Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Perfectly rich and chocolatey, without being overly sweet.
Texture: Incredibly smooth, creamy, and luscious.
Ease: There’s one more step beyond a regular American-style buttercream, but I promise, it’s 100% worth the little extra work.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Instantly improves any cake, cupcake, or pretty much any other dessert.
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This buttercream truly lives up to the name ‘Best Ever Chocolate Buttercream Frosting’.
If we’re being honest, American buttercream often leaves a lot to be desired. It’s typically cloyingly sweet and sugary, with a discernible grittiness from the powdered sugar.
Compared to the ultra-smooth silkiness of Swiss Meringue Buttercream or Italian Meringue Buttercream, American buttercream usually just pales in comparison.
Although nothing will quite compare to Swiss or Italian Meringue Buttercream … I think I’ve discovered the next best option.
It’s an American-style buttercream that uses one simple technique and two secret ingredients to get that rich, smooth, creamy, velvety, silky texture and strong chocolate flavor, without nearly as much work.
I have to give credit to the amazing Stella Parks for her genius that is this buttercream recipe.
Learn the secrets to this Best Ever Best Ever Chocolate Buttercream Frosting below, and learn all my best tips and tricks in the pink tip box below!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make the BEST Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
The Secrets to the Best Ever Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Ganache: Add a small amount of cooled (but not chilled) chocolate ganache to the buttercream. This magic combo of heavy cream + melted chocolate lends intense fudgy richness to the American buttercream texture and a huge dose of chocolate flavor.
- High Fat Cocoa Powder + Organic Powdered Sugar: More on these magical ingredients, and where to find them, below.
Why Add Chocolate Ganache to Buttercream?
In some of my chocolate buttercream recipes, I simply add cocoa powder. In others, I’ll also add some melted chocolate. But thanks to Stella Parks, I now know the best way to get chocolate flavor AND fudgy texture is by adding in ganache! A small amount, just enough to pack a punch without making the buttercream too dense.
There are two keys to adding ganache to your buttercream:
- Avoid using chocolate chips. Instead, chop up a bar of your favorite semi-sweet baking chocolate. Chocolate chips have emulsifiers and stabilizers that maintain that chip shape even after being exposed to heat, so they simply don’t melt down as smooth and creamy.
- The ganache needs to be at just the right temperature before adding to the frosting. What’s the right temp? Room temp, about 75°F. It should be thick but still somewhat pourable. Too hot and it’ll melt the butter. Too cold and it’ll harden.
The Best Powdered Sugar for Buttercream is Organic
- Organic powdered sugar is made with tapioca starch to prevent caking. Organic powdered sugar is perfect for any instance you want the sugar to dissolve smoothly (which means it would be awful for using as a decorative garnish).
- Conventional powdered sugar is made with cornstarch to prevent caking.
- Tapioca starch is not only sweeter than cornstarch, but it dissolves better into buttercream. Less chalky gritness.
- Whatever you do, DON’T SKIP SIFTING! Especially if using organic powdered sugar, which gets ultra clumpy.
Where to buy organic powdered sugar?
Trader Joe’s sells it under its own name. The brand Wholesome is the other most widely available option here in the US. Use their store locator to find where they stock near you. Alternatively, buy it on Amazon here.
Do I HAVE to use organic powdered sugar?
No – but it’s these little things that add up to take your baking from good to WOW. If you’re using conventional powdered sugar, just make sure it’s finely ground 10x (not 6x which is for decorating).
High-Fat Dutch Process Cocoa is Magic!
Seriously.
Most cocoa powder you find at the grocery store is starchy. For a fun test, the next time you’re at the store turn all the cocoa powder containers around to compare their nutrition facts. You’ll see the amount of fat will vary by brand. High-fat cocoa powder has between 22-24% fat, whereas most grocery store brands have half that amount. This means they’re literally more drying. If you ever have a problem with dry chocolate cake, cupcakes, or brownies, take a peek at your cocoa powder’s fat percentage.
Why Dutch process? Because its acidity has been neutralized and tends to be of high quality since it’s a specialty product. This matters that much more when it’s going into a raw preparation like buttercream. Learn more about Natural vs. Dutch Processed Cocoa Powders here.
Where to buy high-fat Dutch process cocoa?
I know you’re probably thinking that just finding Dutch process cocoa is challenging enough. Here are some options for getting your hands on this magical cocoa:
Be Sure Your Butter is at the Right Temperature!
When making any kind of American buttercream, you want to be sure your butter is at a COOL room temperature. It should not be so warm that it looks and feels oily and greasy because guess what… that’s exactly how the buttercream will turn out. Which also makes it more difficult to work with on cakes & cupcakes.
Why does my buttercream taste like BUTTER?
Well… because there’s a ton of butter in it haha! It’s in the name after all. But if you notice this in an unpleasant way, try switching brands of butter. Also, always use unsalted butter in buttercream. Not only does this allow you to control the amount of salt, but unsalted is generally fresher because salt acts as a preservative in salted butter, giving it a longer shelf life. Learn more about Salted vs. Unsalted Butter here.
How Long Should I Beat My Buttercream?
- It’s so important to use your mixer correctly. Below, the image on the left shows barely beaten frosting, and the image on the right shows frosting beaten for several minutes.
- The longer you beat your buttercream, the more air you’ll whip into it, and the lighter and smoother it’ll be.
- For my mixer, the total beating time is about 5 minutes. That doesn’t include stopping to scrape down the sides sides and bottom of the bowl and your paddle attachment. The exact timing will depend on your mixer.
- You’re looking more for visual indicators. The final buttercream should be lighter in color than when you started. It should look and taste smooth and creamy and be easy to spread.
Can You Freeze Buttercream?
Yes! Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature and re-whip in the stand mixer until light and fluffy again. Add a tablespoon or 2 of powdered sugar if it needs to thicken.
How to Store Buttercream
Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to a week. Let come to room temperature and re-whip in the stand mixer until light and fluffy again. Add a tablespoon or 2 of powdered sugar if it needs to thicken.
Ways to use this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:
More Buttercream Recipes & Tips:
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cold heavy cream
- 4 ounces (113 grams) finely chopped semisweet chocolate (don't use chocolate chips)
- 3 sticks (340 grams) unsalted butter, at a cool room temperature
- 2 cups (250 grams) organic powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 cup (85 grams) high-fat Dutch cocoa powder, sifted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let stand for a few minutes before stirring until smooth. Set aside and cool to approximately 75°F or until thickened but still pourable.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and salt. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes, or until very well blended, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Reduce speed to medium-low and add the cooled chocolate ganache mixture. Continue beating until the frosting has lightened in color and texture, about 2 minutes more, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Notes
This post was originally published in 2020 and has been updated with additional tips and recommendations. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
I havent tried this recipe yet but looking at all the positive comments i literally cant wait to make this luscious looking buttercream. you mentioned to add chocolate chip, can we use callebaut chocolate as they come in callets and not bars? thanks
Is it possible to use food coloring on chocolate buttercream? If I wanted to lighten the brown with white food coloring, will it change the consistency of it because of the chocolate?
Hmm I haven’t personally tested food coloring in this chocolate frosting recipe, but I’m thinking it should work! Let me know how it turns out.
Hey there ladies! I actually made a baileys redvelvet buttercream with this recipie but uf I’m being honest I had to adjust the amount of cocoa powder in the buttercream in order to have a lighter color. I added extra ganache in cocoa powders place.. I did . I wish I could post a photo but truly this is now my go to chocolate frosting now
I did make this recipie but adjusted the ingrediants a bit. I used less cocoa and a bit more ganache. I then added some baileys red velvet, a red velvet baking emulsion and a tad of red food coloring. It turned out very fudgey and delicious with a beautiful creamy rose color! I so wish I could post a photo.It piped beautifully onto my sugar cookie crumb.
Can I make ahead of time and freeze it. I have a little baby and it’s hard to do everything in one day.
Can I put it in the fridge a day before I assemble to cake I am wanting to use this as a filling for my mudcake.
Do I just need to whip it again before I use it?
I am new to baking cakes and doing nice fillings.
Any detailed instructions to can give for freezing and using will be much appreciated
Thank you
Yes, you can make ahead of time! I go over this in detail in my Make Ahead Guide. Hope that helps!
If I want to make white chocolate buttercream frosting- Im thinking all I would need to do is sub in finely chopped white chocolate and omit the cocoa powder. Anything else you’d recommend?
It was deliciously silky and chocolatey but too soft and tasting more mousse like. Easy to make. How can I make it stiffer besides refrigerating it?
Not impressed with the flavor of this frosting at all! Yes, I used all of the high-end ingredients. Way too much butter flavor for me and not enough sweetness and chocolate came through all of that butter.
I made this and I’m a total beginner. It’s amazing. Texture is light creamy. I’ll never go back to the canned stuff. I had to add the second cup after adding the ganache because I forgot it lol but I just kept beating and beating it as recommended and especially so to get any tiny powdered sugar beads out of there. It’s so worth it. Thank you!!!! I follow you on Instagram and finally got to make one of your recipes (plus have made chocolate chip cookies – on point).
High fat cocoa has 22-24% fat? Is that correct?
I made this for my brothers graduation cake on top of the yellow cake and this frosting is the perfect match for it. Definitely a staple for my cakes from now on!
The texture and look of the icing was great, but mine turned out somewhat bitter…is that what is expected?
I’m planning on making this for a cake this week. The recipe calls for heavy cream… does that mean heavy whipping cream? Or something like half and half?
The title of this recipe does not lie—it is truly the best chocolate buttercream I have ever had! I didn’t have high fat cocoa powder, and didn’t have time to get some in, so I used the Dutch processed cocoa that I had, and it still turned out amazing! (I otherwise followed the recipe exactly as written.) So much easier than swiss meringue buttercream, and just as creamy and light, if not more so. I will never use another chocolate buttercream recipe; I have found my go-to. Thanks, Tessa!