How do you like your frosting? I like it sweet, light and fluffy and a little on the buttery side. Here I will show you my Light Buttercream Frosting recipe. Light Buttercream Frosting is almost like a whipped cream, but with butter. Yums! My secret? I use a combination of butter and vegetable shortening and I whip it A LOT. Light Buttercream Frosting can be used as a base for an array of flavor possibilities, with just a few changes. I will introduce you to many other flavors in the future, but let’s start at the basics.
To start, let’s talk mixers. I am biased towards my KitchenAid Stand Mixer, I absolutely love it. KitchenAid is not an affiliate, and we don’t make any money off recommending them. I honestly just want everyone to use one and know how great it is. Seriously though, you’ll want to use a stand mixer. A hand mixer is going to be tiring because you mix for almost 20 minutes.
For the first round, you’ll whip together the butter and shortening on high for 8 minutes- using a whisk attachment. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula when needed. Near the 8-minute mark, the butter mixture will become white and fluffy.
There is an art to adding the powder sugar. Spoon one ladle full at a time into the butter mixture and whip on low for 10-20 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Repeat for remaining sugar.
The butter-sugar mixture will be thick, so then you’ll whip in the heavy cream and vanilla extract. I will usually add the cream 1 TBS at a time and allow it to mix in for a few seconds before I add the next.
And last, you’ll increase the mixer speed to medium and whip for 6 minutes. You’ll end up with a tasty frosting that is so creamy and light. I love it. It’s amazing on my Rich Vanilla Cake.
If you try my Light Buttercream Frosting, I’d love to hear what you think! Please tag us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @Garnishinglife with the hashtag #garnishinglife.

Light Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Sweet Cream Salted Butter softened
- 1/2 Cup All-Vegetable Shortening (Original Flavor)
- 4 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 4 Tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Using the whisk attachment on a standing mixer, whip the butter and shortening on high for 8 minutes, until white and fluffy.
- One ladle at a time, add powdered sugar while mixing on low. Mix for 10-20 seconds between each addition.
- Mix in cream and vanilla extract.
- Increase speed to medium and whip for 6 minutes.