Perfectly light and fluffy buttercream frosting recipe is the best white, vanilla frosting you’ll ever taste! Not overly sweet, light-tasting whipped buttercream can be piped to decorate layer cakes, sheet cakes, and cupcakes or simply spread on like a cloud of air.

a beater holding up white buttercream frosting
If you love a buttercream that is lightly sweet and airy like bowl of whipped cream, this is the recipe for you!

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World’s Best Light and Fluffy Frosting

It only takes simple ingredients to make the fluffiest whipped buttercream frosting! Most buttercream recipes use a simple combination of butter, powdered sugar, and milk. However, I find these frosting recipes to be heavy and overly sweet.

Using a combination of butter and shortening lightens the flavor and helps with stability. All butter frostings have a richer taste and don’t hold their shape as well since butter has a lower melting point.

The addition of heavy cream cuts the sweetness and is key for making frosting extra fluffy. After beating for several minutes, the frosting will turn into the consistency of airy, whipped cream, but stable enough to be piped on to cakes or cupcakes for decorating.

I use it for everything from frosting desserts in my gluten-free cake collection, to sugar cookies, to cupcakes. If you’ve ever tried making a homemade version of gluten-free crumbl cookies, or love the ones in the store, this whipped frosting is reminiscent of their signature pink buttercream.

This is the buttercream recipe I have been looking for all my life! I am an avid baker (baking weekly— sometimes daily, depending on the timer of year). This frosting is light, fluffy and the perfect level of sweetness! Thank you for sharing! I will be using this recipe again and again.

—Brittany

Watch This Recipe

Let’s Make This Together!

The most important thing to remember when making this frosting is to mix on high speeds for extended period of time. Adding air to the ingredients lightens it to a whipped cream consistency.

(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)

First the creaminess

Cream together the room temperature butter and shortening together until smooth and creamy. If you’d rather not use shortening, it can be replaced with an equal amount of butter or use palm shortening in its place.

a batter being held up to show the creamy butter.

Then the fluffiness

Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, salt and mix until well blended. The frosting will be very stiff at this point.

Slowly mix in the heavy cream. Once it is fully mixed in, increase to medium speed and beat for 5-7 minutes, scraping down bowl occasionally. The frosting should be very white and fluffy, like a bowl of whipped cream.

heavy cream added to the butter and powdered sugar mixture.
a wooden spoon going into a bowl of fluffy buttercream frosting
Don’t let this light frosting deceive you. It’s still stable enough to be piped on and hold its shape.

Can I Make This Less Sweet?

I find this frosting to be the perfect amount of sweetness due the addition of salt and heavy cream. To make the buttercream even less sweet use about 1/2 cup less powdered sugar, but add 1-2 ounces more heavy cream.

Make sure to beat the frosting the entire 7 minutes so the heavy cream becomes stiff and stabilized. This will counteract the lessened powdered sugar amount.

The other option would be to infuse it with flavor, like lemon zest, or try this fresh berry take with an airy strawberry frosting.

Frost a Layer Cake Like A Pro 

It doesn’t require much, but these quick tips will keep your frosting smooth and your platter clean. First start with even layers. If the top is slightly domed, use a serrated knife to trim the top evenly or flip it over so the domed side faces down.

Place the first layer down on the platter and tuck strips of wax paper under the edges to catch any drips or smudges. Spread 1-2 cups of frosting all the way to the edges.

Stack on the second layer to smooth on the rest of the frosting on the top and sides. Using an offset spatula is a game changer for this task! Decorate with sprinkles if you like, then gently pull out strips of wax paper. Voilá, perfection!

first layer of cake frosted.
Tuck strips of waxed paper around the edges of the cake so they can be pulled out after frosting and keep your cake platter clean.
an offset spatula smoothing out the sides.
Using an offset spatula makes frosting the sides of layer cakes extra easy!

Keeping Frosting Uber Soft & Fluffy When Storing

When storing cakes and cupcakes with whipped buttercream most people choose refrigeration because of the butter. However, this can dry out the cake and solidifies the frosting so it’s no longer soft.

Alternatively, cakes and cupcakes can be covered and kept at room temperature up to 2 days if there are no custard or cream cheese fillings.

If you need to refrigerate or freeze a decorated cake, let it sit out for 5-7 hours to come to room temp. The cake texture will soften and the frosting will have a light, fluffy texture again.

Sometimes, if the cake is too cold, I will slice it and use the defrost setting on my microwave to soften the icing. Check every 10-15 seconds to make sure it doesn’t overheat and melt the butter.

overhead of white cake decorated with frosting
It’s the frosting recipe everyone will ask you for!

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a bowl of vanilla buttercream frosting with sprinkles next to it
4.57 stars (107 ratings)

Simply the Fluffiest Buttercream Frosting Recipe

Melissa Erdelac of MamaGourmand headshot in patterned dress.Melissa Erdelac
Yield: 24
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Perfectly light and fluffy buttercream frosting recipe is the best white, vanilla frosting you'll ever taste! Not overly sweet, light-tasting whipped buttercream can be piped to decorate layer cakes, sheet cakes, and cupcakes or simply spread on like a cloud of air.
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Ingredients
 

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together softened butter and shortening until fluffy and well combined.
    ½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup shortening
  • Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix until well blended. The frosting will be very stiff at this point. 
    4 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Slowly mix in the heavy cream on low speed. Once it is fully mixed in, increase the speed to high and beat for 5-7 minutes, scraping down bowl occasionally. The frosting should be very white and fluffy, like a bowl of whipped cream.
    ½ cup heavy whipping cream

Notes

Bonus Tips
  • If you’d rather not use shortening, replace with another 1/2 cup butter.
  • Butter and shortening should be at room temperature, while heavy cream is kept cold.
  • It’s best to use a stand mixer with paddle attachment, since they are more powerful and the frosting beats for an extended period of time. A hand mixer may also be used, but it will have to mix a little longer to reach the right consistency.
  • This recipe makes enough to frost a 2 layer cake or piped onto 24 cupcakes. Please note, piping on frosting will use more than simply spreading on.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or freeze up to 3 months.  

 

Calories: 167kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 17mg, Sodium: 60mg, Potassium: 4mg, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 191IU, Calcium: 4mg, Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below. It helps others when searching for recipes and I LOVE feedback!