A star rating of 4 out of 5. Beat 600g sifted icing sugar and 300g butter together with your chosen flavouring buttercream frosting colouring if using, add 2-3 tbsp of boiling water to loosen and beat until smooth.

Fill a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe onto cupcakes or smear in the middle and over the top of a 20cm cake using a palette knife. KEEPING THE ICINGIf you’re not using the icing straightaway, you can cover it and refrigerate for up to a week. Allow it to come back up to room temperature and beat again if necessary before using. SHOULD I USE SALTED OR UNSALTED BUTTER FOR ICING? Choose unsalted butter for a celebration cake.

This website is published by Immediate Media Company Limited under licence from BBC Studios Distribution. Use this simple buttercream icing recipe to decorate your birthday cakes, cupcakes and sandwich biscuits. Try adding a little food colouring gel for a splash of colour to your butter icing. Add half of the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Add the remaining icing sugar and one tablespoon of the milk and vanilla extract and beat the mixture until creamy and smooth. Beat in the remaining milk, if necessary, to loosen the mixture. Stir in the food colouring, if using, until well combined.