Silky Smooth Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
You’ll love this chocolate buttercream frosting because of how creamy, fluffy and rich in chocolate flavor it is. It uses two different types of chocolate to get it’s deeply rich flavor, cocoa powder and melted chocolate. The latter makes it silky smooth and lush. This frosting is absolutely perfect for cupcakes and layer cake and pipes like a dream!
Hey team! It’s no secret that I have a slight obsession with chocolate. It’s why I have loads of chocolate recipes on the blog. This recipe is literally the chocolate icing on the cake. It’s silky smooth, melts in your mouth and the flavor is cold without being overly sweet. It’s also super easy to work with!
Related → Try this frosting with my chocolate cupcakes, chocolate cake or my chocolate fudge cake! A reader favorite!
One of my favorite things about this frosting (other than how delicious it is) is how easy it is to whip up (literally) and that it uses simple ingredients. Butter, sugar, vanilla and cocoa powder and chocolate. Using two different chocolates gives you that deeply rich chocolate flavor and silky smooth frosting.
If you’ve tried my vanilla buttercream or chocolate ganache, this one sits right in the middle. It’s got the lightness of my classic buttercream and the richness of ganache.
Get ready for ultra-smooth and creamy frosting!
There are so many things to love about my Chocolate Buttercream Frosting!
- Creamy – The frosting is fluffy and creamy and that’s because of the softened butter.
- Silky smooth – the ultra-smooth and silky texture is heavenly. You can feel it when eating it but you can see it’s luscious sheen on cakes and cupcakes.
- Deep, rich chocolate flavor – that’s because we use two different types of chocolate. Cocoa powder and melted chocolate for an irresistibly rich chocolate flavor.
- Can be used in so many ways! You can use this to fill and decorate cakes, cupcakes, cookies and even brownies! It takes your desserts to the next level.
- Can be made in advance! You can make this frosting days in advance and even freeze it!
How Much Frosting Does This Make? This frosting is enough for 12 cupcakes or enough to fill and cover one 8-inch, two layered cake.
How To Get Perfectly Fluffy And Smooth Frosting
It’s all about the butter! Make sure the butter is properly softened. I write a full guide on how to soften butter that you should check out. It should be cool to the touch but will leave an indent when lightly pressed with your finger. I like chopping my butter into cubes and letting it sit out for an hour before using it. But there are ways to speed up the process.
Let’s talk Chocolate!
- Cocoa powder – It’s best to use a good quality Dutch process cocoa powder for this frosting. It has a deliciously strong flavor and is less acidic. Make sure you sift your cocoa powder!
- Dark cooking chocolate – Using good quality chocolate is important in this recipe. I used semi-sweet chocolate with at least 70% cocoa. You can find cooking chocolate in the baking isle of your supermarket. Make sure you let your chocolate cool down before using in the frosting. Warm is ok, not hot.
How to make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting!
- Beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until pale and creamy. I used an electric hand mixer but a stand mixer with a paddle attachment will work too
- Add the sugar, vanilla and cocoa powder and beat on low speed until no dry ingredients are showing
- Then turn up to high speed and beat until fluffy and well combined. Make sure you scrape the bowl down at least once!
- Add the melted chocolate to the frosting.
- Beat in until well combined. Make sure you scrape down so everything mixes evenly!
Pro Tips!
- Make sure you scrape down the bowl with every ingredient added to the bowl to make sure everything is mixing properly.
- Use softened butter to get the fluffiest frosting!
- Use high quality ingredients – high fat percentage butter, cocoa powder and chocolate will make a huge difference to the texture and flavor of your frosting.
- Sift your dry ingredients to get an ultra-smooth frosting.
How do I store this?
- Store in an aright container in the fridge for up to two weeks. Thaw to room temperature and re-whip for 5 minutes until fluffy. If you’re in a hurry microwave a 1/2 of it until almost melted and add to the rest of the frosting. Whip until fluffy.
- Freeze in an airtight container for
What is the best chocolate to use for Chocolate Buttercream?
I would recommend using cooking chocolate which is designed to be melted. I used dark chocolate because it’s not overly sweet giving you a richer chocolate flavor.
Do I need to sift the dry ingredients?
Yes. This is a really important step to getting super smooth frosting.
Can I double this recipe?
Absolutely! Just make sure you have a mixing bowl large enough to get everything to fit.
Troubleshooting Your Frosting
Too soft:
- It’s either too warm in which case you need to chill your frosting and re-whip it for 5 minutes until fluffy.
- It’s got too much liquid in it, in which case you need to add more butter and re-whip until fluffy.
- Chocolate was too warm. Let the frosting set about an hour at room temperature and re-whip until fluffy.
Too thick:
- It’s cold where you are. Add 1/4 of the frosting to a heat proof bowl and microwave until just starting to melt. Add to the rest of the frosting and whip for 5 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
- Add a tbsp of cream and whip until fluffy and smooth.
A Quick Baking Guide
If you’re new to baking or just want to brush up on the basics, these guides are a great place to start!
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Silky Smooth Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
This rich and decadent Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is perfect for decorating cakes and cupcakes. It’s luscious, creamy and perfectly smooth.
Serves 1
Ingredients
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 500 g unsalted butter, softened (see notes)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
- 20 g heavy cream, cold (see notes)
- 50 g Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 400 g powdered sugar
- 200 g) dark cooking chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature (see notes)
Instructions
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Cream butter – Add your softened butter, salt and vanilla extract to a large bowl. If using a stand mixer fit it with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium high speed for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. You will want to scrape down the bowl halfway through with a spatula to ensure everything beats together evenly!
- Add sugar – Scrape the bowl down using a spatula and add all of the sifted powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Begin beating on low speed at first. When no dry ingredients are showing, turn the speed up to medium high speed again and beat for 5 minutes.
- Add chocolate and cream – Scrape down the bowl again and add the melted chocolate and heavy cream. Beat in on medium high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl at least once to ensure the chocolate mixes in evenly.
How to make your frosting smooth!
- American buttercream frosting has a slight grit and is stiffer than most frostings. It’s great for layering cakes or frosting cupcakes or even making frosting decorations on your cakes. Here are some ways to smoothen out your frosting!
- Microwave half the frosting – ONLY If it’s a cold day or your frosting stiffened up, you can smoothen it out by adding half of the frosting into a heatproof bowl and popping it into the microwave for 10 seconds or until jiggly in the center, not melted. Add to the rest of the frosting and beat on medium speed for a couple minutes to combine. This will help freshen it up!
- Beat air out – Right before using or adding to a piping bag, use a spatula to beat the air out of the frosting until smooth. This works great if your frosting has just been made. Alternatively, you can beat the frosting on the lowest speed on your mixer for about 5-10 minutes. This will make your frosting ultra-smooth but also softens it. Don’t do this on warm days as it can over soften the frosting or even cause it to split. Just use the spatula to beat out the air.
Notes
Dark cooking chocolate – you want to use dark cooking chocolate and not regular eating chocolate for this recipe as it’s designed to be melted and used in baking recipes. Make sure you let the melted chocolate cool down before using. Warm is ok. Hot will melt your frosting.
How to soften your butter
Make sure your butter is softened for this recipe. It’ll help with the structural integrity of the frosting. I have a full guide on how to properly soften butter on the blog, but for reference, softened butter is 18C / 65F on a thermometer. Cut it into cubes and let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours until it reaches this temperature to until it’s soft enough that when you press on it with your finger, it leaves an indent with some resistance.
Heavy cream – I originally used milk for this recipe, but I’ve made the switch to cold cream instead. I find that milk makes your frosting too soft, and cold cream keeps it’s structure, and using cold cream helps stiffen your frosting while making it smoother. It’s a win win! For this recipe I’d recommend using heavy whipping cream which has about 36% butterfat in it. Check how much fat it has per 100g on the back and that number will give you a percentage.
How Much Frosting Does This Make?
For Cupcakes – This recipe makes enough frosting for about 24 cupcakes with a nice medium-sized swirl on top. If you prefer smaller swirls or just a thin layer of frosting, it will stretch further.
For Cakes – It’s enough frosting to fill and cover an 8-inch, 2 layer cake, including a thin crumb coat. The exact amount will depend on how much frosting you like between the layers and on the outside, but doubling it gives you plenty to work with!
Why I use less sugar in my buttercream frosting than other recipes
This recipe uses less powdered sugar than most traditional American Buttercream recipes to create a smoother, less sweet frosting. If you prefer a stiffer frosting for piping or need more structure for warmer conditions, you can add an extra 100 – 200g of powdered sugar without making it overly sweet. Just keep in mind, more sugar means a firmer texture a little less smooth.
Storage – Frosting can be stored in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to three days. To re-whip, add half of the frosting to a heatproof bowl and microwave for 10 seconds. Mix using a spoon then microwave for another 5 seconds. The frosting should be jiggly, not melted. Add to the rest of the frosting and beat on medium speed for a couple minutes until smooth.
Why is my frosting melting?
The most obvious reason is heat! If it’s a warm day, your frosting will melt because its most made of fat which melts when heated. Frost your desserts and chill them in the fridge. It’s the only way to stop the frosting from melting. This is especially important for layer cakes.
Nutrition – is an approximate and is based on per one batch. Obviously, you won’t be eating an entire batch of frosting.
A note on measurements – This recipe uses weight measurements for the most accurate results. Cup measurements can vary depending on where you are, which affects the precision needed for a recipe like this. Here is where you can learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales.
Nutrition
Calories : 5221kcal
Carbonhydrates: 401g
Protein: 5g
Fat: 413g
Saturated Fat: 261g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g
Monounsaturated Fat : 107g
Trans Fat : 16g
Cholesterol: 1098mg
Sodium: 2394mg
Potassium : 153mg
Sugar : 393g
Vitamin A: 12789IU
Vitamin C: 0.1mg
Calcium: 139mg
Iron: 0.4mg
Nutrition Disclosure
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5 comments
So rich and creamy and it only takes 12 minutes to make! N x
Hi Nick, I love your recipes and especially because I’m in Australia! With this buttercream, is this stable for wedding style cupcakes because you don’t have a lot of icing sugar in it which is common for american style buttercream?
Thanks Nick
Wannette
Hi Wannette! Hmm, with any frosting, if it’s a warm day it will melt. No matter what’s in the recipe. So my recommendation, especially with this recipe is to keep your cupcakes chilled if it’s warm. Hope that helps! N x
¡Hola! Esta es una de las mejores recetas de buttercream que he probado. Es estable, cremosa y no muy dulce. Saludos desde Guatemala, gracias por transmitir ese amor en cada receta que realizas.
Hola Jimena! Me alegro mucho de que te haya encantado la receta y gracias por los maravillosos comentarios. N x