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Fluffy White Buttercream Frosting
This rich, creamy frosting is lovely swirled atop a cake or cupcakes.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)
- 1/2 cup boiling water
- 1/4 cup meringue powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar
- 2 cups soft butter, vegetable shortening, or a combination of both*
- *We love the flavor of butter, but if your cake will be sitting in a hot place, using some (or all) vegetable shortening will help keep the frosting from melting.
Instructions
- Dissolve the sugar (and salt, if you're using it) in the boiling water, and cool to room temperature.
- Use a mixer on low speed to beat in the meringue powder, until the powder is dissolved and the mixture is foamy.
- Increase the speed and beat until soft peaks form.
- Beat in the vanilla, then the confectioners' or glazing sugar.
- Add the soft butter or shortening a few tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Frost cake immediately; or store buttercream at room temperature, covered, for a few hours before using.
Tips from our bakers
- For coconut frosting, add 4 to 5 drops coconut flavor and 1/4 cup (1 ounce) coconut milk powder along with the confectioners' sugar. Or flavor to taste with almond extract; coffee flavor; 2 teaspoons espresso powder dissolved in the boiling water; butter-rum flavor, or 2 tablespoons fruit purée, added after the confectioners' sugar. Be aware that adding fruit or espresso will change the color of the frosting.
- For zesty lemon or lime frosting, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup lemon juice fruit powder or lime juice fruit powder to the frosting along with the confectioners' sugar.
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Reviews
I have two daughters with distinctly different preferences in frostings - one wants buttercream with all butter, while the other prefers one made with shortening. No matter what I made, someone was always disappointed...until I made this recipe! They both have declared it a keeper! It's light and fluffy without any kind of heavy, greasy taste and the consistency is perfect for cakes and cupcakes. Thanks so much!!!
I could taste the meringue powder in the frosting.Dear Avid Baker, we're sorry this wasn't the right frosting recipe for you, but we do have good news! We have a fabulous recipe for Swiss Buttercream, which is similar to this Fluffy White Buttercream Frosting except it uses real egg whites instead of meringue powder. We hope you give it a shot and find it's more to your liking. Happy baking! Kye@KAF
This is one of my favorite frosting recipes. We have used it many times on chocolate cake. Do you have any tips for using egg whites in place of the meringue powder?Lia, if you'd like to use real egg whites to make your frosting, try our Swiss Buttercream recipe. It's equally fluffy, creamy, and delicious; it just uses real egg whites along with sugar, butter, and salt. Check it out in the recipe section of our website. Happy baking! Kye@KAF
This frosting came together easily and piped like a dream. The silky smooth texture was heavenly. I used only one stick of butter and 1.5 cups Crisco. This recipe makes a large batch. I had enough to frost a 9" round cake, plus filling, and had 3-4 cups leftover. Frosting is very sweet, and did not note any aftertaste using the meringue powder. This one is a keeper!
I made this frosting for some devil's food chocolate cupcakes and the frosting was a silky smooth texture and piped nicely. I used half butter and half shortening. It was very warm in the room where these were served and the frosting held up well. I was a little disappointed because the overwhelming flavor was the tang of the meringue powder and nothing else. I might use half of the powder next time to see if the buttery vanilla comes through better.
Excellent recipe. Used butter and shortening and it came out smooth, silky, and most importantly, delicious! Will make again.
This recipe is AMAZING! I use this for everything now. It's great as is, and I used it to make peanut butter icing too that had that delicious Buttercream taste with just the right amount of peanut butter to compliment a chocolate cake. For those interested, I added a half cup of creamy peanut butter in between each half cup of butter (for a total of 1.5 cups of peanut butter). Thanks for the great recipe, KAF!
I just made this for the first time. I was looking for a compromise between the trading buttercream (butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla and milk) and Swiss buttercream. I absolutely love Swiss buttercream. My family does not. I always made cakes, using the Wilton buttercream. Had I known about this or Swiss buttercream, I surely would have made that instead. I found this recipe to be a great compromise. I still like Swiss buttercream the best, but this is so much better and easier to work with than traditions buttercream. Thank you for your recipes and tips. Your website is my go to for all types of frostings. So informative and helpful.
I have made this recipe many times, always with success. (I have already rated it 5 stars.) Now I need a frosting for gluten-free cupcakes. Can anyone tell me whether this recipe is gluten-free? I don't see why it wouldn't be, but I wanted to check. Thank you!
We're so glad you enjoy this recipe so much! While there is no wheat added to these ingredients, not all of them can always be considered gluten-free -- some varieties of confectioner's sugar, for example, contain a form a starch that also contains gluten. Also keep in mind that any ingredient that is not labelled as certified gluten-free may be exposed during processing, transportation, etc. While this may be ok for some who choose to eat gluten-free, it may not be for those with more severe allergies or intolerance. To be safe, always check your ingredients and with your gluten-free eaters! Mollie@KAF
I made this for a devil's food cake. My guests raved about the frosting and asked what was unique about it. I told them it was the pound of butter and meringue powder! But, I have a question. I would like to make a chocolate version of this recipe. Should I add melted bittersweet chocolate or dark cocoa? How much?Melt 3 to 4 ounces of chocolate, and whisk some of the frosting into it to loosen it, then fold all that back together. Happy baking! Laurie@KAF
