This creamy dulce de leche buttercream frosting is rich, silky smooth, and perfect for topping all your favorite desserts. With its smooth, caramel-like flavor, it's an easy way to add sweetness to cakes, cookies, or dulce de leche cupcakes. It's easy to whip up with just a few ingredients!
Homemade dulce de leche frosting is one of my new favorite things to make! It's made with creamy dulce de leche - a sauce made by boiling sweet milk. The result is a sweet, thick and glossy sauce that tastes like an even richer, creamier version of caramel.
I love adding dulce de leche to coffee, but it's a dream blended into this delicious frosting! It's perfect on so many cake recipes.
You can use this frosting to top vanilla cake, chocolate cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and more!
If you love dulce de leche, try these dulce de leche cookies or this dulce de leche mousse!
And if you need other frosting recipes, check out my other flavors like blueberry buttercream, espresso buttercream, caramel frosting, honey buttercream, coconut buttercream, or brown sugar frosting!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The luscious dulce de leche gives the buttercream a warm, caramelized flavor that's a little more mild than your typical caramel sauce. It's a thicker sauce that's so decadent and delicious!
- This frosting is made with just 5 ingredients and is easy to make in under 10 minutes with a mixer.
- It's an American buttercream recipe, so it's stable enough to pipe on cupcakes, cakes, and more. It crusts and holds its shape!
Ingredient Notes
Here are notes about some of the ingredients used. For quantities and full instructions, see the recipe card below.
- Unsalted butter- Makes up the creamy base of the recipe and gives the frosting its rich buttery flavor without making it too salty. Make sure to use room temperature butter so it's easy to mix.
- Dulce de leche- The star of this buttercream! If you don't know what dulce de leche is, it's a sweet sauce that is popular in Latin America. It originated in Argentina, and is also known as "milk jam" or "manjar" in Chile, Peru, and Uruguay, or "arequipe" in Colombia. It's made by gently simmering sweetened milk until the sugars caramelize, resulting in a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth treat. You can find dulce de leche in the global or Latin section of most large grocery stores. I used the brand Nestle La Lechera, which is perfectly thick and creamy. You can also make your own dulce de leche by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk- check out this dulce de leche recipe. Use room temperature dulce de leche so it's easy to blend with the other ingredients.
- Powdered sugar- This fine sugar mixes in easily with the other ingredients, thickening the frosting and making it smooth. It's also called icing sugar or confectioners sugar.
- Vanilla extract- This enhances the flavor of the dulce de leche. I always recommend pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste for the best flavor!
- Salt- A little Kosher salt or sea salt rounds out the flavor profile. Don't use regular table salt because it's too salty.
Substitutions and Variations
- Dulce de leche substitute: If you can't find dulce de leche, you can make this recipe with caramel sauce. You can also make it with creamy peanut butter!
- Powdered sugar substitute: Fun fact, you don't need powdered sugar to make dulce de leche buttercream! You can mix 2 sticks of butter with one 14-ounce can of dulce de leche to make a delicious Russian buttercream! This type of buttercream is butter mixed with sweetened condensed milk, but it works well with dulce de leche too.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Begin by creaming the room temperature butter in the large bowl of a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until it's smooth and creamy with a pale yellow color.
Step 2: Next, add the dulce de leche. Beat it into the butter until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula occasionally.
Step 3: Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low speed to avoid a sugar cloud. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix in the vanilla extract and salt on medium-high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Expert Tips for Success
- If the frosting is too thick, add heavy cream or whole milk 1 teaspoon at a time while mixing on low until the desired consistency is reached.
- If the frosting is too thin, add powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches your desired thickness.
- Mix on low for frosting a cake. For cakes, mix in the vanilla and salt on low speed instead of medium. This will pop air bubbles, making the frosting smooth and easy to spread on a cake. Mixing on medium speed will make it fluffy, perfect for piping on cupcakes.
- Make sure your desserts are completely cool. Before frosting your baked goods, ensure your desserts are completely cool before frosting; otherwise, the frosting may melt.
How to Use
- Add the dulce de leche frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star piping tip and swirl on vanilla cupcakes or brown sugar cupcakes. It's also delicious with Fall flavors, like apple cider cupcakes, pumpkin cupcakes, and apple spice cupcakes.
- Spread the frosting between vanilla, chocolate, or marble cake layers with an offset spatula.
- Dollop on top of brown butter cookies or brownie cookies, or spread between 2 cookies to make a cookie sandwich!
Storage and Freezing
Store the dulce de leche buttercream in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature on the counter and give it a good mix to make it creamy again before using it.
Freezing
Transfer the buttercream to a sealed container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then let it come to room temperature on the counter.
You might need to rewhip it with your mixer before you use it to make it creamy and spreadable again!
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe makes enough to generously pipe 12 cupcakes or fill and frost a 2 layer 8-inch round, 3 layer 6-inch round, or sheet cake.
Absolutely! You can make it ahead and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just bring it back to room temperature and re-whip before using.
Your buttercream might get grainy if the butter or dulce de leche isn't fully at room temperature. Make sure both are softened and mix them together well to get a smooth texture.
๐ Recipe
Dulce De Leche Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
- 1 electric mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment
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Ingredients
- 226 grams unsalted butter room temperature
- 128 grams dulce de leche
- 400 grams powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Beat room temperature butter in the bowl of a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
- Scrape down the side of the bowl and beat in the dulce de leche.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low speed. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
- Mix in the vanilla and salt on medium-low until light and fluffy.
- Spread your frosting on a cake or add to a piping bag fitted with a large tip to pipe on cupcakes!
Brenna
Great recipe! I halved the recipe because we don't like a lot of frosting - piped icing onto 11 cupcakes and still had a bit leftover. I also ended up adding a touch more dulce de leche to help loosen up the consistency for piping.