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12 Easy Buttercream Frosting Recipes

No cake is complete without a creamy coat of icing, so I’m compiling this round up of my favorite easy buttercream frosting recipes!

From my basic vanilla buttercream to all the flavors and variations in between, there are so many incredible ways to take your sweets to the next level.

1. Vanilla American Buttercream

There are so many reasons why I love my vanilla American buttercream recipe. The first is that it only uses 5 ingredients!

This recipe is pretty much foolproof and only takes about 5 minutes to make. It’s the perfect sweet frosting for just about any dessert!

image of vanilla American buttercream being piped onto a fluffy vanilla cupcake

2. Black Frosting

For a spooky yet elegant frosting, I love using my black frosting! I have two secret ingredients- black cocoa and black gel food coloring.

The black cocoa gives the frosting a bittersweet, chocolaty taste that tastes just like an Oreo.

image of french black macarons that have been filled with black frosting and brushed with a beautiful gold streak of edible gold paint

3. Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Although I adore my American buttercream, I was so excited when I perfected my Swiss meringue buttercream!

Since Swiss meringue buttercream has a meringue base, it’s extra fluffy and has the perfect balance of sweetness and richness.

image of strawberry swiss meringue buttercream that's been mixed and ready to be used

4. Chocolate Buttercream 

As much as I love my vanilla American buttercream, this chocolate buttercream is just as good, if not better!

To make my chocolate buttercream rich and creamy I add in the perfect amount of unsweetened cocoa powder and melted chocolate!

image of a triple chocolate cake slice that's filled with milk chocolate buttercream and dark chocolate ganache

5. Best Cream Cheese Frosting

My best ever cream cheese frosting has all the tang from cream cheese, but is sturdy like my classic American buttercream.

You can easily pipe big swirls on your cupcakes and it’s stable enough to use on layer cakes (like my carrot cake or layered red velvet cake)!

image of buttercream being piped onto a red velvet cupcake with a large round piping tip

6. Lavender Buttercream

My lavender buttercream recipe uses a Swiss meringue buttercream base and isn’t super sweet, so it lets the flavor of the lavender SHINE!

It’s fluffy, silky smooth, and perfect on just about everything!

image of french lavender macarons filled with honey lavender buttercream

7. Brown Butter Buttercream

This brown butter buttercream frosting is packed with a toasty, decadent flavor and is the perfect way to step up your frosting game.

When you’re making this frosting just make sure your browned butter is at room temperature before adding it to your buttercream!

image of brown butter buttercream made in a stand mixer

8. Strawberry Buttercream

This strawberry buttercream recipe is packed with REAL strawberry flavor, and it couldn’t taste more delicious and fresh!

The secret to this recipe is strawberry powder– it’s made from real, freeze-dried strawberries. It adds tons of flavor into the frosting, without throwing off the consistency!

image of strawberry buttercream piped using a wilton 1m frosting tip

Oreo frosting, cookies and cream buttercream, whatever you call this recipe it is one of my absolute favorites and maybe even my signature frosting!

Whenever I make a batch, I swear I end up eating it by the scoopful! I know you’re going to love it too, on a spoon or on a cake.

photo of oreo drip cake

10. Matcha Buttercream

This matcha buttercream has a deliciously earthy flavor that’s perfectly balanced with the sweetness of this frosting.

This recipe is light, delicious, and just sweet enough! It’s important to get good quality matcha so the flavors really shine- you can order matcha powder on amazon or get it from Whole Foods like me.

11. Salted Caramel Frosting

To make my salted caramel frosting I first make some homemade caramel sauce! All you need is sugar, butter, heavy cream, and a bit of salt.

Once you’ve made the caramel you just add it into my American buttercream base and it’s all ready to go!

image of a slice of salted caramel apple cake on plate

12. Vegan Buttercream

This buttercream round up wouldn’t be complete without some dairy-free buttercream so, last but not least, here is my vegan buttercream!

This recipe uses pantry staples to create a smooth and creamy buttercream that tastes like the real deal. I tested a lot of different ingredients and found I loved Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks the best!

image of eggless or egg free cupcakes frosted with egg free buttercream frosting

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try any of these easy buttercream frosting recipes, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below or tag me on social media @chelsweets! 🙂

John

Monday 11th of April 2022

Great Snickers Bar Cake but after reading all the comments & searching your website, there is still no recipe for honey roasted peanut butter buttercream although you say it is. Please post this if you can. Thanks

Joan Schmidt

Tuesday 8th of March 2022

I love all your cakes and recipes. I’m going to try your Baileys Irish Cream icing next. What cake is best with it and or fillings.? Thank you Joan

Brenda

Monday 7th of March 2022

Hi Chelsey, do you have the recipe for the cake you used for the berry filling and Chantilly cream cake in this issue. That vanilla or white cake appears moist and lushous!

Brenda

Monday 7th of March 2022

Than you for sharing these fabulous recipes, I can't wait to try them, especially the strawberry buttercream. Greetings from Australia.