Classic American Buttercream: Your Complete Guide
Classic American Buttercream is a creamy frosting with a famously assertive, sweet buttery flavor. Its amazingly simple method involves mixing butter with powdered sugar, which gives the frosting great stability, but can also make it powerfully sweet and dense. In my recipe, I focused on balancing the sweetness and a lighter texture to create a version of American Buttercream that you’ll turn to over and over again.
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Welcome to my Classic American Buttercream guide! We’ll cover things like texture, aeration, and ingredient chemistry. You’ll learn how this frosting is different from all the others on my site, whether it’s right for your dessert, and the exact process to create and customize your own perfect American Buttercream.
What is Classic American Buttercream?
My Classic American Buttercream is a type of Simple Buttercream, which is a small family of butter-based frostings made by mixing sugar and butter together until smooth.
American Buttercreams belong to the Simple Buttercream Family (in green above), which is a subset of the larger Sols/Suspensions subcategory. Frostings in the same families have similar textures and preparation methods. You can go here to learn more about my classification systems or different families.
Generally, all Simple Buttercreams are:
- great for beginner bakers;
- buttercreams that can form a hardened outer layer of sugar (“crusting” buttercreams);
- texturally heavy due to the high ratio of undissolved sugar;
- naturally very stable to pressure and intense piping jobs; and
- made relatively quickly and easily, i.e., no emulsification steps required.
So, what sets Classic American Buttercream apart from other Frostings?
Let’s get into the specifics of Classic American buttercream:
Classic American Buttercream has a relatively high fat and sugar content, allowing it to pipe and hold up under pressure and high ambient room temperatures.
What is the flavor and taste of Classic American Buttercream?
My version of this frosting has a well-rounded sweetness that is butter-forward with a lingering flavor of floral vanilla.
Taste-wise, Classic American Buttercream is one of the sweetest buttercreams you can make on my site, coming in at 48% sugar. By understanding a bit of taste chemistry, we can balance the taste so it doesn’t taste overly sweet.
There are five taste categories: bitter, salty, sweet, sour, and umami. To make delicious, balanced, and well-rounded tasting foods, try to incorporate ingredients that occupy at least two of these five categories. As far as which ones to choose, there are some tastes that are known to work better together than others.
Classic American buttercream notorious for its sweetness. This is a common problem in many desserts as foods that are overly sweet can taste “one note” and boring. Using the graphic above, we can see that salt, sour, and bitterness are tastes that balance sweetness. Using any combination of these tastes will transform a boring overly sweet buttercream into a well-balanced vanilla frosting that will complement your dessert rather than overpower it.
In my frosting recipes, including this one, you’ll see salt as an ingredient. It not only enhances flavors in the frostings, but salt also tones down the perceived sweetness, making frostings much more enjoyable to eat.
Sourness also contrasts with sweetness very well. In baking, we commonly use several types of acids (i.e., substances that produce a sour taste). In my Classic American Buttercream, I prefer to use a strong acid that’s in powder form, so it doesn’t mess with the consistency too much. My preferred ingredients are either cream of tartar, containing tartaric acid, or citric acid.
What is the texture of Classic American Buttercream?
Classic American Buttercream has a thick and dense texture. With medium aeration and heavy-hitting ingredients (rich butter and solid sugar make up 90% of this frosting), this type is one of the densest on my site.
This buttercream style is a “crusting” type where a thin, crispy layer of sugar forms on any exposed surface. As the buttercream sits, residual water on the exposed exterior evaporates. And because American Buttercream recipes contain such a high amount of undissolved sugar, this leaves behind sugar crystals. The time to achieve “crustiness” and how crusty it gets will depend on a few factors, including the sugar and water content of your recipe, and the humidity levels of your environment.
What is the stability of Classic American Buttercream?
Due to the high butterfat and solid sugar content, Classic American Buttercream is fairly good for holding up heavy cake layers and piping intricate designs. The crusting also helps hold the piped designs for extended periods of time.
Regarding temperature stability, I have yet to test my Classic American Buttercream. However, this buttercream uses butterfat as its primary source of stability, which starts melting around 90°F/32°C. Solid sugar added to the buttercream will increase that temperature just a bit. For the most part, you’ll want to keep desserts frosted with Classic American Buttercream below this temperature and avoid placing the frosting in direct sunlight.
Why do American Buttercreams sometimes feel gritty or grainy?
Classic American buttercreams can have a grainy or gritty texture due to:
- the type of sugar used; and
- the low amount of water-based ingredients.
American Buttercreams require powdered (or confectioner’s or icing) sugar, which is very finely granulated so that it can be evenly distributed within the butter to make the frosting. However, when used in such large quantities in a mixture that is predominantly fat, the sugar remains in its solid, crystalized form, which can feel granular or sandy in our mouths.
Sugar becomes less textured to us as its crystals get smaller. From what I’m reading, humans cannot detect things on our tongues smaller than 35 microns. This is tiny! One micron equals one-millionth of a meter or one-thousandth of a millimeter. However, powdered, icing, and confectioner’s sugar crystal are typically bigger than this. Sizes will vary by manufacturer and country but range around 45-75 microns.
One way to get the sugar crystals smaller is to dissolve them into a solution. Dissolving (or “dissolution”) breaks the larger sugar crystals into smaller parts so that they may distribute evenly within a solution. As for the type of solution, sugar dissolves in water (or water-based liquids), not fat. In fats, it remains more or less in its initial shape without breaking into smaller pieces. In American Buttercreams, fat makes up a large part of the mixture and cannot dissolve all the solid sugar.
In American Buttercreams, some of the sugar can dissolve within the water in the butter and added liquid, such as the milk/cream we add at the end. Warmer room temperature liquids can dissolve up to 2 times its weight in sugar. Just to put this in perspective, let’s say your American Buttercream recipe requires ½ cup (1 American “stick”) and 2 cups of powdered sugar, which is approximately 240 grams of sugar. That means we’ll need at least 120 grams or about ½ cup of water-based liquid. Typically these recipes, including mine, only add a few tablespoons of liquid, but not nearly enough to satisfy the ½ cup requirement for dissolving. (Additionally, adding that much liquid without it curdling requires making an emulsion. This is a different method and would place the frosting in another category.)
Another important component of powdered sugars is that many brands (especially in the US) contain a small percentage of anti-caking agents or starches added during manufacture to prevent clumping. Even in such small amounts, these starches will have a bit of texture since they are uncooked. Whenever I make American Buttercream, I try to use non-generic brands as I’ve found the generic types either cut a higher percentage or a lower quality of starches into the sugar, which creates an even grainier texture.
Some state that they can’t feel graininess/grittiness/sugar crystals in American Buttercreams. Taste and texture perception are highly personal; some tasters may have less sensitivity, whereas others have a heightened sensitivity to specific textures in foods. Or you may like this texture; many have also told me they like American Buttercreams specifically for its granular-sugary feel.
However, if you don’t prefer this texture and you’re wondering why your American buttercream has a grainy, gritty, or sandy texture, please know that you haven’t done anything wrong.
When using a high ratio of icing, powdered, or confectioner’s sugar in a buttercream recipe with a low amount of water, these things do not resolve graininess/grittiness/sandiness:
- Style of mixing
- Length of mixing
- Style or texture of butter
- Type of solid sugar
- Sifting vs. not sifting your sugar
You have to either:
- add enough liquid to dissolve all the sugar, which will inevitably create an overly runny frosting (and actually puts your frosting into another emulsion-based family); or
- use so little powdered sugar to the point where it will taste like barely sweetened butter.
Just to preface, because of these textural issues and overly sweet taste, I initially never liked American Buttercreams. I sought to specifically address these issues with my recipe, which is now the only American Buttercream I like. I’ve formulated it to minimize graininess by using high-quality sugar and less of it. I also use a high ratio of milk (not cream or higher fat liquids) to thin, which has a high water content to dissolve sugar (remember fat doesn’t do the trick). However, even with all this, a bit of grainy texture is still present in my recipe.
If either the texture or level of sweetness of Classic American Buttercream is not your thing, I have many alternatives for you to try. My first suggestion would be my American Dreamy Buttercream, which is just as easy to make and was created so we could have a super smooth, non-gritty American Buttercream. You can check out my American Dreamy Buttercream here.
What ingredients will you need to make Vanilla Classic American Buttercream?
1 | UNSALTED BUTTER
Butter is the primary source of fat and, therefore, stability for this frosting. Unsalted butter contains a bit of water, which will help dissolve the sugar.
I always use unsalted butter in all my frostings because that allows you to customize the salty taste at the end. Not all salted butters contain the same amount of salt, so using salted kinds of butter runs the risk of an overly salty frosting.
2 | POWDERED SUGAR
Powdered sugar provides sweetness and stability for this frosting. This type of sugar is very finely ground into a powder to help it distribute more evenly when mixed. When ground so finely, the sugar can clump together, so a small percentage of starch (usually corn or tapioca starch) is often added to powdered sugars, which can also be labeled as an “anti-caking” agent. Because of this, and if your powdered sugar was stored properly, sifting is not required for this recipe.
Try to use the highest-quality sugar you can find. Generic brands are usually cut with a slightly higher or coarser type of starch, which can also make your finished frosting feel overly sandy. Find one labeled “10X” or higher; the higher the number, the smaller or finer the sugar crystals.
3 | WHOLE MILK
Milk is a small liquid added near the end of the mixing process to lighten the buttercream. American buttercreams are mostly dense butterfat with lots of undissolved sugar crystals. The water in the milk helps loosen the butterfat while dissolving some of the sugar.
I use whole milk, which is perfect because it has the ideal amount of fat and a high ratio of water. This will help loosen the buttercream and dissolve a bit more sugar. The added milk proteins are a bonus for flavor and loosening butterfat.
4 | VANILLA EXTRACT
Vanilla extract is a general flavor enhancer for baked goods, but it is the primary flavoring element for this frosting. You use vanilla bean paste if you want to be super fancy, or if you’re really going for a commercial-style vanilla frosting, opt for artificial vanilla. Many bakers ask me how to make frostings that come from various grocery stores, and they almost always use artificial vanilla extract. I like the Watkin’s brand, which I buy here from Amazon.
5 | CREAM OF TARTAR
Cream of tartar is an acidic powder containing tartaric acid, a by-product of wine production. This sour ingredient will help balance the sweet taste of this frosting. You can find it in the spice section of any well-stocked grocery store. You can substitute citric acid or vinegar.
6 | FINELY GRANULATED SALT
A pinch of table salt enhances the flavor and also balances the overall sweetness of this frosting. Crispy salt bits are not as appealing in frostings (compared to savory applications), so I use finely granulated salt whenever flavoring frosting allows it to dissolve more easily.
Step by step:
How to make Vanilla Classic American Buttercream
STEP 1 | AERATE THE BUTTER
WHY:Straight out of the box, butter has a tiny bit of aeration or tiny air bubbles contained within. The exact percentage of aeration depends on the manufacturer and I’ve read around 1-7% of a butter’s volume is air. Using butter as-is without this pre-aeration step is fine, but generally results in a denser, creamier final frosting that can feel overly fatty/buttery. Aerating the butter lightens not only the color but the texture. This step is essential in Classic American Buttercream as it gets the butter to the perfect consistency and temperature for incorporating the sugar, which gives it a lighter final consistency.
HOW:
For proper aeration, ensure the temperature of the butter is around 60-70°F/15-21°C (1a). You don’t need a thermometer, but when the butter is at this temperature, you should be able to slide the whisk attachment into the butter with moderate pressure (1a, inset.)
Add the butter to your mixing bowl and whisk on high speed for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides at least once (1b,c.) Aerated butter will still be thick and ball inside the whisk (1d).
On a spatula, you’ll have lots of gaps in the butterfat (1e.) Aerating the butter causes it to become slightly lighter in color; compare the difference in appearance between before whisking on the bottom versus after on the top (1f.)
STEP 2 | ADD THE POWDERED SUGAR INCREMENTALLY.
WHY:
Powdered sugar is very finely ground and so is the classic choice for sweetening American Buttercreams. Adding the powdered sugar incrementally reduces the mess. This step shouldn’t require much time as we’re just distributing the sugar crystals evenly throughout the butterfat, so you’ll know you’re done when the sugar is no longer visible.
HOW:
Add the powdered sugar in around 4 to 6 parts. (This will largely depend on the quantity of frosting you’re making and the size of you mixing bowl.) Add the first portion and mix on low speed until no powdered sugar is visible (2a). Repeat until all the powdered sugar is added and mix on high speed for one whole minute. The buttercream will ball inside the whisk with a very thick and creamy (2b.) It will also have a slightly granular texture from the sugar crystals.
STEP 3 | ADD THE COLD MILK INCREMENTALLY.
WHY:
Add the milk in increments allows the buttercream to slowly bring in the milk and also allows us to assess the texture along the way. Using cold milk ensures the buttercream doesn’t get too soft during this step, but if you feel your buttercream is too loose to work with, you can place the whole bowl in the fridge to get a chill on the bowl, and mix once again.
HOW:
To adjust for texture, add the milk in around 2 to 3 parts. Add the first portion and mix on high speed for about 1 minute (3a.) Check the consistency; you can stop here is you prefer a thicker buttercream or add more milk to get a slightly looser frosting. I’ve added the full amount in this tutorial, which creates a softer and glossy texture (3b.)
STEP 4 | FLAVOR, SMOOTH, AND WHITEN THE BUTTERCREAM (OPTIONAL).
WHY:
The whisk with all its wires, is much more efficient at emulsifying than a paddle with a thick singular wire. However, during the mixing process with a whisk attachment, we’ll inevitably be also mixing in tons of air, which can collect into larger air pockets. Switch the paddle attachment (one with a silicone edge, if you can), which will smooth the frosting against the bowl, and greatly reduce the amount of large air gaps in your final frosting.
HOW:
Switch over to the paddle attachment for smoothing. For flavor, add the vanilla and a pinch of salt and cream of tartar. Mix for one minute and taste. Adjust if necessary.
To whiten the buttercream, add a speck of purple gel food coloring using the end of a toothpick to tone down the orange and yield a whiter buttercream. Note that I’ve not done this step in this tutorial so you can see the natural color of this style of buttercream.
Once everything tastes and looks great, mix on low speed for an additional 2-5 minutes and the frosting should be free of large air pockets (4b.)
Here, the final frosting has slightly glossy and creamy texture (5.)
Storage Tips
Leftover buttercream stores well in the fridge or freezer. Additionally, this buttercream can be made ahead of time for larger cake projects.
For a detailed tutorial, check out my How to Store Buttercream Guide.
Video
Read this before you begin
Measure by weight, if possible.
Measuring by weight is the best way for you to replicate my recipes. I develop recipes using ingredients (even liquids) measured in grams, which is why you see them listed first in the recipe cards. For measurements under 5 grams, I will typically only list the volumetric measurements (teaspoons, etc.), as most home scales are not precise for such small weights.
In most cases, I have converted grams to volumetric measurements (aka US customary units) for bakers who prefer this method. However, the measurements are not as precise and may have awkward proportions. The recipes should still work, but for the ultimate precision, try to use weight.
This is the OXO scale I use daily. I also purchased this budget version of a good scale, which I keep at my Mom’s house for baking. If you’re interested in other tools I use for my baking, I’ve compiled a list here.
Use room temperature ingredients.
All my ingredients should be used at room temperature, or 65-75 °F/18-24 °C. I will always indicate if you need something outside this range. If no details are given, room temperature is the default.
Pay attention to the ingredient descriptions.
I try not to be brand-specific, but I will always note an interesting result from a type of ingredient, be it negative or positive.
A specific note regarding salt: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt for everything on this site except for frostings. In frostings, you want the salt to dissolve more easily, and kosher salt tends to leave granules behind. If you substitute table salt (more finely granulated) for recipes that list kosher salt, you must use half the volume indicated in my recipes.
Substitutions are hard.
That’s not to say they’re impossible, though. For instance, in many cases, substituting reduced fat for whole milk (and thus reducing fat by less than 2%) will probably be fine. Using applesauce for oil or even Greek yogurt when sour cream is listed will definitely alter the fat content and adversely affect the crumb texture and density of the cake.
I experiment for hours to get these recipes to work for us. First, try to make them as written or use one of my tested substitutions, which I often dedicate a section to. Then, if necessary, you can make modifications afterward. Even then I would be pretty cautious, as substitutions are one of the hardest things to investigate in recipe development.
Read all the recipe instructions before beginning.
I’m in the “Pre-read the Chapter before Class Lecture” club... and I invite you to join! Baking new recipes can be intimidating, so let’s set you up for success. I want you to think about timeframes. Most fillings and frostings can be made ahead of time, and give you an extra day for mental space. Also, as you become a more proficient baker, you can anticipate and recognize steps. (“Oh, this has a meringue step, so I’ll need an extra clean bowl…” etc.) Ensure you go down the ingredient list and have everything at the right temperature.
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- 85 g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened slightly
- 100 g (¾ cup + 2 tablespoons) powdered sugar*, unsifted is ok
- 14 g (1 tablespoon) whole milk, cold from the fridge
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- Smallest pinch cream of tartar or citric acid** (optional, but delicious)
- Smallest pinch of table salt
For larger quantities or to pair with a cake recipe, go to my Cakeculator and choose “Vanilla Classic American Buttercream.”
- 85 g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened slightly
- 100 g (¾ cup + 2 tablespoons) powdered sugar*, unsifted is ok
- 14 g (1 tablespoon) whole milk, cold from the fridge
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- Smallest pinch cream of tartar or citric acid** (optional, but delicious)
- Smallest pinch of table salt
For larger quantities or to pair with a cake recipe, go to my Cakeculator and choose “Vanilla Classic American Buttercream.”
- 254 g (1 ⅛ cups) unsalted butter, softened slightly
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) powdered sugar*, unsifted
- 36 g (3 tablespoons) whole milk, cold from the fridge
- 10 g (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
- pinch teaspoon cream of tartar or citric acid** (optional, but delicious)
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
For larger quantities or to pair with a cake recipe, go to my Cakeculator and choose “Vanilla Classic American Buttercream.”
- Aerate the butter. Add the softened butter to a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer bowl). Using the whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed for about 2 minutes or until it's paler in color and slightly more voluminous. Scrape the bowl down at least once during this step.
- Add the powdered sugar in 4 to 6 increments. Pour about ¼ of the powdered sugar into the mixing bowl; you can eyeball it. Continuing with the whisk attachment, mix on low speed to incorporate the sugar, then switch to high speed and mix for 10-20 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and repeat this process until all the sugar is added.
Once all the powdered sugar has been added, mix for an additional minute on high speed. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add the cold milk in 2 to 3 increments. The frosting should be thickened and whiter from all the powdered sugar, so let's adjust for a softer consistency. Pour about ⅓ of the milk into the butter-sugar mixture. Continuing with the whisk attachment, mix on low speed to incorporate for a few seconds, then on high speed for 10-20 seconds.
Check the consistency; if you like it, mix for a whole minute on high speed and then move to step 4. If you prefer a smoother and slightly lighter texture, repeat adding the milk, and once all the milk has been added, mix on high speed for 1 minute.
- Flavor, taste, whiten (optional) and smooth the buttercream. Switch over to the paddle attachment if you’re using a stand mixer. (With a hand mixer, use low speed for this step.) First add the vanilla extract. Then add a pinch of the cream of tartar and pinch of salt and mix for one minute. Give the frosting a taste and adjust for salt and acid.
Optionally, you can get a slightly whiter buttercream by using the end of a toothpick and adding a speck of violet food coloring to cancel out the orange undertones. When all adjustments have been finalized, mix on low speed for about 2-5 minutes.
Recipe Card - Adriana's Notes
*Try to use the highest quality powdered sugar you can find; these are typically labeled “10X” or higher. Generic brands tend to cut their powdered sugar with a higher ratio or coarser types of starch, which when uncooked, can feel grainy or sandy in the final frosting. Two American brands that I use are C&H and Domino.
Also, if you prefer a less sweet buttercream start off by only adding around 25% less in step 2. If you prefer a sweeter taste, you can add the rest when you do your taste test in Step 4. This will make the buttercream a tad stiffer, but after smoothing it will be nice and creamy.
**Cream of tartar can be found in the spice aisle of most grocery stores. You can substitute citric acid, which I order from Amazon, here. If you don’t have access to these ingredients, you can substitute an equal amount of white distilled or apple cider vinegar.
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