Delicious Light and Airy Homemade Vanilla Frosting Recipe (2024)

Do you know what makes me happy? Well, lots of things. But, the one that I have in mind right now is my children’s great love for the light and airy vanilla frosting I make. Jack, in particular, will sometimes say (just out of the blue), “Mom — you make the best frosting I’ve ever had. It’s so much better than frosting from the store.”

Love that kid.

This light and airy homemade vanilla buttercream frosting recipe is simple, and you probably have everything in your house right this moment to make it.

Want to mix it up? You could try this Almond Buttercream Frosting Recipeor Orange Buttercream Frosting Recipe next!

Light and Airy Homemade Vanilla Frosting Recipe

If you want a printable version of the recipe, just scroll farther down in the post until you see the heading for the printable recipe.

Light and Airy Vanilla Frosting Ingredients

• 3 cups powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, soft and at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla
• 3 tablespoons of milk (approximately – you’ll decide on how much exactly based on the consistency you want)

Light and Airy Vanilla Frosting Directions

1. Put the butter in a bowl first. Since I have a handy dandy Kitchen Aid mixer, I beat the butter pretty well after adding it to the bowl.

You can do this with a hand mixer as well, of course. But, you know what? I’m pretty spoiled by my Kitchen Aid. (She’s red and I love her.)

2. Add the powdered sugar a bit at a time to the butter, and cream them together.

3. Stir in the vanilla and milk.

4. Then, beat the mixture well. If it is not thick enough, add in some more powdered sugar.

However, if you’re like me, you are always apt to add in just a bit more milk to make it slightly thinner.

5. If you want to add in food coloring, this is the time to do it!

6. At this point, I beat the frosting for several more minutes to give the frosting a light, airy texture.

This is my favorite food coloring to use. I didn’t always use it, which is why I had a horrible time trying to get a particular color once and figured out how to make the frosting extra fluffy. (I’ll tell more about that below.) So, while that ended up being a super awesome bonus, it was a pain at the time. But, now, I always use this food coloring for easy-to-achieve, vibrant colors.

This recipe usually makes enough for me to be able to generously frost 24 cupcakes, sometimes with some leftover.

More on How to Get Your Frosting Light and Airy

I didn’t always beat the frosting so long to get the light, airy texturethat everyone loves so much.

However, one time, I was trying to make the frosting orange, and I had a horrible time making it happen. I just kept having to add more yellow, then more red, then more yellow, then more red, and so on.

All that time, of course, I was mixing it in my Kitchen Aid. I was then rewarded with not only orange frosting, but light, airy, and delicious orange frosting. I got so many compliments, and people even asked how it was so light.

Perhaps you don’t want to make orange cupcakes though. Just keep in mind, there’s always blue cupcakes with monkeys instead.

Light and Airy Vanilla Frosting Printable Recipe

Other Delicious Recipes to Check Out:

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