Honey Buttercream Frosting Recipe (3 ingredient recipe)

I’m obsessed with my new honey buttercream recipe. It whips up in 5-10 minutes and has a unique honey flavor!

This frosting is perfect for lemon cupcakes or a tea party theme! 

While it’s very sweet, they honey flavor is more complex and interesting than your classic American buttercream. It’s also not quite as sweet as American Buttercream. 

If you want a super simple frosting with honey, you NEED to try my honey buttercream. Grab your favorite honey (local? Raw? A little bear?) and let’s get started!

Ingredients

The first step to making this super simple and delicious honey butter frosting is to get your ingredients ready!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Honey: Of course you can’t have honey buttercream without honey! Honey adds sweetness and the signature flavor. 
• Butter: Butter is what gives buttercream the texture, and helps cut through the sweetness.
• Powdered sugar: Gives structure and sweetness to the frosting.
• Vanilla: Technically optional: this adds extra vanilla flavor.
• Salt: Technically optional, but a tiny pinch of salt will help round out the flavors and prevent it from tasting too sweet. 

This recipe really only needs 3 ingredients, but the vanilla and salt will really help your frosting taste its best!

How to Make

You can use this recipe as a honey buttercream filling for cakes or cupcakes, or as a frosting for decorating and piping!

This simple frosting with honey is SUPER easy to make, but there are a few tips for success:

1. Get the temperature right:
   1. Bring all your ingredients to room temperature, especially the butter. Keep in mind, room temperature for butter means between 65 and 75℉. In my home in CA, my butter can easily get too warm if I leave it out for too long before starting.
2. Set up your tools: 
   1. If using a stand mixer, place the bowl in the mixer and attach the whisk attachment. 
   2. If using a hand mixer, attach the beaters to the hand mixer and plug in. Set up your bowl nearby on a clear space on your counter. 
3. Whisk the butter until smooth and creamy. The butter should be very pale in color. This will take about 1-2 minutes. 
4. Whisk in the honey, salt, and vanilla extract until fully combined, about 1 minute on high speed. 
5. Add the powdered sugar and then stir on low for 30 seconds, then beat on high for 1-2 minutes until the frosting is creamy and the ingredients are fully combined. 
6. Once fully mixed, turn the speed to low and mix for 1-2 minutes to smooth out the buttercream. You can switch to a paddle attachment to make this step easier. 

Then you’re ready to enjoy this incredible honey frosting recipe!

The Ultimate Honey Buttercream Recipe

Recipe

Honey Buttercream Frosting

Krista Maxwell

This simple honey buttercream is so easy to make and has an incredible honey flavor. Whips up in 5-10 minutes!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 0 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24 cupcakes

Calories 131 kcal

Equipment

• 1 stand mixer can also use a hand mixer

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup butter unsalted
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/16 teaspoon salt (a very small pinch)

Instructions

 

• Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature (between 65 and 75℉)
• Place the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer, with the whisk attachment. Beat on high for about 2 minutes, until the butter is very smooth and creamy. The butter should be pale colored.
• Stop the mixer, then add the honey, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on high for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Add the powdered sugar. Set the mixer to low and mix slowly until the powdered sugar is fully incorporated
• Beat on high for another minute. The frosting should be thick and creamy.
• Stop the mixer. If you have a paddle attachment, switch to that. Then turn the mixer to low and mix slowly for another minute to smooth out the cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 131kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 0.1gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 174mgPotassium: 10mgFiber: 0.03gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 236IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 3mgIron: 0.1mg

Keyword 15-minute, buttercream, buttercream frosting, frosting, honey, icing, quick

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

How to Use

This honey buttercream icing, like most buttercreams, is great for piping and frosting cakes and cupcakes!

Using some powdered sugar instead of all honey helps give it enough structure for piping. 

When it comes to flavor, this frosting will go great with fruit flavors like lemon cake. I’d also love to try it with tea-inspired flavors like earl grey or matcha! 

A simple variation you could make is to make cinnamon honey buttercream. Simply add ½ teaspoon along with the vanilla.