemade Almond Buttercream Frosting Recipe Directions
Note: I recommend using a stand mixer, if you have one, if you would like to achieve the super light frosting feel. (This is my stand mixer. She’s nine years old and beautifully shiny red. I love her.) If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can still make super light and airy frosting, it’s just going to involve you standing there with your hand mixer for some time. (So, you might like a padded mat like I have in my kitchen.)
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until it’s a smooth consistency.
2. Add in the powdered sugar, salt, and both the vanilla and almond extracts. Mix well.
3. Start adding in the milk a little at a time. This should start making the frosting easier to mix, especially if it has becomes too difficult to mix together. Keep adding milk and beating the mixture until you reach your desired consistency.
4. After you’ve added in all of the ingredients, you can add in food coloring, if desired. This is often the point where I continue to mix the frosting to give it a light and airy consistency. (If you aren’t looking for an airy frosting, don’t over whip your frosting.)
If you prefer to have a thicker icing, you’ll want to be careful to add in your milk slowly so you can stop adding milk once you get to your desired consistency. Of course, if you go past that point, just add in some more powdered sugar to try to thicken it up more.
A Note about Food Coloring: If you want really vibrant colors, this is my favorite food coloring for vibrant or difficult to achieve colors with regular food coloring.
To get the printable recipe, just scroll farther down in this post. Thanks!
Other Recipes From Real Life at Home You May Love:
Easy, No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake
Homemade Almond Buttercream Frosting Printable Recipe
Easy Homemade Almond Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar can be sifted to get rid of any lumps
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 - 3 tablespoons milk may need more, depending on desired consistency, but not too much more
Instructions
- I recommend using a stand mixer, if you have one, if you would also like to achieve the super light frosting feel. Even if you don't have one, you can still get that lightness, it will just involve you standing there with your hand mixer for a lot longer than you might want to stand there.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until it's a smooth consistency.
- Add in the powdered sugar, salt, and both extracts. Mix these well.
- Start adding in the milk a little at a time, especially if it becomes too difficult to mix the original mixture. Keep adding milk and beating the mixture until you reach your desired consistency.
- After you've added all the ingredients, add food coloring, if desired.
Notes
Enjoy!
Don’t spend all day in the kitchen! {Click to check out my other easy recipes}
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Is this regular or unsalted butter??
I have to be honest, I never personally notice much of a difference, so I just use the regular salted butter usually. I suspect, especially with adding some salt, that you could go for unsalted, if you prefer.
Hi, will this make enough to use on a 9″ two-layer cake?
I’m sorry – I don’t know how I missed responding to this. Yes, I would think that it should be enough, depending on how thick you were putting the frosting on. I know that we have generally been able to very liberally frost 24 cupcakes, plus have leftovers.
No worries, thanks for the reply. Really appreciate it! Will hopefully try this out very soon.
Does the frosting ever harden or solidify?
Hi Katherine!
What kind of consistency are you looking for? Are you looking for the outside of it to be crunchier? Or, is yours just coming out too liquidy? You should be able to put it on the cupcakes like I have pictured if that’s the issue. (I would use less milk if you’re having that issue.)
Great recipe! Made extreme chocolate cupcakes and used this icing for a shower. Everyone raved!
That sounds like an awesome combination of flavors! Yum!
I’m so glad that they went over so well! Thanks for coming back to share that! 🙂
Hello there. Great recipe, if I may say. My question is, what flavor cake do you personally make this for? I know we can use any, I would just like to know what flavor you and your family enjoy? Thanks and God bless.
We like it with both white cake and chocolate cake. I bet it would be fabulous with many other flavors, but that’s all we’ve had it with. 🙂
My boyfriend’s mother made chocolate cake with almond icing for special occasions when he was growing up, and he requested I make it for his birthday. I used your recipe and though he got a little nervous that I didn’t know what I was doing when he heard the beaters turn off and on when I added the milk, he said it was absolutely perfect when it was done. He licked the beaters and the bowl just like a little kid. Thank you!
How does this hold up if the cupcakes are sitting out for awhile. We are looking at frosting for a wedding this summer, indoors but will be sitting out room temp for many hours.
It’s hard for me to know without knowing how warm it might get inside, but I think your chances of helping it hold up would be better to keep it a little on the thicker side.
I have only left it out for several hours on one occasion, and that was inside on a fall day where people didn’t need jackets on. We also left our door open quite a bit.
So, my gut instinct is that it would hold up, but I would highly suggest testing it out first. That way, you can work out any kinks you might run into with the recipe. Then, after you make it, leave it sitting out for the amount of time that you intend to leave it out for the wedding. Then you’ll be able to get a better idea of how it might hold up for the wedding.
Do you put the icing on right after you make the icing
Yes, I use it right after I make it. Just make sure that the cake or cupcakes have cooled first.
Hi , can I make this and then leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours before I ice cupcakes ?
Absolutely DELICIOUS! There was not too much almond flavor which is perfect because you can go overboard easily and it was also very easy to make. I actually added almond milk because I didn’t have any regular milk and it was awesome. Thank you for this amazing recipe- it’s definitely a keeper!
I’ll have to try it with almond milk! I try to minimize the dairy that I consume, so that would be great. Thanks for the suggestion!
This looks absolutely amazing! Cannot wait to make this next week!
Can I use heavy whipping cream instead of milk to get the airy frosting texture?
Hi Sharon –
I haven’t used whipping cream in it. I would think that it might make the frosting a different consistency than with milk, but I think the recipe would still work. I usually use skim milk when making it because we only have skim milk and soy milk at home.
I hope you love the recipe!
Angie