I’m a baker and here’s my perfect buttercream recipe for cupcakes - ready in 10 minutes

I’m a baker and here’s my perfect buttercream recipe - ready in 10 minutes (Image: Sophie Harris)

Buttercream, which is sometimes referred to as butter icing or butter frosting, is often used to top cupcakes and fill celebration cakes.

The main ingredients are butter and icing sugar, with the optional addition of vanilla.

Getting the ratio of butter and sugar correct is a tricky job, so I have tried and tested at least 10 recipes throughout the last year to find the ultimate recipe.

When it comes to frosting, many people like it to be sweet but not too sweet, so it can be hard to find the correct balance.

Whilst it is all still down to personal preference, I’ve had amazing reviews about the consistency and taste of my buttercream.

The buttercream takes 10 minutes to make (Image: Sophie Harris)

Ingredients (to decorate 12 cupcakes):

250g butter

375g icing sugar

One teaspoon of vanilla extract

One tablespoon of boiling water, if needed

Method:

Start by mixing your room-temperature butter with an electric hand whisk or stand mixer for around four minutes, scraping down the sides after two minutes.

Let the butter mix for a further couple of minutes before scraping down the sides and adding in the icing sugar.

The buttercream is perfect in consistency (Image: Sophie Harris)

I tend to add all my icing sugar in one go and cover my stand mixer with a tea towel, but you can add it a little at a time if you prefer.

Whilst this is mixing, I add in my vanilla before scraping down the sides again and mixing, making sure everything is incorporated.

More often than not, the ratio of butter to icing sugar means you won’t need to add any boiling water but if it is looking a little thick, add some boiling water.

When adding boiling water, quickly turn the speed up on your stand mixer or hand whisk to incorporate it before decreasing the speed.

Once mixed, your buttercream is ready to go, whether spreading it onto the middle of a cake or added to a piping bag.

The typical recipe for buttercream asks for a 1:2 ratio of butter and sugar, meaning if you were to use 250g of butter, you’d need 500g of icing sugar.

However, I often found this to be a little too sweet, especially when adding vanilla, and it would often be too thick to pipe or spread.

Therefore decreasing the sugar little by little until I found the ideal ratio of 250g butter and 375g icing sugar.

This ratio creates a gorgeous sweet but mild buttercream which is perfect in consistency for cupcakes.

If using this to spread onto a cake or crumb coat, I'd recommend loosening it a little with hot water or in the microwave for 10 seconds.