Q&A for How to Make Buttercream

Buttercream is mainly made with butter and sugar! The key is making sure that the butter is soft, not melted—if you were to stick your finger in the butter, it should easily go down.

Place the buttercream in a clean bowl and cover with a lid or cling film. Place in a cool place overnight/for 12 hours at the most. It cannot be kept longer or it will start to go off. Also, if the room temperature is too warm, you'll need to refrigerate it but will need to let it return to room temperature (2 hours or more) before beating it with a wooden spoon to restore it to the right consistency. Where possible, make buttercream just before using it.

Use butter that is room temperature to make buttercream. If it is still cold, it will create lumps. Check that the butter is softened before going ahead with making the buttercream.

Buttercream with holes is a sign that it has been over-whipped and too much air has been trapped in the mixture, causing the holes. To prevent this from happening, use room temperature, softened butter before making the buttercream, so you don't have to whip the mixture too much.

No. It is not required to refrigerate a frosted and filled cake unless egg-based fillings or other pastry creams are used.

Yes, you can make buttercream without vanilla extract. Essentially, buttercream is simply a combination of butter and powdered sugar. You can flavor this with many different things, not just vanilla extract.

Frosting can be colored using liquid or gel food coloring. Follow the instructions on the food coloring package, if available, or add a few drops at a time until you achieve the desired color.

If you don't have powdered sugar (aka confectioner's or icing sugar) on hand, you can blitz some granulated sugar in a coffee bean grinder. This will make it fine enough to use as powdered sugar.