Silky smooth icing is nice, but Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting Recipe has crunchy little crystals of brown sugar throughout it making it reminiscent of snickerdoodle cookies. Use Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream Buttercream Frosting Recipe on my now-classic Snickerdoodle Cake, white cake, or carrot cake for an indulgent touch!
What is it about a cake that makes you go back for more? If you’re like most people, it’s the frosting. My husband is one of the only people I know who actually scrapes frosting OFF of cakes and eats the cake only. Mostly.
I say mostly because the frosting (or icing, depending on your geography) you see in that picture above is one of the only ones he eats with enthusiasm. We’re talking about Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting Recipe, folks. You’re looking at something that is quite possibly the most indulgent frosting that can possibly be made. It makes a seriously abundant amount: enough to frost a large layer cake QUITE generously or a double batch of cupcakes or a bunch of cookies and still have a couple of spoons full left for snitching to boot.
This isn’t your average buttercream, and it makes me wonder if that’s why my husband loves it so. Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting Recipe is flecked with crunchy little bits of brown sugar and is fragrant with sweet cinnamon making it a stand-out in the frosting/icing/what-have-you field. It absolutely belongs on my now-classic Snickerdoodle Cake, but it’s also beyond perfect on white cake and makes a unique and welcome change from the norm when used to frost a carrot cake. Maybe ‘crunchy sugar bits’ and ‘frosting’ aren’t normally something that would be thought of as a great pairing, but once you’ve tried it, I think you’ll agree; it’s just so darned good.
Cook’s Notes:
- Admittedly, this makes an ENORMOUS amount of Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting Recipe. If you’re planning on making my Snickerdoodle Cake, you’re not going to want to reduce the recipe, but if you’re making cupcakes or cookies or a single layer cake, you may find that halving the recipe will still give you plenty. Honest-to-Pete, though, the worst case scenario is having extra buttercream on hand. I don’t know about you, but I am almost always glad to have buttercream around.
- There is a range given in the recipe for the confectioner’s sugar. This is because not everyone likes their buttercream the same thickness. If you prefer a more easily spreadable frosting, you’ll probably want to go closer to the 8 cup mark. Want it thicker and more architectural? Add closer to 9 cups.
- While here in the US, half and half is abundant, I understand that it isn’t as widely available internationally. If you’re wondering what to substitute because half and half isn’t available in your market, mix together light cream and whole milk in equal parts. Tada!
Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Rate RecipeIngredients
- 4 and 1/2 sticks butter or 1 pound, 2 ounces by weight, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 8-9 cups confectioner's sugar powdered
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of half and half plus more if needed
Instructions
To Make the Buttercream:
- Beat together the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until fluffy and pale in colour.
- Add 6 cups of the confectioner's sugar and the vanilla extract and beat, starting on low and moving up to high, until it is fully incorporated.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the half and half. Beat to incorporate again.
- Add another 2 cups of the confectioner's sugar and beat, starting on low and moving up to high, until fully incorporated. Check the consistency of the buttercream. If it needs to be thicker, add the remaining confectioner's sugar. If it is too thick, add more half and half a teaspoon at a time, beating after each addition, until it reaches the consistency you like. Store unused portions of the buttercream in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Reader's Thoughts...
Bev says
Hi can I use double cream instead of half & half
Thanks Bev
Rebecca says
Hi Bev- I don’t see a reason to NOT use double cream. It’ll definitely be richer, though!
Melissa Ann Cooper says
This icing is amaaaaazing, as is the snickerdoodle cake. My kids loved it so much that they even had it as their wedding cake (along with chocolate, chocolate chip cake)
Rebecca says
That makes me so very happy, Melissa Ann! I’m so touched they loved it enough for their wedding!
Chloe says
Hi Rebecca! I was wondering how many cups of frosting this recipe makes?
Rebecca says
Hi Chloe! It’s been a very long while since I made this frosting and I can’t find my notes on it from when I was developing it. My best guess based on quantities is that it makes somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 cups. 🙂 I hope that helps a little!
Sarah Held says
I make this frosting all the time. It is amazing! It is my most requested recipe.
Rebecca says
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you love it, Sarah!!!
Brittany says
Would you recommend using salted butter or unsalted butter? Thanks!
Rebecca says
Hi Brittany- I always recommend unsalted unless otherwise specified. 🙂
Risa says
Can the excess frosting be frozen to use at a later date?
Deborah Lagutaris says
I wonder how it would taste if you used browned butter…
Leslie says
That sounds like a great idea! Did you happen to try it?
Robin Casarez says
Tried it! It was even more amazing made with the brown butter! I also used brown butter in the accompanying snicker doodle cake. Heavenly!
Rebecca says
Oh my yes, Robin! That’s delicious! Thanks so much for letting me know you love it!!
I Just Made This name so I could ask a question. Why are you still reading this? says
Do I have to use whole milk?
Rebecca says
No. You can definitely adjust it if you wish, but I have not tested it with other milks or dairy products, so proceed at your own risk. 😀 If you DO try it and you want to stop back in and let us know what you substituted and how it worked for you, I’d be grateful!
Cake lover says
This is too much batter for 2 9 inch round. Next time i will use 3 pans to keep from getting the crusty edges.
Rebecca says
This is the recipe for the frosting. Are you sure you commented in the right place?
frances says
i made the snickerdoodle cake as a dozen cupcakes and a hefty 8 inch round, so halved the frosting and still had plenty. probably could have done 1/3, if i felt like doing that math. i also subbed cream cheese for half the butter to help both cut the sweetness and keep the shape of the final product when piped. it didn’t taste very cinnamon-y to me, so i ended up using 3 teaspoons (yes in a half batch, so 1 tsp more than the full calls for). my husband said he could really taste it then, but it wasn’t overloaded, which worked as i was presenting these as cinnamon toast crunch cupcakes. lovely and easy.
Charisse says
I’m planning to make the snicker doodle cake for my daughter’s first birthday. But I live in hot and humid tropical Singapore. Do you think the buttercream will hold up or melt away in the heat?
If I modify it and do it the Swiss meringue style, Issit advisable to still add the half and half?
Rebecca says
Hmmmmmmm. I think the buttercream would suffer a bit in super heat and humidity. As for modifying it Swiss meringue style, I haven’t tested it so anything I’d suggest would be guessing! I’d love to know how you end up doing it, though! Please check in after the party and let me now how it went!
Annie says
Looking forward to making this buttercream, it sounds amazing! When you say “more architectural” do you mean for decorating purposes? I’m ideally hoping for an icing with a little bit of a “crust” to it for a design I’m doing on a cake and I want to make sure I’m as close to that as possible!
Rebecca says
I would say this gets a bit of a crust to it! Of course, if this is going on a cake for a special occasion or an event, I HIGHLY ADVISE giving it a trial run ahead of time. You could frost a batch of cookies, just to be sure. I’d never suggest trying a recipe you’ve never tried before for an event!
crystal says
is there a substiture for half and half- do we have to use it? i live in the UK so there arent many half and half products…
crystal says
never mind after i just finished writing my comment i found your answer to it x
Rebecca says
I’m glad you found it!! 😀
Skye says
My husband tends to cut off most of the icing from the cake/cupcake he’s about to eat and he ends up giving it to me. So I’m torn here, do I introduce him to this icing so he can stop doing that clearly wrong behavior, even though I will then get less icing?
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
This frosting sounds amazing! Love the crunchy bits from the brown sugar!
Chloe @ foodlikecake says
That buttercream sounds amazing!!
Bri | Bites of Bri says
This looks delicious! Having extra icing is the worst thing ever…only for my skinny jeans.
pamela says
this is seriously the best.frosting.ever.
cheri says
This looks like an amazing frosting, never had anything like this before. Beautiful.
tanya says
I can honestly say I’ve never scraped frosting off my cake! I love the crunchy bits in this frosting. It really sounds lovely!