This is the best chocolate buttercream frosting recipe. It really is so delicious.
It has a great balance of flavors—not too rich or sugary. It pairs really well with a chocolate or vanilla cake.
I used it in my chocolate raspberry trifle cake and it was delicious.
My daughter and I are currently in the process of making her birthday cake and we’ve already made up a batch of this frosting for it. We are excited to make a chocolate chocolate cake with this buttercream inside and white chocolate buttercream on the outside.
Check back for how it turns out. I’ll likely post it within a few weeks.
This buttercream recipe keeps well in the fridge in piping bags for a few weeks. You can make it ahead to break up some of the time it takes to make a homemade cake.
When you are ready to use it, you can take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature on its own or you can microwave it for a short amount of time to soften it up so you can use it more quickly.
What I also love about this recipe is that there is no use of shortening or the need to melt chocolate. This recipe is also very simple and quick and only requires a few ingredients.
1 Cup 100% unsweetened cocoa powder fine. If yours is more grainy you will want to blend it in a blender or food processor beforehand to make it fine. I used Brit Cocoa and found it too grainy I have also used Ghirardelli and that is fine enough to not need to blend it!
Directions on how to make The Best Chocolate Buttercream Recipe
To learn how to make this you can watch the video on this post, download the free recipe below, and/or continue reading.
In a food processor or blender, blend the cocoa powder until it is very fine. This prevents the icing from forming a grainy texture. Some cocoa powders are less fine than others. If yours is super fine you can skip this step—Ghirardelli 100% unsweetened is super fine and doesn’t require this step.
Combine the butter and vanilla and mix for 1 minute.
On low speed add the cocoa powder about 1/4 C at a time, mixing slowly until well incorporated.
On low speed slowly add the confectioners’ sugar a cup at a time and 1 Cup of heavy cream incrementally. Mix on low speed until well combined.
Beat at high speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy (about 4 minutes).
Taste test and add more ingredients as needed to achieve a frosting where all flavors can be tasted without overpowering the others: sugar, butter, and chocolate. As the recipe is written it meets this balance for me.
Aan impossibly good chocolate buttercream without shortening... just the good stuff.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cupbutter (3 sticks)
7 1/2 cupsconfectioners' sugar or a full 32 oz bag
1 Cup 100% unsweetened cocoa powder fine. *See Notes
1 teaspoonvanilla extract (I prefer Mexican vanilla)
1 Cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
If needed in a food processor or blender, blend the cocoa powder until it is very fine. This prevents the icing from forming a grainy texture. Some cocoa powders are less fine than others. If yours is super fine you can skip this step—Ghirardelli 100% unsweetened is super fine and doesn't require this step.
Combine the butter and vanilla and mix for 1 minute.
On low speed add the cocoa powder about 1/4 C at a time, mixing slowly until well incorporated.
On low speed slowly add the confectioners' sugar a cup at a time and 1 Cup of heavy cream incrementally. Mix on low speed until well combined.
Beat at high speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy (about 4 minutes).
Taste test and add more ingredients as needed to achieve a frosting where all flavors can be tasted without overpowering the others: sugar, butter, and chocolate. As the recipe is written it meets this balance for me.
Notes
If yours is more grainy you will want to blend it in a blender or food processor beforehand to make it fine. I used Brit Cocoa and found it too grainy I have also used Ghirardelli and that is fine enough to not need to blend it!
Did you make this recipe?
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Adding additional liquid to your buttercream, such as flavorings or purees, can make it far too liquidy to come together nicely. And you don't want to have to add a bunch of powdered sugar to thicken it up, because then it will be far too sweet.
If you are making a chocolate frosting, adding more cocoa powder is a great option for thickening it. The technique is basically the same as if you were thickening with powdered sugar, but you want to use a smaller quantity of cocoa powder than icing sugar. Try adding just 1 to 2 teaspoon at a time.
Too much sugar or not enough liquid can cause the buttercream to break or become too gritty. Using room temperature or softened butter, can also help create a smoother texture.
This is considered one of the very difficult methods for making buttercream because the sugar syrup must be cooked to a specific temperature and then, while piping hot, poured into the whipped egg whites.
A: Buttercream curdling or 'splitting' after adding milk is a common problem, especially in winter. The reason for this is that butter is essentially an emulsion and when you add milk the additional water (full cream milk is almost 90% water) causes butter emulsion to split.
Swiss meringue buttercream is probably the most standard buttercream for pastry professionals. It is incredibly smooth, making it an extremely popular choice for icing cakes. Compared to American buttercream, it has a much stronger butter flavor, but is considerably less sweet.
Fondant icing is a sugar paste and a classic choice for decorating cakes because it provides a smooth and professional look. There are three types of fondant: rolled fondant, marshmallow fondant, and poured fondant. They are all used for coating sponges and pastries but will provide slightly different results.
The frosting should form a somewhat stiff peak that has a little curl on the end. It's stiff enough to hold up that curl, but soft enough to create that little curl. That little curl is a great visual cue to know that your frosting is just the right consistency.
My Chocolate Buttercream is Really Light in Color. After beating so much air into the mixture, chocolate buttercream can lighten up in color. Of course this doesn't change the flavor at all, but if you want it a little darker, I have a tried-and-true trick.
Too thick: If you over-whip the frosting, it will appear chunky and curdled. While my fix isn't perfect, it will certainly help—by hand, stir in more liquid heavy cream 1 Tablespoon at a time until the frosting smooths out again.
This is because of undissolved icing sugar (also known as powdered/confectioners sugar). This version uses a technique where the icing sugar is dissolved into hot milk, which is then cooled and added to the butter. This results in a super smooth, grit free buttercream!
No matter what type of frosting you make, I recommend mixing your frosting on the lowest speed for a couple minutes with a paddle attachment at the end of the process. This helps push excess air out of the frosting, which makes it nice and smooth. Don't be afraid to let your mixer run on low for a few minutes.
To make the frosting extra smooth, stir it by hand with a rubber spatula for a minute or two right before you use it. It's an arm workout, but it's worth it! Push the frosting back and forth and spread it around the side of the bowl. This will push out any extra air and make it easier to smooth onto cakes or pipe with.
If your butter is too firm it will be difficult to combine with your icing sugar and you'll end up with lumpy buttercream. Too soft and your buttercream will be runny and oily, unable to hold it's shape particularly if you intend to use it for any kind of piping.
Introduction: My name is Mr. See Jast, I am a open, jolly, gorgeous, courageous, inexpensive, friendly, homely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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