Fauzia's Kitchen Fun

Buttercream Frosting

180

Buttercream Frosting

The perfect frosting/icing for cakes, this is the ideal kind of frosting for decorating.
Servings 2 Cups

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup butter softened (150gm) (5oz)
  • 2 cups confectioner's icing sugar (250gm) (8oz)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla essence
  • 2 tsp. hot water

Instructions
 

  • Beat together the butter and icing with a mixer until well combined, smooth and creamy.Add the vanilla and hot water.Beat some more and use!

Notes

If you want it to have a chocolaty taste and colour, substitute the vanilla essence with 2 tbsp. cocoa powder. For a different colour, just add a few drops of the colour of your choice and mix.

Join the Conversation

  1. how much cocoa powder would i need to add to this so that i can use it in the moist layered chocolate cake?

    1. Are you living in warm climates? If so make sure you buy a good quality butter, most of the cheaper butters tend to melt very quickly in warm weather and that could be what is happening with yours. Try refrigerating the frosting before using so as to solidify it a bit, or add some extra icing sugar to thicken it some more.

    1. Icing sugar has an extra ingredient (cornflour) that caster sugar does not have. It will not give the same results. You can grind sugar until fine then add 2 tbsp cornflour in every cup of sugar and use that instead.

  2. Hi, I really was so happy when my sister gave me your email address. I baked up a storm for Eid, especially your rose rolls was a great hit with family and friends. Thanks for the inspiration.

  3. HI FAUZIA I JUST WANT TO ASKED A FAVOUR SIS CAN YOU TELL US ALL YOUR RECIPE ALSO WITH GAS TEMPERATURE SIS. CAUSE ITS MY FIRST TIME TO USE GAS SO I CAN TAKE CHANCES TO GUEST BUT IF YOU LET ME KNOW I WILL BE SO GLAD DARL, CAUSE I BAKE BEFORE WITH ELECTRIC AND I WAS SO HAPPY FOR THAT BUT NOW I USED GAS I AM WORRY SIS TO BAKE ANYTHING DARL, EVEN I COULD BAKE ANYTHING ESPECIAL THIS EID WALLAHI SO IWAS SO SAD TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH AND MA HABIBI LOVE SPOUNGE CAKE, BUT I COULDN’T LOVE

  4. Salam. Can u plz tell the exact kind of butter used in cakes and frosting i mean can u plz specify coz there r a lot of kinds in the market like margarine, salted and unsalted one and another i saw was named as baking butter. which one is the best ? Specially for frosting can u plz name a brand or two??

    1. W/Salaam. I prefer unsalted butter as it has better flavour although even salted will work. Have never tried using baking butter. Where are you located? I caanot be sure what brands you have in your country.

    1. W/Salaam, yes you can use margarine although it tastes better with butter. You can add 1-2 tbsp lemon juice in place of vanilla, plus 1 tsp lemon zest.

  5. Salam am thinking of making milk puding(milk + corn flour)then pour it on the cake and also garnishing the top with a bit of cocoa.what do you think,if it doesn’t work on this cake can I do it to another type of cake.Thank u

  6. Hello Fauzia, I want to ask that for piping the butter cream it should be little thin in consistency. As you already told that we can add little icing sugar in it to thicken it but what should I do to thinner its consistency?

    1. It shouldn’t be too thin, make sure that when you pipe it, the icing is smooth and the pattern is clear. 🙂

  7. Hi fauzia,
    please I would lyk 2 know if I can use this buttercream frosting 2 decorate top of cake. and where can I buy edible prints 2 decorate a cake am in Nairobi Kenya.

    1. I prefer cadbury’s cocoa powder, but if you have a different brand and like the taste, you can use it. 🙂

  8. No need to refrigerate before decorating, but you can store any leftover in the fridge.

  9. Just love ur recipes, very recently got my hands on it on FB! Well a lil correction about the measurements in this recipe:
    6 oz = 3/4 cup
    16 oz = 2 cups
    As 2 oz = 1/4 cup

  10. Thank you, actually 1 cup of flour or 1 cup of icing sugar is equal to 4 oz instead of the normal 8oz. That is why I emphasized on the 2 cups for icing sugar (8oz)

  11. salam….wanted to know if i cud frost the cake with this butter cream frosting a night before it is served to the guests?? will refridgerating change the taste of the frosting??? n does this frosting holds its shape well??
    thank u…

    1. W/Salaam, the frosting holds its shape beautifully and yes you can frost it the night before. Since the frosting is mainly butter, it will stiffen when refrigerated, but if left out at room temperature for an hour or so before serving it will soften right up again. 🙂

  12. as salaam alekum fauzia…. what shud i do to get perfect white butter cream frosting? this one is off white. plz help.

    1. W/Salaam use a pure white butter as your base. If the butter is yellow then the frosting will not be very white.

  13. Salam fouzia I m located in Dubai …. which white butter u suggest for this reciepe? Can u suggest any white butter brand?

  14. asalamwalekum..thnkx fr ua rply..1 mre questn is hw do mke whipn creme i want it wt xact mesrmnts plzz..

  15. for this recipe you mentioned
    for this recipe you mentioned that we need 8 oz conf. sugar. You also mentioned it as 2 whole cups. I’m confused….. isn’t 2 whole cups = 16oz? Can you please clarify?

    1. Some ingredients weigh at 4oz
      Some ingredients weigh at 4oz per cup (like flour and in this case, icing sugar). 2 cups of GRANULATED sugar would be 16oz, but for icing sugar it is measured as 4 oz per cup. It is lighter, that is why. 🙂

  16. hi, i made the butter cream
    hi, i made the butter cream but it was rather hard even after i put the hot water….could it be because i used the butter direct from the refrigerator?…..all in all it was easy to decorate and still tasty:)

    could you provide other frostings except the ganache, whipped and butter cream?

    1. Hi! Yes definitely the butter
      Hi! Yes definitely the butter needs to be at room temperature. Thanks though, am glad it turned out tasty. There are several other frostings, like the quick fudge frosting, the cream cheese frosting used on carrot cake, the tiramisu cake’s frosting, the coffee flavoured one on the cappuccino bundt cake. 🙂

    1. I’ve received all your
      I’ve received all your comments and responded to all dear, please check back where you posted them. Maybe you are checking in a different place for them?

  17. can you use the butter at
    can you use the butter at room temperature or how do you soften it?….i used chilled butter and the product was really hard

    1. At room temperature is fine.
      At room temperature is fine. You should be able to spread it easily.

  18. Fauzia may Allah reward you
    Fauzia may Allah reward you for your patience, ameen.I have baked your basic choc cake before as i have your brownies and other recipes and they have turned out superb mashaAllah.its the frosting that is giving me a ‘bad’ reputation: LOL!I use Kerrygold irish butter unsalted at room temperature, i believe i follow your instructions to the letter but my kids will not touch the ‘icing’ with a ten foot pole! Could it be that i grind the sugar myself, sieve and then use it? must i add something else? will this recipe give me a thick enough consistency to pipe stars?
    once again shukran and thank you for your patience!

    1. When grinding sugar to make
      When grinding sugar to make icing sugar, always add 2 tbsp of cornflour per cup of sugar in order to get the right consistency.

  19. salam sister fauzia..im so
    salam sister fauzia..im so glad to know your page ..i did try many of your recipe..almost all turned out well..i hope to more..sorry for not uploading the pics..well may allah bless you and jazakallah khair.well one question ..im making moist chocolate cake today instead of butter frosting can i just use whipped cream ?..jazakallah khair

  20. Salam Fauzia
    Salam Fauzia

    Thanks for the tasty frosting recipe. Its so good! Can I freeze the leftover frosting and for how long?

    thanks

    1. W/Salaam, thanks for the
      W/Salaam, thanks for the lovely feedback! You can refrigerate (in an airtight container) for up to 3-4 weeks, or freeze for longer…about 2 months. 🙂

  21. thankyou fauzia baji for
    thankyou fauzia baji for sharing this recipe.. i just want to know what brand of icing sugar do u use? My butercream is gritty in texture. hating it.. 🙁 spoiled my cupcakes.. 🙁

    1. W/Salaam, I honestly do not
      W/Salaam, I honestly do not have a brand name that I can think of, normally I pick whichever is in stock at the supermarket. Where are you based? Different countries would have different brands.

  22. Salams Sister Fauzia,
    Salams Sister Fauzia,

    I love all your recipes. They have helped me alot (:
    I also have a question, can you teach us how to make fondant? Well if you have the recipe…

    Thank You xo

    1. W/Salaam, thank you. Sorry at
      W/Salaam, thank you. Sorry at the moment I do not have a fondant recipe.

    1. It should last up to a month
      It should last up to a month if refrigerated. Just whip it well before next use to make sure it is smooth again.

  23. Salam, I just want to know
    Salam, I just want to know why my oil paper piping bags are
    tearing while decorating? Is it bcz of wrong mixture of butter cream? I found some oils removing from the butter cream too.. plz share ur idea regards this

    1. W/Salaam, if oil is being
      W/Salaam, if oil is being released from your buttercream, could be that the butter used is not very good. It should be a solid butter that softens at room temperature but doesn’t melt at room temperature. Also you could benefit from using plastic piping bags instead of paper.

  24. Can I add milk to this recipe
    Can I add milk to this recipe? If so for how long I can store the decorated cake without refrigherating ?

    1. You can if you want the
      You can if you want the frosting of a thinner consistency. Once milk is used, I would not recommend you leaving the cake out for longer than a day.

  25. Hi Fauzia,
    Hi Fauzia,
    Can I use this buttercream frosting to cover the cake before applying fondant? Does it stiffen enough? Is it a crusting or non-crusting recipe?
    Thank you for your help

  26. Dear fauzia
    Dear fauzia
    I made the frosting with salted butter and icing sugar ..i beat it for 5 minutes but it was still filling granular ..salty also because of the butter i think..can i reduce the amount of icing sugar keeping the amount of butter same because it was tasting too sweet…

    1. Try changing the brand of
      Try changing the brand of icing sugar, usually when the texture is grainy then the fault mostly lies in the type of sugar used.

  27. Sometimes My icing getting too soft while piping and couldn’t get proper shape. Why is that? And how to get non sticky(crust) icing? Thank you

    1. Could be that you live in warmer weather and the butter ends up melting too quickly thereby making the frosting runny.

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