My chocolate buttercream recipe creates bakery-style frosting with rich flavor, professional quality, and an easy, foolproof method at home.
- 3 cups (12 oz/360 g) powdered sugar
- 1 cup (4 oz/115 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 cup (8 oz/225 g) butter , at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
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In a large bowl sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder to remove any lumps. Set aside.
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In a small bowl, combine the milk, vanilla and espresso powder and set aside.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the butter on high speed until fluffy and pale in color, about 3 minutes.
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Turn the machine down to low speed and slowly add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated.
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Scrape down the bowl and add the milk mixture, along with the salt. Cream on high speed for roughly 3-4 more minutes until light and fluffy.
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Your frosting is ready to decorate or you can put it in the fridge to firm up for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 5 days. Allow to sit out at room temperature for 1 hour before using.
- Use salted butter for extra flavor. Don’t be shy about adding salt to your sweet recipes! Salt bumps up the other flavors (especially chocolate!) and keeps the frosting from tasting bland.
- Always sieve the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Unsifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder will make your icing lumpy.
- Don't skip the espresso powder. Coffee and chocolate pair wonderfully together, and the espresso powder boosts the cocoa flavor.
- No stand mixer? No problem! An electric hand mixer works well. Note that the cocoa makes this buttercream very thick, making it difficult to mix by hand.
- Butter tip: You can use salted or unsalted, and standard (80% fat) or European-style (82-85% fat) butter in this recipe.
- Use for cupcakes or cake. This recipe makes enough buttercream to generously frost 24 cupcakes, or a 9x13-inch sheet cake, or to fill and frost an 8-inch layer cake.
- Allow cold frosting to sit at room temperature for one hour. When you take the frosting from the fridge, allow it to sit out at room temperature to soften for an hour.