Beat the butter with an electric hand mixer for 1-2 minutes until pale and creamy. You want the butter to be as light as possible before adding icing sugar to make sure your final icing doesn’t have a bright yellow tint. If your butter is too cold or firm to whip, then place in microwave for 10-seconds bursts until softened.

Mix in the sifted icing sugar in two batches, alternating with the milk – mix well between each addition to create a smooth buttercream. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated. If your icing is a bit too stiff for your liking, add an extra splash of milk.

Spread the buttercream on top of cakes, sandwich between cookies or place into a piping bag for more intricate decorations.

Notes: This recipe makes enough buttercream for a 20cm round or square cake, a 21 x 11cm loaf cake or about 6 cupcakes. For a vegan-friendly icing, swap the butter and milk for plant-based alternatives.

Let’s whip up something delicious…

• Sandwich between chocolate snap cookies to make homemade Oreos.
• Ripple on top of a tray bake with chocolate buttercream for a marbled effect.
• Frost raspberry white chocolate blondie bars before slicing and finish with fresh raspberries.
• For cute frosted cookies, mix a drop of pink food colouring into the buttercream, spread on top of chewy vanilla cookies and decorate with fun sprinkles.
• And so much more!