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Why You’ll Love My Recipe

If you love the taste of a mocha, try this luscious coffee buttercream! Rich, creamy, and fluffy, this frosting may just become your new favorite. Try it on your next cake or batch of cupcakes.

Why not make this Classic Chiffon Cake or something a little more indulgent like this Chocolate Pound Cake to use with your coffee frosting? Take it a step further and make yourself a steaming mug of Irish Coffee to drink while you enjoy your cake.

A small glass jar filled with whipped coffee cream sits on a wooden board. Coffee beans are scattered on a white marble surface in the background.

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

Skill Level: This is a very easy recipe, especially if you have a stand mixer.
Total Time: You can have this frosting made in just 10 minutes!
Variations: As some commenters noted, this frosting does contain cocoa. Some people may not want cocoa in their frosting or may even be allergic to it. Fortunately, it’s easy to leave out the cocoa and replace it with extra icing sugar. Another flavour that plays well with coffee and cocoa is cinnamon, so why not try adding a sprinkle of that into the frosting?
Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a medium bowl, a hand mixer or stand mixer, and a couple of spoons. You may also find it useful to have an offset spatula when it comes time to use your frosting.

A small glass jar of whipped coffee mousse sits on a wooden board, with coffee beans scattered in the background and a bottle of milk slightly out of focus behind it.

What You’ll Need For Ingredients

Butter: As the name may suggest, buttercream does in fact require butter. You can use margarine or plant-based alternatives, but they won’t form the same consistency or keep the same structure and you may need to modify the recipe.

Cream: I used coffee cream (also called table cream) for this recipe, but you could use half-and-half for a lighter alternative or whipping cream for more richness and volume. The exact percentage of fat and the precise amount of cream is up to your own personal preference.

Instant Coffee: While you could try this with a very strong shot of espresso instead, you’d have to adjust for consistency, so instant coffee is your best bet. Crush up the coffee granules between two spoons or in the bottom of a bowl so that you have a fine dust.

Cocoa: The bitterness of cocoa powder is the perfect element to balance out the sweetness and richness of buttercream. It also pairs amazingly well with the taste of coffee and the flavours elevate each other. However, if you can’t have cocoa or just don’t want it, just replace it with an equal amount of icing sugar.

A top-down view of baking ingredients: a bowl of powdered sugar, a bowl of instant coffee, a bowl of cocoa powder, a cup of cream, coffee beans, and two sticks of butter on a small cutting board.

How To Make Coffee Buttercream Frosting

This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions is in the recipe card below.

A glass bowl of creamed butter sits on a marble counter, surrounded by bowls of cocoa powder, powdered sugar, instant coffee, a glass of milk, coffee beans, a striped cloth, and a hand mixer with beaters.

Baking ingredients on a marble countertop: a bowl of whipped butter, a bowl of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, coffee grounds, cream, coffee beans, a spoon, and a beige striped cloth.

In a medium bowl, beat the butter until it’s soft and smooth.
Crush coffee granules into a fine dust. Add coffee, cocoa, and icing sugar the butter and beat until it’s well mixed and light.
Add cream 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency and colour.

A bowl of whipped coffee sits on a marble surface, surrounded by scattered coffee beans. A glass bottle of milk and a beige striped cloth are nearby.

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Coffee Buttercream Frosting

Sugar: If you don’t have icing sugar at home, you can blend up some white sugar as an alternative. Be aware that you’ll need twice the amount though, since when it’s ground up into a fine dust, granulated sugar will lose a lot of it’s volume. This option also won’t give you the same structure as icing sugar, since icing sugar generally contains a small amount of cornstarch to give it more stability. For this recipe, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Room Temperature: Make sure to let your butter get to room temperature so that all of the ingredients can blend together smoothly. If you choose to use margarine or a plant-based butter that already comes at a spreadable consistency, you won’t need to be as careful about this.

A cup of coffee with a creamer and a bag of coffee beans.

Storage Instructions

Buttercream will keep well in the fridge for a few days, as long as it’s in a sealed container. You may want to let it sit out at room temperature and give it a quick mix with a hand mixer or spoon to lighten it up before using it.

More Delicious Frosting and Icing Recipes

Looking for more Frosting and Icing recipes?

Try this Maple Frosting for a distinctly Canadian option on your next cake, or this Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting for something rich and tangy.

A Buttery Vanilla Glaze or Cherry Icing Glaze is perfect for heavier things like pound cakes or loaf cakes.

Strawberry Whipped Cream is a lighter option, wonderful for dolloping on desserts or dipping fresh berries into.

There you go, everyone. A rich and creamy mocha in frosting form. Slather this coffee-flavored magic on to a cake and let me know how it works out for you.

Happy Baking!

Karlynn