Easy cinnamon buttercream frosting

Our buttercream frosting recipe is so easy to make that you’ll wonder why you haven’t been making your own icing your entire life.

Yes, I promise.

Ok fine! Honestly, frosting from the can is also delicious. I’m just personally a bit excited about this recipe.

How to know when butter is at room temperature?

Butter that is at room temperature will bend not break. If you lightly press your finger on the stick of butter, it should create an indent and not go right through it.

If you don’t indent the butter easily, it’s still too cold. If your finger presses right through the butter it’s too warm.

Room temperature butter is 65 degrees. You can if you want to check the temperature but I never get this specific in my cooking.

Why sift confectioners sugar?

When making frosting it’s always advised to sift the confectioners sugar. The reason that you want to sift confectioners sugar is that there are usually clumps of various sizes that you won’t catch if you don’t sift it.

Sifting the sugar will keep your frosting from being grainy and you won’t have those crunchy sugar clumps that are so annoying.

Make frosting ahead of time

You can make the frosting ahead of time and store it in the fridge. If you’re throwing a party, make the frosting the day before. Then place it in an air-tight container and store it in the fridge. 

Set the icing out and allow it to come to room temperature. I recommend that you re-whip it a bit to make sure it’s thoroughly combined. Then you can ice the cupcakes or the cake before serving. 

I find this to be a perfect way to save a lot of mess on the day of my event. It also saves some time because the sifting and initial mixing of the butter is already done.

Important tips and tricks

• Allow the butter to come to room temperature. This is a crucial step to the process. The butter should not be too cold or too hot.
• If your butter is too soft the frosting will be thin. If this happens try adding more sugar to thicken it.
• Sifting confectioners sugar will make this recipe better. While this is purely optional, I highly recommend it.
• Add the milk one tablespoon at a time. Each batch will turn out slightly different depending upon conditions. So you may not need all of the milk that the recipe calls for our you may need a bit more. Use your best judgment here. 
• You can use heavy cream instead of milk in this recipe if you would prefer. 
• If your frosting is too thin, just add more sugar.
• If your frosting is too thick, add more milk.

How long will buttercream frosting last?

Homemade buttercream frosting will last 10 to 14 days in the fridge. You can actually leave it out at room temperature for up to 48 hours. You can also freeze the frosting and it will last about 6 months.

The bottom line

Making homemade buttercream frosting doesn’t have to be too difficult to do. The trick is to take proper care of your ingredients in advance.

First, make sure that your butter is really at room temperature. Second, sift your confectioners sugar. 

Taking those two steps will make a big difference.

Enjoy!