Citrus is easy to find pretty much all year round, but it is at its peak during the winter. Celebrate the season with a bright burst of easy orange buttercream frosting. Pair it with orange cake or vanilla cake for a crowd-pleasing bite. Or if you like the classic combination of orange and chocolate, this is an easy way to get to zest up your favorite chocolate cake recipe.
Do yourself a favor and use freshly squeezed orange juice if you can. Add a little bit of the zest to infuse the cake, and reserve the juice for this buttercream frosting recipe. The key is to reduce the juice by simmering it down, which concentrates its flavor. Want more? A little splash of orange extract won’t hurt either!
This recipe makes enough for a two-tier eight-inch cake, a three-tier six-inch cake, or about 24 cupcakes. It can easily be scaled up for a larger cake or if you just like having buttercream around the house when your sweet tooth strikes. Learn how to make easy orange buttercream by AnnMarie Mattila in this recipe with American Cake Decorating
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (360 grams) orange juice
- 24 tablespoons (338 grams) unsalted buttercream, softened
- 3 cups (345 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions for Orange Buttercream
- Add the orange juice to a saucepan and simmer over medium heat until it is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. You should have ¾ cup of juice in total when complete. Cool completely in the refrigerator.
- In a bowl fitted for an electric mixer, add the butter and sift the confectioners’ sugar on top. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low until combined.
- Add the vanilla extract, salt, and reduced orange juice, turn the speed up to medium-high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Use immediately, and your orange buttercream is complete!
This recipe originally appeared in the January/February 2026 issue of American Cake Decorating.
AnnMarie Mattila
AnnMarie Mattila has been the editor for American Cake Decorating since 2021, and her company, Kissa Media, acquired the publication in 2025. She is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education and spent many years toting around her sweet creations before changing her focus to food media. She has a master’s degree in food studies from New York University and sometimes still eats cake scraps for dinner.
