The perfect compliment to a delicious cake is luscious buttercream made from scratch. Even if you’ve never made buttercream frosting before, you’ll find it’s quite simple to make. All of the recipes below, except for the key lime buttercream recipe, are made with half butter and half shortening. If you prefer your frosting to be all butter or all shortening, you can easily substitute the amount called for in the recipe.

For the smoothest buttercream, I highly recommend sifting your confectioners’ sugar before starting. I find this makes it the best consistency! Always beat your butter and shortening together first until the mixture is light and fluffy. Follow the instructions for each recipe regarding any liquids (such as vanilla) or other flavorings that need to be added. Add confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time, beating after each addition.

Tired of plain old buttercream? Try out one of these delicious flavored buttercream recipes below!

1. RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Raspberry preserves give this buttercream a beautiful rosy hue. It’s a great flavor pairing for chocolate, vanilla or even lemon cake. Get the frosting recipe here.

2. ORANGE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

This orange buttercream recipe uses real orange zest and orange juice. It is obviously a great fit with orange cake, but also makes for a nice surprise on chocolate cupcakes. Get the frosting recipe here.

3. PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

Calling all peanut butter lovers! If you like peanut butter cups, then you’ll love chocolate cupcakes topped with peanut butter buttercream frosting. Get the recipe here.

4. LEMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Lemon buttercream is one of those frostings that goes on almost any dessert! The tangy flavor is sure to brighten up most any cake – you can use it on lemon, of course, or try it with strawberry cake. Get the frosting recipe here.

5. KEY LIME BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

The tart, terrific taste of key lime buttercream is the perfect partner for our Banana Lime Cupcakes. Get the buttercream recipe here.

6. MOCHA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

For coffee-lovers, there no better combination than mocha buttercream topping off our Mocha Cupcakes. Also pairs great with a dark chocolate cake or yellow cake. Get the recipe here.

Which flavor are you most excited to try? Tell us in the comments below, and pin this list for future reference!

Desiree is the Public Relations Manager at Wilton. She spends her days monitoring media opportunities, working with newspaper, magazine and television contacts, collaborating with bloggers and handling a variety of other odds and ends. Desiree has a degree in journalism and experience writing for newspapers and television. Outside of Wilton, she enjoys running and planning outings with friends.