BEST Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe - Just 5 mins (eggless recipe)
This is the best chocolate buttercream frosting recipe you will ever make. It's light, airy with real melted chocolate, not just cocoa powder. I have been using this for all my cakes and cupcakes only to receive rave reviews from my customers. Today, I share with you my secret to making the best chocolate buttercream recipe with this step-by-step video tutorial.
If you take the trouble to bake a delicious cupcake don't just frost it with a mixture of butter, sugar, and chocolate. Isn't that what chocolate buttercream is? Butter, sugar, and chocolate. Well, yes and no! They may be just three main ingredients, and yet, if you do it right, it can be the best frosting recipe you have put on your cakes or cupcakes.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, often the difference between good and OMG is a little bit of extra effort. So today, I share with you my way of making this chocolate buttercream frosting recipe in just 5 minutes with only 5 ingredients.
About this chocolate buttercream frosting
Having been in the cake business for as long as I have, I have made oh so many buttercream recipes. But, when it comes to chocolate frosting, this one gets huge, and I mean huge reviews. It's not just a big ball of dense chocolate and sugar.
It's light, fluffy with just the right amount of chocolate. The trick is in whipping the buttercream so the whipped cream adds volume and stability. Also, the amount of chocolate is just right. So, while it's a decadent frosting it does not overshadow the cake or dessert.
Ideally, you want to use no less than 54% chocolate. And yet, I have often used up to 70% chocolate in an effort to keep the frosting less sweet. This works great for frosting cupcakes, cakes or dessert that need chocolate buttercream.
Also, this is a very forgiving recipe that works great with any chocolate - dark, semi-sweet, milk, or white.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Butter - I prefer to use unsalted butter so I can control the quantity of salt in my recipe. And yet, if salted butter is all you gave go ahead and use it. Just omit salt in the recipe.
- Powdered sugar - Also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar. When looking for powdered sugar always buy one made from cane sugar, not beet sugar. You will find the buttercream made from cane sugar does not have a grainy consistency.
- Fresh cream - Just a little but adds so much more. If you are unable to use fresh cream, I'd recommend using non-dairy creamer or just 2 tbsp of water. I like using 1/4 cup cream, but if you need to pipe stiff borders use less than that. It will keep the frosting stiffer.
- Chocolate - Use the best quality chocolate you can afford. After all, the chocolate is the star of the show here. You can add a little more (50 grams) or use less chocolate in this recipe, but it can affect the consistency and taste. (see F&Q below)
- Vanilla - A good quality vanilla will make a huge difference in anything you make. Premium vanilla can be expensive, which is why I make my own homemade vanilla extract, bean paste or sugar.
Useful Tips and Tools
- If you make buttercream often, it would be a good idea to invest in a good stand mixer such as Kenwood or Kitchen-Aid. I use a hand mixer for my videos, which also works great. Read - which stand mixer is best for home-bakers.
- For most buttercream mixing, it is recommended to use the paddle attachment, so you do not incorporate too much air into the buttercream. But in the case of meringue buttercream, you want to use the whisk attachment so you can include as much air as possible in the egg whites.
- Measuring ingredients correctly is crucial to baking or cake decorating. Personally, I believe in measuring ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scale one of the most valuable items when baking. The same goes for my measuring cups and measuring spoons. It's always a good idea to have these handy and use them when baking rather than trying to guess measurements. Read - how to measure ingredients correctly for baking.
- And, after the buttercream is prepared, always keep it sealed well. If you keep it in the fridge, wrap the top surface of the buttercream well with parchment paper. This will prevent any odor from the other foods to attach itself to the buttercream. I place my buttercream in stainless steel storage.
How to make the BEST chocolate buttercream frosting (Save/Pin)
- Melt chocolate in the microwave or double boiler - set aside to cool.
- Make sure the butter is room temperature not cold.
- Use a whisk or mixer and cream the butter for a minute.
- Add salt, fresh cream and vanilla - mix a minute longer, until well combined.
- Now, add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
- Once all the powdered sugar has been incorporated,
- Continue to mix for 2 to 3 minutes more until you have a light and fluffy buttercream.
- The cream in the mixture will whip and give you almost stiff peaks.
- Tip: If you do not whip enough, the buttercream will be soft consistency, which may not be pipeable. So, whip until you have a stable whipped cream kinda light and fluffy frosting. (See video)
- Lastly, add the melted cooled chocolate to the buttercream and stir well to combine.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe - Just 5 minutes
Print Pin RateDescription
Ingredients
- 8 oz (226 g) Unsalted Butter (2 sticks) room temperature
- 3 cups (360 g) Powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) Whipping cream
- 4 oz (100 g) Chocolate Dark (60% fat and above is best)
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla
Instructions
- Melt chocolate in the microwave or double boiler - set aside to cool.
- Make sure the butter is room temperature not cold.
- Use a whisk or mixer and cream the butter for a minute.
- Add salt, fresh cream and vanilla - mix a minute longer, until well combined.
- Now, add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
- Once all the powder sugar has been incorporated,
- Continue to mix for 2 to 3 minutes more until you have a light and fluffy buttercream.
- The cream in the mixture will whip and give you almost stiff peaks.
- Tip: If you do not whip enough the buttercream will be soft consistency which may not be pipeable. So whip until you have a stable whipped cream kinda light and fluffy frosting. (See video)
- Lastly, add the melted cooled chocolate to the buttercream and stir well to combine.
Equipment
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Frequently asked questions
It really depends on the type of frosting you use and the weather where you keep the cake. This chocolate buttercream frosting can be kept out for a few days (2 to 3 days at room temperature) as long as it's not hot and humid because it's made with butter. That said, if you live in a hot and humid climate like Israel, India or Texas in summer, it best to leave them in the fridge for long hours.
If you make extra buttercream don't throw it away. Freeze it and it will last for months.
You certainly can use this buttercream to frost a whole cake. In fact, I have over 30 plus buttercream recipes that you can use to frost cakes and over 30 plus layer cake recipes to use all these buttercream flavors.
You can but if you want to pipe flowers using the Russian piping tips I highly recommend my stiff buttercream recipe. You can find tips for using Russian Piping Tips here.
If you want a cocoa-based chocolate buttercream I highly recommend my bakery style chocolate buttercream frosting made with cocoa powder.
Yes, you sure can use this as a base for other flavors. I do have over 30 buttercream frosting recipes on this blog. Some from scratch and some made from a basic buttercream recipe. Also read, Buttercream Basic -Buttercream 101 a great guide for beginners.
Ideally, you can, but for the best measurements, I highly recommend using my velvet American buttercream frosting, or vanilla buttercream frosting (eggless) or bakery style vanilla buttercream frosting.
Of course, there is vanilla flavor in other buttercreams as well such as Swiss meringue buttercream, Italian meringue buttercream, French buttercream or German buttercream.
Absolutely. I have used it on numerous cakes for customers as well as family and friends and it never fails to get a compliment.
Troubleshooting & Tips
- My chocolate buttercream is not smooth but grainy - You must ensure the buttercream and chocolate are room temperature when combining. Do you know what happens when you cool chocolate? It sets.
- How can I add chocolate to the buttercream without seizing - Another fool-proof method to adding the chocolate would be a tempering method - add a little buttercream to the chocolate first. Combine well, then add the chocolate to the rest of the buttercream.
- My buttercream is lumpy? - Make sure the butter is room temperature not cold. Cold butter does not cream beautifully. The added advantage of creaming room temperature butter is that it lightens the butter. This works best when you want to add food color gels.
- My buttercream is too soft - You either added too much liquid or the butter was too soft when you started it. Place the butter in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up.
- My buttercream is too sweet? - Buttercream is butter and powdered sugar, so it is supposed to be sweet. And yet, you can use good quality chocolate with 70% plus cocoa to make it less sweet.
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You may also like
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Riccardo
Week 2 Day 3, Done
Susan Saunders
Week 2 day 3 done
Bridget
Hi Veena
I would love to try this recipe but want to know if it will crust over like typical buttercream (American) made with confectioner's sugar. I'm looking for buttercreams
made with powdered sugar that won't crust.
Thank you.
Veena Azmanov
I don't use it as a crusting buttercream. Vegetable shortening helps it crust better. So this might be what you looking for. Do a test with half or less and check it out.
DB
WhT is fresh cream and where do I buy it?
Veena Azmanov
This is whipping cream. You can buy it at any supermarket. Thanks
LAUREN
I have really enjoyed your cupcake recipes.
You should have a cupcake bussiness.
I wish I could get a couple.
How would cardamom taste in a vanilla cupcake ?
Something that just crossed my mind .
I love this blog post.
I will keep coming back !!!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Lauren for your lovely comment. Cardamom is a lovely flavor and works great with coffee too.
Ishika
Thanks for your amazing recipes.I have a query- as you have mention to use fresh cream can i substitute it with heavy cream, as the fresh cream might not whip so well ? Please guide.
Veena Azmanov
Yes, Ishika. You can use heavy cream. Thanks
Mary L Taylor
Omg! This buttercream is a dream come true. I am not kidding Veena. I usually make swiss buttercream but I was in a hurry and came across your page. I could have eaten the whole bowl(but I didn't)last night and robbed my cake!
Such an easy recipe to follow and the results were just outstanding.
Thank you so much for your posts.
Looking forward to all you offer your followers.
Have a blessed day!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much, Mary. I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this so much. I do love this recipe myself.
Shamalavany
Hi Veena
Thank you for the recipe. Can I substitute the melt chocolate with cocoa powder. How much will be the measurement for cocoa powder to use?
Veena Azmanov
You can - just the cocoa into a paste with warm water - cool it then combine well. This will give you a richer color. THanks
Shamalavany
Thank you so much Veena. Will try soon.
Veena Azmanov
You are welcome
Rasha Tayan
Thank you Veena for this recipe, seems so delicious & yummy.
Please recommend is there any substitution for cane sugar as it is not available at my region?
Also can I use this butter cream as filling and cover for my cake??
Many thanks in advance.
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Rasha. You can use this buttercream for filling and frosting cakes and cupcakes - inside and outside.
You can use whatever powdered sugar you get where you are - if possible find a one that's made with beat sure. If not well, just use what you have. Hope this helps.
Rasha Tayan
Many thanks for quick reply. Appreciate a lot your valuable time.
Veena Azmanov
You are very welcome Rashna.
Tara H
Wow I just found your recipes and these look amazing! It's so hard to find all butter buttercream recipes! If I wanted this to crust, do I just add a little less cream? Or would it not crust?
Veena Azmanov
You can add less cream for sure. I'm not much of a crusting buttercream person so my experience with crusting is very limited. But I believe it will crust with less cream. Thanks
Tammy
Your buttercream frosting is total perfection! Love how easy this is to whip up...it always takes desserts to the next level 😀
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Tammy. A good frosting does take dessert to the next level.
swathi
When I bake cake for my son's birthday next time, I will keep in mind this chocolate butter cream frosting, it looks so creamy and delicious.
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Swathi. yes, you must try this one.. you will really enjoy it.
Alexis
I absolutely love that you've developed an egg free buttercream recipe. So many egg allergies nowadays but with your recipe, they will still be able to enjoy frosting.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Alexis. I always had this recipe on the blog!! It's been on the blog since 2011 I think. Only difference is that earlier the Vanilla and Chocolate were together on the same post. Now I separated them so I could share the videos for them both. Glad you finally saw it. Enjoy!
Jyothi (Jo)
Oh my God that frosting looks killer!My kids love cupcakes and what could be better than with frosting delicious as this one!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Jyothi. Yes, your kids would love this.
Melissa
A good buttercream is a recipe that every home cook needs!!! I love how incredibly detailed you are, I cannot tell you the number of times I am making a recipe and am left asking questions (ha!). This will be on standby for when I have to make cupcakes in 2 weeks for a special 1 year old <3
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much, Melissa. I know exactly what you mean. I have been there which is why I write my post the way I do.
Nicolas Hortense
There is no way I could resist those cupcakes if they were right in front of me. That frosting looks so silky smooth and amazing!! Really nicely done! Love your work...keep it up! (:
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Nicolas. Yes the frosting is to die for. Thanks
Marisa Franca
You are really getting me in the mood to bake. I can't believe all the amazing frostings that you have. I know that your Swiss meringue is going to be at the tope of my list. Have you ever used Vanilla paste? Once I start baking again I want to get some.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Marisa. I know the frosting is delicious. You will love it. I love using vanilla paste. In fact, I do homemade vanilla extract, bean paste, and sugar.
Natalie
Oh Veena can you send me some of these delicious cupcakes?! Yum! That buttercream frosting looks PERFECT! I'm seriously craving this right now.
Veena Azmanov
Aww, I so wish you were closer to me, Natalie my sweets. You would love these. This frosting is to die for.
Noel Lizotte
Talk about a classic ... butter cream icing! I've never tried making it, but this recipe sure seems to take all the guesswork out of it.
And who doesn't love chocolate icing?!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Noel. You will love this frosting. Real simple, easy and effortless.
Claudia Lamascolo
I love how silky smooth this frosting looks. I bet everyone fought for the beaters on this delicious frosting! I know I would have
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Claudia. Yes, this frosting is really delicious and I love licking the beaters off myself.
Padmajha Sureshbabu
My kids have been asking me to make such frosted cakes. Yours look so lovely. Btw, I am a huge fan of your works Veena!I really love the way you put everything together clearly that even a novice will find the recipe easy!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much, Padmajha. So happy to hear that my method and recipes encourage you to try the recipes. Do let me know if you try my recipes. Always love feedback.
Gloria
Well, I have a couple of chocoholics in the house. This would be the perfect icing for their birthday cupcakes or birthday cakes. I know they would also love this on brownies too.
Veena Azmanov
Absolutely, Gloria. This would be perfect over cakes, cupcakes, and brownies too!
Valerie
Buttercream icing is very popular in our area. Yours sounds easy to make and looks as good as any that I've seen in a store.
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Valerie. I think you will love this one.