One of my friends described this chocolate buttercream perfectly: it’s the kind you have to put in the sink and cover with water so you don’t eat the whole bowl. I think she’s totally right, because time and time again I find myself eating this stuff by the spoonful. I’m a huge fan of all things chocolate, so it doesn’t surprise my that this is my favorite buttercream of all. Yes, those are strong words, but this is how I feel.
The funny thing is there isn’t anything fancy about the process of making this buttercream or the ingredients involved, but the end result is amazingly tasty! It’s a simple American buttercream with cocoa powder added. I always opt for Hershey’s natural unsweetened cocoa powder for this one, but any unsweetened cocoa powder will do just fine. One thing to note about this recipe is that as soon as you finish whipping it up, the color looks like a light brown at first, but then ends up looking darker as the cocoa powder starts to saturate it. The end result is something more like the medium brown below.
You can pair this chocolate buttercream with just about any cake flavor that goes well with chocolate. My all-time favorite cake combination is pairing this chocolate buttercream with this chocolate cake recipe. I am pretty biased because I’m a huge fan of all things chocolate, but trust me on this one – it’s perfect! But beware, whatever cake you top it with, you’re gonna want to eat the extra by the spoonful. Consider yourself warned!
Here’s a quick recipe video to show you the process before you read all about it below:
PS: If you’re into cake decorating videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube Channel! Click the Subscribe button while you’re there so you never miss a new video.
Chocolate Buttercream Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 Cups (360g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 Cup (45g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the butter on medium-high speed until creamy and light in color, 4-5 minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl and paddle, then add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, salt, and vanilla extract. Cover the mixer with a clean kitchen towel (to prevent ingredients flying out of the bowl), then turn the mixer to low and mix until all ingredients start to come together.
- Remove the kitchen towel, scrape down the bowl and paddle, then continue mixing on low speed until uniform and smooth, 2-3 minutes.
Notes
- Frost 12-15 cupcakes with a piping bag
- Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 8-inch cake. To have enough for frosting and decorating as well, double the recipe.
Hi Whitney. I am making 3, 8 inch round cakes with elaborate piping. Should I make this frosting 4x the recipe or more? Thank you for your time.
Hi Elise! I think 3 or 3.5x the amount here will be plenty for filling, crumb coating, and decorating the cake with elaborate piping. If you let me know what kind of decorating you’ll be doing I can recommend a more exact amount, or I have this blog post that might help: https://sugarandsparrow.com/how-much-buttercream-do-i-need/
Hi!
Do you need a stand mixer to make a buttercream frosting? I don’t have one (they’re a bit on the pricey side) and only have a hand mixer. Does the consistency suffer too much if using a hand mixer?
Love your recipes!
Hi Pepita! You can absolutely use a hand mixer for buttercream. It might give you a bit of an arm workout, but it’s totally possible. Just follow the timing and speeds detailed in the recipe.
Can you substitute the vanilla for almond flavoring?
Hi Molly! Yes, absolutely. Almond extract is quite strong so I would sub up to half of the vanilla with almond extract. Sounds delicious!
I used 3 – 6 inch springform pans and was able to get 5 single layers of cake from this recipe! Two larger ones cut in half and then a single layer with the extra batter. Cakes are wonderfully fluffy and not too much of anything! I did add simple syrup to the layers to keep them moist (a HowToBakeIt trick!) and they made the perfect birthday cake for my boyfriend.
Yay, Kayla! I’m so happy this was a hit!
Do I need to double the recipe for 2 6 inch layer cake? Thank you.
Hi Jackie! This recipe will make enough to fill and frost a double layer 6-inch cake. If you’re doing elaborate piping as a decoration I would make 1.5x the recipe.
Hi there!!!
I tried this recipe for my own birthday this year such a hit!!! I topped with a ganache drip and chocolate dipped strawberries . The only issue I had was the buttercream was gritty due to the sugar, I don’t have a stand mixer so I used a hand mixer. My father in law wants this for his birthday Dec 3, looking to perfect! Any advice?
Hi Madison! So happy your birthday cake was a hit! My best advice for the buttercream is: 1) mix it on low for several minutes to allow the powdered sugar time to dissolve 2) try sifting the powdered sugar to make it easier to dissolve and 3) if the frosting still seems gritty, pop it into an airtight container for a few hours to let it rest and then remix with your stand mixer to bring it back to smooth consistency. Hope that helps!
Hi!
Do you use this recipe for both filling the cake layers as well as crumb coat? Please let mw know. I baked the cakes as per your recipe y’day and making this choc buttercream tonight. Also if I crumb coat with this buttercream (I have got Pillsbury green frosting for sports theme cake), would that be a problem? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Ruhi! You can absolutely use this buttercream recipe as a filling and crumb coating. Enjoy!
I made this for my son’s birthday cake (I followed another recipe for the cake, very similar to yours) and it turned out SO good! Probably the best-tasting buttercream I’ve ever made, I could eat it with a spoon! )And did, actually) I will save it for all future cakes. Thank you for the recipes and tips for us novices!
Yay, Ranya! I feel the same way about this frosting and have definitely eaten it with a spoon myself 🙂 thanks for letting me know it was such a hit!
The BEST chocolate buttercream!! The taste is AMAZING and the consistency is perfect. I used it both to decorate a cake and to pipe on cupcakes and it worked great on both!
Hi Whitney! Hope you are doing well. 🙂
I recently made this chocolate buttercream recipe and found it to be a bit light in flavor and color (for me), so I added some sifted Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa. Do you ever mix cocoas, or would you recommend that I use all dark cocoa if I prefer a darker color and flavor? Do you think all dark would be too much? Thank you.
Hi Paula! The color will be light at first but then darken to a nice chocolate brown over the course of a few hours if you use the regular cocoa powder, but if you want an even darker color and more of a dark chocolate flavor you did the right thing! You can always mix cocoa powders or swap the regular cocoa powder for dark cocoa powder.