whipped vanilla buttercream

Happy mistakes. Today I made a happy, happy mistake.

I walked away from my stand mixer while making buttercream. I walked over to my computer to check an ingredient and got sucked into a facebook rabbit hole of opinions and drama and insanity. Please tell me I am not the only one who does this?!

And seven minutes later I realized my mixer was furiously whipping butter and sugar into a awesomely light and sweet frosting.

I mean, I know I did not invent this technique. (Heck, I have done it before with whipped chocolate buttercream!) Everyone and their grandma (literally, my great-grandma did this, only by HAND) has done it. But I do not have a whipped vanilla buttercream recipe on my blog so HERE YOU GO.

#boom #iamtalkingloud #idontknowwhy #movingon

Back to this awesome little treat!

I will be sharing the recipe for that beautiful pink velvet cupcake tomorrow… as I loved it SO much that I immediately made it into a layer cake. Because that is what I do. #iamcakemaker

Today is all about that whipped frosting amazingness.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Almond Extract
• 32 ounces (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons 2% or whole milk
• pinch salt

Instructions

1. Beat butter in bowl of stand mixer with whisk attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. (about 3 minutes)
2. Add vanilla and almond extract.
3. With mixer on low, slowly add in confectioners' sugar , milk, and salt; frequently scrape sides and bottom of bowl.
4. Once incorporated, whip frosting for at least 3 minutes on medium high to high. (My mixer went for 7 minutes)
5. If frosting is too thick to spread, gradually beat in additional milk.
6. Store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

Recipe slightly adapted from McCormick.

Tips for Success:

Having your butter and milk at room temperature helps greatly.

Substituting whipping cream for milk is a great idea, but not necessary if you get the butter whipped up nicely. (I do not recommend skim milk in this recipe.)

I have seen this recipe as a “quick one-bowl” recipe. To do this simply add all ingredients into the stand mixer then combine on low for one-minute. After ingredients are incorporated, turn mixer to high and leave it for 5 minutes. This yields very similar results!

You can definitely leave out the almond extract if that is not your preference. (You do not need to add more vanilla to compensate.) But do experiment with other extract flavors! Like coffee or root beer or lemon or orange!

And yes, yes you can decrease the sugar content if you want. I have seen it as low as 2 cups. Start with two and then taste test along the way to determine your ideal flavor and texture.

This is a fantastic way to enjoy traditional American Buttercream without it feeling too heavy or overly sweet. The almond extract and salt adds just a hint of depth of flavor.

This whipped buttercream frosting compliments every flavor of cake!

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