Almond Buttercream Frosting

The best homemade almond buttercream frosting recipe! Learn how to make the perfect buttercream frosting for all your favorite cakes, for all your favorite cupcakes, and cookies. This almond frosting goes with everything!

Do you have a birthday coming up, or a party that you host? Or do just simply love cakes and cupcakes with frosting? This is the perfect almond buttercream frosting for you if you love creamy and dreamy icing. It's so good, you might just want to eat it plain!

Buttercream may sound easy to make, but always there are hundreds of questions about it. It can have different flavors, and also it can be colored if you need a colorful frosting. Vanilla Buttercream is one of the most popular ones, but for those who love a little twist in flavor, almond buttercream is a nice choice.

What does almond frosting taste like?

It has an incredibly smooth and fluffy texture that makes it so easy to decorate with and the taste is heavenly! It has a sweet nutty-almondy flavor that you will fall in love with right away.

Ingredients

• Butter - Make sure before using it, your butter is at room temperature. I recommend using unsalted butter so you can control the added salt. But it's ok to use salted ones too. For substitute use shortening.
• Powder Sugar - or they call it Confectioners Sugar also. I recommend sifting it out before using it, especially if you’re using piping tips. A little lump can clog the tip and then cause an unpleasant situation.
• Milk - as a substitute you can use heavy cream or half and half. They are perfectly acceptable to use.
• Almond Extract - Good almond extract is a must in this recipe!

How To Make Almond Buttercream Frosting

1. In a medium bowl, mix butter with a fork or electric mixer at low speed.
2. Stir in powdered sugar slowly. Add one cup of powdered sugar, mix with the butter, add the second cup of powdered sugar, and mix again. Continue this process until all the sugar is mixed with the butter.
3. Add the almond extract and milk. Mix them with the electric mixer for 5-6 minutes until is smooth and spreadable.

If the frosting is too thick, add in more milk, a few drops at a time. If the frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar. 

Can you use vanilla extract instead of almond in icing?

Yes, you can, but the flavor will be totally different. No delicious nutty-almondy flavor, but you get a sweet vanilla flavor. Be aware of the strongness of the almond extract. If you want to use vanilla extract double the portion. For example.: if the recipe describes 1 teaspoon of almond extract, you can substitute it with 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Can you add almond extract to canned frosting?

Yes, you can. If you want to give your canned frosting a nice extra "pop" flavor, you are free to add, any kind of extract. Almond, vanilla, lemon, peppermint, or any kind, is a good choice.

Is milk or heavy cream better for buttercream?

You can use both, but heavy whipping cream actually makes it super fluffy and smooth. The secret is to bet it for several minutes. Why? Because beating cream allows you to incorporate some air into the buttercream.

How do you store homemade buttercream frosting?

Place the almond buttercream frosting in an airtight container this will ensure its longevity. Then put it in the fridge for up to 1 week. That means it can be made ahead.

Resting the buttercream even for 30 minutes will make it firmer and easier to work with.

Difference between frosting vs icing?

The difference is in the ingredients. While frosting contains butter or shortening, icing doesn't have this ingredient. Icing also is thinner than frosting, but it's thicker than glaze. Icing also can be drizzled or spread and has more shine and smoother consistency.

You can see here how I made the icing for the Cookie Monster Cinnamon Roll.