Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Perfect for just about any cake, this buttercream is silky smooth, perfectly sweet, and has a deep vanilla flavor. The vanilla bean paste creates a well-rounded flavor that pairs with any flavor—from chocolate to spice to lemon!
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I always feel like a bit of a cheater sharing just a frosting as a whole recipe. However, some frostings of mine get used ALL the time. Like my chocolate and ganache buttercreams. And there’s a good chance that at any given time I have some classic vanilla buttercream in my freezer. Right now, it’s rainbow colored and so fun.
This vanilla bean buttercream has become a recent favorite. I used it on a few cakes this summer. It goes especially well with all of my spiced cakes. Plus, it’s quick to make yet tastes luxurious and looks so fun with all of those vanilla bean flakes!
Is vanilla bean paste really any different than extract?
Yes! Vanilla extract is very different than vanilla bean paste (or plain vanilla bean). Have you ever tried a taste of vanilla extract? Not the tastiest thing. But vanilla bean paste actually tastes good on its own! Not that I recommend eating it by the spoonful. Still, the flavor is earthy and warm and well-rounded. In fact it’s almost a little sweet. I greatly prefer using it because it creates real flavor. Ever notice how most vanilla things just taste like sugar? Vanilla bean buttercream really has a rich, wonderful vanilla flavor. 10/10 would recommend.
To whip or not to Whip
I only discovered whipping buttercream a few years ago. Wow does it make a difference. It makes buttercream lighter and fluffier—not heavy and sickly sweet. It also helps it look smoother, but only if you stir it at the end. I’ve learned from painful experience that you will wind up with awkward, ugly air bubbles if you don’t stir it after whipping it.
Is whipping your buttercream necessary? No. But I always do it for any kind of vanilla-forward frosting, like this one. I tend to make my chocolate buttercreams less sweet, so the whipping is only for the texture.
I would like to point out that whipping isn’t suitable to every type of frosting. I don’t whip my marshmallow and chocolate marshmallow buttercreams because it causes the marshmallow fluff (whether homemade or store bought) to turn gummy.
How to make vanilla bean buttercream
Beat the softened butter until smooth. European butter smooths out nearly effortlessly, so I highly recommend!
Add powdered sugar, a little at a time. Beat it until very smooth after each addition. This is key to get a silky smooth buttercream.
Add vanilla bean paste and salt.
Taste and adjust as needed. At this point, add a splash or two of heavy whipping cream, as needed.
Whip on high for 3-5 minutes.
Stir well by hand for a minute or two.
Enjoy!
Pairs well with
You can add this to just about ANY cake, but here are some of my favorites!
Ginger Bourbon Peach Spice Cake
Churro Cake (sub for the Mexican chocolate buttercream)
Buena Vista Irish Coffee Cake (to tone down the Irish coffee flavor)
Grandma’s Carrot Cake (especially if you can’t refrigerate the cream cheese frosting)
Tips and notes for this recipe
Where to buy vanilla bean paste
I used to get mine at Trader Joe’s. Then they stopped carrying it for about a year! I actually couldn’t find it anywhere else, with someone at a specialty store saying they’d never heard of it. What?? I now get this brand online and actually prefer the brand I found. Plus it lasts so much longer! I definitely recommend keeping it on hand, as it’s useful in so many desserts.
Refrigerate overnight if possible
When you refrigerate buttercream, it helps smooth it out quite a bit. Plus, it helps the flavors deepen. Since each brand of malt powder is different, you may feel like your buttercream is grainy. Covering it and putting it in the fridge overnight then giving it a good stir once it comes to room temperature is really helpful in smoothing out any remaining graininess.
Follow the directions to get a smooth buttercream
I sound like such a teacher, but it’s true! I’ve read a lot of buttercream recipes, and some people just add the ingredients at any point in the process. Usually, that’s fine. But sometimes, like with my marshmallow buttercream, you need to add in your unique ingredient with the butter, as opposed to my chocolate hazelnut buttercream, which does best with the chocolate hazelnut spread added after the powdered sugar.
Also, don’t skip the 3-5 minute beating at the end. It makes a world of difference in getting things smooth.
My buttercream tools
Here are my must-have tools I use for making this buttercream. Affiliate links provided.
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Vanilla Bean Buttercream
- total time: 5-10 minutes
yields: about 3 cups, enough to fill and frost a two or three layer cake
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups (12 ounces or 159g) room temperature, unsalted, European style butter*
- 4-6 cups (800-1200g) powdered sugar, to taste (sift before adding if your sugar looks lumpy or you live in a humid climate)
- 1 tablespoon(13g) vanilla bean paste (weight could vary by brand)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon (2-3g) fine ground sea salt (to taste)
- 2-4 tablespoons (29-58g) heavy whipping cream (optional--use as needed to smooth frosting)
Instructions:
- Add butter to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large, deep mixing bowl and using a hand mixer). Beat butter on high for 1-2 minutes, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula a couple times.
- Add powdered sugar one-ish cup at a time, starting mixer on low to avoid a poof of sugar flying everywhere. Slowly increase speed to high, mixing until smooth after each addition (about 30 seconds or so for each cup). Scrape down bowl every 2 additions. If it’s looking grainy, add a small splash of cream when you scrape the bowl.
- After adding 4 cups powdered sugar, add vanilla bean paste and sea salt and mix until fully combined. Taste your frosting and keep adding sugar, this time ½ cup or less at a time, until it reaches your desired taste or thickness. If necessary, add cream as needed, in small splashes, to smooth out the frosting (but remember that step 5 will help smooth it as well). Don’t add too much cream, as there’s no recovering from that. Be conservative—you can add more later.
- If you need a pure white frosting, you can at this point add a teeny tiny, grain-of-quinoa size drop of violet gel food coloring. This, along with the next step, will help it turn close to pure white.
- Once you’re happy with the taste/thickness, scrape down the bowl again then beat on high for 3-5 minutes. I sometimes scrape the bowl once in the middle of this if I notice a yellower tinge along the edge of the bowl (see note about achieving a truer white color). This tinge just means the buttercream on the edge isn’t getting pulled in and whipped as quickly as the rest, and it can happen if you’re making a smaller batch or if you have a larger stand mixer (like I do).
- Once light and fluffy and fully blended, turn off mixer, remove bowl, then scrape down sides and paddle attachment. Using the same rubber spatula or a large wooden mixing spoon, stir vigorously by hand for about a minute, or until you no longer see any air pockets as you stir.
Enjoy!
If not using that day, place in a sealed container or piping bags (if using the next day) and refrigerate. Always place piping bags inside a sealable bag. Frosting will last, tightly sealed, in the fridge 2-3 weeks or in the freezer about 2 months. Let come to room temperature before using. Depending on how long you chilled it, you may need to whip it quickly in your stand mixer or with a hand mixer to fluff it back up.
*Butter should be matte in appearance and should be soft but have some resistance if you press your finger into it. If it is shiny, put in the fridge for 5-10 minutes to firm it up some. Also, European butter is ideal for buttercream because it has less water and makes a creamier frosting.