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Do you know what makes me happy? Well, lots of things. But, the one that I have in mind right now is my children’s great love for the light and airy vanilla frosting I make. Jack, in particular, will sometimes say (just out of the blue), “Mom — you make the best frosting I’ve ever had. It’s so much better than frosting from the store.”
Love that kid.
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This light and airy homemade vanilla buttercream frosting recipe is simple, and you probably have everything in your house right this moment to make it.
Want to mix it up? You could try this Almond Buttercream Frosting Recipe or Orange Buttercream Frosting Recipe next!
Light and Airy Homemade Vanilla Frosting Recipe
If you want a printable version of the recipe, just scroll farther down in the post until you see the heading for the printable recipe.
Light and Airy Vanilla Frosting Ingredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, soft and at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
- 3 tablespoons of milk (approximately – you’ll decide on how much exactly based on the consistency you want)
Light and Airy Vanilla Frosting Directions
1. Put the butter in a bowl first. Since I have a handy dandy Kitchen Aid mixer, I beat the butter pretty well after adding it to the bowl.
You can do this with a hand mixer as well, of course. But, you know what? I’m pretty spoiled by my Kitchen Aid. (She’s red and I love her.)
2. Add the powdered sugar a bit at a time to the butter, and cream them together.
3. Stir in the vanilla and milk.
4. Then, beat the mixture well. If it is not thick enough, add in some more powdered sugar.
However, if you’re like me, you are always apt to add in just a bit more milk to make it slightly thinner.
5. If you want to add in food coloring, this is the time to do it!
6. At this point, I beat the frosting for several more minutes to give the frosting a light, airy texture.
This is my favorite food coloring to use. I didn’t always use it, which is why I had a horrible time trying to get a particular color once and figured out how to make the frosting extra fluffy. (I’ll tell more about that below.) So, while that ended up being a super awesome bonus, it was a pain at the time. But, now, I always use this food coloring for easy-to-achieve, vibrant colors.
This recipe usually makes enough for me to be able to generously frost 24 cupcakes, sometimes with some leftover.
More on How to Get Your Frosting Light and Airy
I didn’t always beat the frosting so long to get the light, airy texture that everyone loves so much.
However, one time, I was trying to make the frosting orange, and I had a horrible time making it happen. I just kept having to add more yellow, then more red, then more yellow, then more red, and so on.
All that time, of course, I was mixing it in my Kitchen Aid. I was then rewarded with not only orange frosting, but light, airy, and delicious orange frosting. I got so many compliments, and people even asked how it was so light.
Perhaps you don’t want to make orange cupcakes though. Just keep in mind, there’s always blue cupcakes with monkeys instead.
Thanks to Party Cupcake Ideas for the Barrel Full of Monkeys cupcake idea. I sent them in to Eric’s work, and everyone loved them. (Plus, as a bonus, I filled the barrel they came in with extra vanilla frosting and sent in graham crackers. Yum!)
Light and Airy Vanilla Frosting Printable Recipe
Light and Airy Homemade Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar aka confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 cup butter soft and at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla sometimes I put in a tiny bit more
- 3 tablespoons of milk although I always end up adding a bit more than that -- if you want very thick frosting though, you can even go less than 3 tablespoons
Instructions
- Put the butter in a bowl first. Since I have a handy dandy Kitchen Aid mixer, I beat the butter pretty well after adding it to the bowl. You can do this with a hand mixer as well, of course.
- Add the powdered sugar a bit at a time to the butter, and cream them together.
- Stir in the vanilla and milk.
- Then, beat the mixture well. If it is not thick enough, add in some more powdered sugar. But, if you're like me, you are always apt to add in just a bit more milk to make it slightly thinner.
- If you want to add in food coloring, this is the time to do it!
- At this point, I beat the frosting for several more minutes to give the frosting a light, airy texture.
Other Delicious Recipes to Check Out:
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I just want you to know I used this idea for making fluffy butter cream frosting. Love LOVEed it thanks!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I just made it and love it.
Three words…. BEST. FROSTING. EVER!
I’m making a cake today for my roommate’s bachelorette party, and decided to give your icing a try…love it. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know. 🙂
It’s one of our favorites as well. (My kids get excited for anything I make that includes the frosting, just for the frosting.)
What could i use in place of the 3 Tbs of milk..i have everything but the milk..which is unusual..I ALWAYS HAVE MILK..excepr today
Thank you
i found that all the frostings sold in store were very heavy and artificial tasting. i decided to try this frosting and i absolutely fell in love! it was so delicious and very airy. i kept wanting to mix it!!!
Isn’t it amazing what adding in air through the mixing process can do the frosting? I’m so glad for the incident that made me mix longer. 🙂
Thanks for sharing how much you enjoyed the frosting! 🙂
I want to make this frosting for one 9 inch cake. Will this be enough? Thanks!
Yes, it definitely will be. I can use this recipe to make enough to generously frost 24 cupcakes (and sometimes have some leftover frosting).
Can you possibly substitute the vanilla for raspberry extract?
Bailey – I haven’t tried it before, but I have long thought about using almond extract instead of vanilla. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work though. But, I would start off with a small amount and sample it. Then, add more if needed. Good luck! 🙂
I just made this to put on coconut cake and it is amazing!! Will be using it for all my cakes.
Amazing!! So tasty and my family loves it!
Even my dad, who baked all his life, said this was amazing!
Thanks, Angie, for sharing your great recipe! I’m glad Joy asked for it by name! I’ll probably add it to my cook book, and it’ll forever be known as Mrs. Kauffman’s icing!
Love,
Stephanie
Love that! This definitely made me smile. 🙂
Frostings intimidate me, but this one has made a proud frosting-maker out of me. I’ve made it twice now and garnered rave reviews. One little thing I’ve tossed in is 1/4 t salt. My mom always said sugary foods are enhanced with a little salt. That advice has rarely failed me, and in this case the salt seems to take the flavor from “amazing” to “absolutely dazzling.” Thanks for helping me tackle frosting with this superb recipe. 🙂
I’m going to make this for my sons 1st birthday. Can I make it on a Thursday and use it Saturday? Or is it better to make right before I use it?
Sorry – I have been off the computer. The frosting will get hard and difficult to spread sitting in the refrigerator. Even if you soften it up, I don’t think it will end up having the same consistency as when it is fresh.
I just made this today and it was perfect! The texture was incredible!
So..I just have to keep on beating it till it’s light n airy? Coz I’m really not into thick n creamy frosting..
Using the mixer longer is going to help it be more airy, but if it’s too thick for you, I would keep adding a splash of milk and beating it longer. Then, keep trying a small taste until you have found the consistency that you like. The first time around, you’ll just really have to play around with the amount of milk and mixing that is perfect for what you prefer.
Im making cup cakes tomorrow for valetines day and i was wondering if i make them tonight will the icing be ok for tomorrow? I dont want the icing getting hard tomorrow then not being as good as they would be. So would they be ok? or do you have another sugestion
We’ve eaten them the day after making them, and they’ve always been fine. Sometimes, the frosting will harden on the outside every so slightly. But, not in a bad way, and certainly not to where the frosting is actually hard.
Can this frosting be stored in the fridge?
You can frost the cupcakes and put them in the fridge. (Although, I’ve only done it once or twice.) But, just in a container, the frosting will get hard and difficult to spread sitting in the refrigerator. Even if you soften it up later, I don’t think it will end up having the same consistency as when it is fresh.
Awesome! Easy and so yummy! I used my Kitchen aid mixer too…and loved how it made it so fluffy the longer I beat it! Thank you.
How much frosting does this make?
When I’m making cupcakes, it makes enough for 24 cupcakes with a little bit of leftover. That’s with some pretty liberal amount put on each cupcake. 😉
This frosting was absolutely amazing. The last recipe I used for frosting completely ruined the cupcakes, but this one just went right on and I will definitely use this one again and again.
Awesome! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it.
Ruined cupcakes would be so sad! 🙁
I would like a tiny amount of frosting with none left over. Maybe for 12 cupcakes? Is this recipe going to be too much? Thanks!
I usually make this recipe for a batch of around 24 cupcakes. Sometimes I have a little frosting left over, and sometimes it’s just the right amount. It often depends on how much frosting I’m putting onto the cupcakes.
My guess is that if you just halved the recipe, you should have closer to the amount of frosting that you want.
Fantastic….I added in some cocoa powder (and extra milk) to get a chocolate frosting… Hopefully the cupcakes turn out as well as the frosting did!
I’ll have to try that out. That sounds delicious! 🙂
I’d like to make this into a chocolate frosting! How much cocoa powder and extra milk did you use? Thanks! Can’t make to make this!
No one answered you! I would also like to find out how much powdered cocoa to use?!
I was looking for an answer to the chocolate additions to this recipe!
I guess I’ll wing it!
made enough frosting for maybe one layer of cake, way too sweet, thin frosting. smh least favorite recipe.
This was delish! Thanks!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks! 🙂
Will this recipe make enough frosting for a three layer, nine inch cake?
I’ve never used it for a three layer cake, but my gut instinct is that you might want to make 1.5 batch, just to be on the safe side.
Do you use you paddle or whisk attachment to make this frosting recipe?
I use the paddle when I make it, but I suspect the whisk would also work. I haven’t tried it before though.
Would the frosting last a few days in closed containers? I’m supposed to make some tonight but won’t be used until Saturday afternoon. Or would it be better to refrigerate and then bring back to room on Saturday?
I’m mostly concerned with ruining the decorations and frosting going bad since the recipe has milk. Thanks!
Sorry – I have mostly been away this week and didn’t get a chance to help you out on this. If you tried it, I hope that it worked out fine!
I have found that after I put it in the refrigerator (like when I have leftover), it doesn’t really keep the same consistency. But, I haven’t tried in earnest to let it warm up and spread it, since I always just wait until I need it to make it. Sometimes I will make it the day before and just put it on the cupcakes and leave it somewhere cool, but not usually any earlier than that.
Is it always assumed the attachment you use is the paddle if a specific one isn’t stated?
I made frosting for a cake last night using this recipe. And it was amazing. I’ve been looking for a light frosting. This was easy to make and it was delicious. Best frosting I’ve ever made.
Awesome! I’m glad you loved it!
Is this frosting pipeable? I want to decorate cupcakes but my knife icing skills aren’t great
Piping it on is the only way I have ever put it on cupcakes, now that I think of it. I have a decorating gun type of thing, and I usually just pipe it on with that. You might want to keep the frosting on the thicker side, depending on how you are piping it.
I am ten years late, but very sweet and fluffy! This is a great recipe that I will definitely use again. I did need to make a double batch, so I suggest people prepare for that if they plan on doing any extra decorations on top of a fully frosted cake. I was making a sheet cake, so I should have guessed that I would need more. Happy baking, everyone!