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This truly is the best chocolate buttercream frosting recipe ever. You’ll have to read on to see my secrets! I can’t believe that it’s taken me this long to come up with a chocolate buttercream icing that I liked. I have to be honest and admit that I only have tried on a couple of occasions to whip one up, but they never seemed to compare to my regular Best Buttercream Icing recipe.
How to Make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Of course, this chocolate buttercream frosting because I put everything I could think of in it. Cocoa? Check. Melted chocolate? Check. Instant coffee? Checkity check check. And that’s how my recipes come about.If at first you don’t succeed, throw everything into the mixer and pray! Words to live by my friends, words to live by. Really though, I took everything I could think of from all the recipes I have ever come across in my baking years and just put the best of it all together.You need more than just cocoa, but the dry bitterness really is a must. Do I even need to explain melted chocolate and salted butter together? No. I do not. Because I am sure as you are reading this your heart just skipped a beat with chocolate lust seeing those words together.
Melted chocolate. Salted butter. Amen.
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa
- 3 ounce one squares of melted then cooled semi-sweet chocolate
- 1/2 tsp instant coffee
- 1-2 tbsp heavy cream
- 3 1/4 – 3 3/4 cups icing sugar
Instructions
- Melt your three chocolate squares in the microwave, slowly and carefully until they
are liquidy smooth. Set aside to cool. - Whip the butter in your mixer using the paddle attachment until it’s light and fluffy.
- Add in the cocoa, beating until combined.When the chocolate is cool, add it to the
butter. Make sure it’s cooled!! Beat until it’s mixed through completely. - Dissolve the instant coffee into the one tablespoon of cream, then add to the butter mixture
- Now you can put in the icing sugar one cup at a time, beating until combined.
- Adjust the thickness/texture by using another tablespoon of cream, adding it
slowly until the texture you want is achieved.
So without further ado, the best recipe for Chocolate Buttercream Frosting/Icing! So creamy. So dreamy. So super chocolate bliss. Best chocolate buttercream icing ever!!! Feel free to play around with the amounts of everything listed and create the balance that is right for your taste buds. I just know that you most certainly need more than just cocoa, you need melted chocolate and a dash of coffee taste to make this amazing!
Happy Baking everyone!
Love,
The Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Rocks My Nest Magpie
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Total Time
- 10 minutes
- Course
- Dessert
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 15 cupcakes
- Calories
- 151
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa
- 3 ounces one squares of melted then cooled semi-sweet chocolate
- 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 3 1/4 – 3 3/4 cups icing sugar
Instructions
- Melt your three chocolate squares in the microwave, slowly and carefully until they are liquidy smooth. Set aside to cool.
- Whip the butter in your mixer until it’s light and fluffy.
- Add in the cocoa, beating until combined.When the chocolate is cool, add it to the butter. Make sure it’s cooled!!
- Add the instant coffee to one tablespoon of cream, then add to the butter mixture
- .Now you can put in the icing sugar one cup at a time, beating until combined.
- Adjust the thickness/texture by using another tablespoon of cream, adding it slowly until the texture you want is achieved.
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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annie says
was a hit at my kids party.
Giggi says
if you use good quality ingredients you will get good quality buttercream.
thekitchenmagpie says
anitamaxb This recipe takes my extremely popular buttercream icing and makes it chocolate. The proportions in this recipe are the best, I find, especially when you are adding cocoa.
HWLS1012 says
Hi Kitchen Magpie,
How do you go about making white chocolate butter cream icing? Coffee doesn’t really fit, and I’m yet to see white cocoa. Would you use cocoa butter and milk powder instead? And what proportions?
Thank you very much.
Sigrun
Baking Enthusiast says
I tried your recipe and it tasted awesome and the texture was amazing too!! But I chilled it in the refrigerator as I needed to use it the next day plus it contained cream. Sadly, the next day when I remove it out of the fridge I found the buttercream to be grainy and no matter how much I would beat it, the texture was gone. Any suggestion why this could have happened?
thekitchenmagpie says
@Baking Enthusiast I’d guess it’s the chocolate “seizing” in the mixture, I have refrigerated this no problem, so perhaps it’s either the quality of the chocolate used OR it wasn’t incorporated enough into the mixture? It should be mixed in enough that it isn’t grainy when it hardens….
May says
Can I use 1/2 shortening and 1/2 butter?
thekitchenmagpie says
@May You could, but the taste would not be as good, at all.
Karlynn Johnston says
You are so very welcome!!
rayanana says
Thank you soo much for these AMAZING recipes!!! And to think you’re in Edmonton too!! I’ve been searching since forever for great frosting recipes! My cakes come out great but I’ve always been told that my frostings are too sweet, so it’s great to be able to find ones that are just great!
The Kitchen Magpie says
Double it if you’re a heavy icer! For 4 layers definitely 2 batches.
Ginny Felton says
How much does this recipe make? I’m going to use this on a vanilla layer cake this weekend… four layers, so I’m trying to figure out if I need to double this?
The Kitchen Magpie says
Aw thanks Renee! I uh…have slight chocolate problem so it goes without saying chocolate icing HAS to be really yummy haha! I really want cake now…….
Lori Heyser Benett says
looks yummy….i copied and pasted to my recipe folder…..
Renée Rochefort-Smith says
There is NOT a better recipe for chocolate buttercream! This has been my go-to since I accidentally found it about a year ago! The best accidental find EVER!
Deb McKay says
Nummy!!! One of my weaknesses!
Pamela Marriott says
Still here…waiting. ..cast on foot. ..arthritis in other foot….your the one that said she likes to go for drives…..lol
Deb McKay says
Confession – I used to make small batches when I was younger and single, to do just that!! Oi.
Pamela Marriott says
Its a beautiful drive…..
The Kitchen Magpie says
Awww. you need to live closer!
The Kitchen Magpie says
I can eat this off the spoon! Sooo evil!
Pamela Marriott says
i cant bake. broken foot. make me some? pretty please. cant stand to bake. …..whine…….
Karlynn Johnston says
It does if it’s out for more than a few hours.
Foreveradame says
Sorry – didnt see…but does this have to be refrigerated??
Karlynn Johnston says
So glad you liked it! I haven’t tried other chocolates but it is such a great base, you can fiddle and experiment all you like! I expect milk chocolate would be lovely as well!
Sabine says
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I tried it today and it is beyond fabulous! I love love love it and so did the rest of the family. My son licked the beater for more than a half hour! Have you ever tried milk chocolate or white with it? thanks again!
Karlynn Johnston says
Use powdered! As for color, that depends on so much, different brands of ingredients, it really doesn’t matter as long as the taste is the same!
nancym9966 says
Question on the sugar. Did you use powder sugar or granulated sugar? I just made it and used powdered sugar and the frosting doesn’t look as dark as yours. Please help!
SiriSundar says
Hi karlynn,
I tried this out for my sons first bday, and it came out super!! Thanks a ton! It was doubly delicious & rich with the chocolate cake. Although i did a rookie mistake of adding cold cream insted of room temperature!! A few solidified lumps, but was able to rectify it!! I still have some butter cream & cake trimming left, any ideas for leftover recipes?
Thanks again!!
Siri, bangalore, india.
SiriSundar says
Hi karlynn,
Tried out this frosting for my sons first bday, came out very well & was super rich with the chocolate cake combo!! Thanks a ton!! Had a little glitch, when i added cold creme instead of room temperature! But was able to correct it…
Thanks again!
Siri, bangalore, india.
Aggie says
Hi Karlynn!
I followed your recipe word for word except that I lessen the icing sugar a bit. My frosting turned out perfect!
JennyCincotta says
Worked a treat! first attempt at butter cream icing and it was awesome…my piping bag was a horror story though! had to change the nib to a much bigger one and then after 2 perfect rose cupcakes it decided to not work at all…lucky they were a test batch! might have to put more cream in on the day to make it more pipeable 🙂
Nancy says
Hi Karlynn,
I ,loved your recipe!
Thanks so much!
Shannon says
@Nancy I used unsweetened cocoa and semi-sweet baker’s chocolate that comes in the squares, but have used pure semi-sweet chocolate chips to just as wonderful results!