Chocolate Buttercream

Who here absolutely LOVES a good buttercream recipe? *everyone raises hands* YAY. You’ve come to the right place.

I’ve had my fair share of buttercreams in the past, and this one definitely takes the cake. I’ve found that some frosting recipes can be hit or miss, but this tried-and-true recipe is fail-proof!

What is Buttercream?

Buttercream is a delicious frosting that’s used on all sorts of things… from cakes to cupcakes to cookies… or even just all by itself (if you’re anything like me lol). There’s lots of different types of buttercreams: Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Italian Meringue Buttercream, American Buttercream… the list goes on and on.

While all buttercreams are delicious, not all are created equal. This Chocolate Buttercream recipe I’m sharing with you today is the perfect twist on an American Buttercream.

What makes this recipe so unique? It uses a little bit of cream cheese to make it the perfect combination of buttery and creamy. How bad can that be?!

Ingredients for Chocolate Buttercream

Ok so before we hop in that kitchen of yours, lets chat about what we need to grab from the store:

Unsalted Butter: salted butter would work fine, but I like using unsalted because that way I can really control the amount of salt in my buttercream. If you’re using salted butter, just omit the salt from the recipe!
Cream Cheese: THE HOLY GRAIL. Ok, that might be a little dramatic, but it really is the difference-maker in this recipe. That extra layer of creaminess just takes this buttercream to the next level.
Cocoa Powder: Of course. This one’s a no-brainer. Be sure to use Dutch-process cocoa powder, the flavor difference is actually mind-blowing.
Vanilla Extract: Make sure you’re using pure vanilla extract! And if you’re a big vanilla girl, feel free to add an additional 1/2 tsp vanilla if you’d like to!
Powdered Sugar: This is what makes this buttercream so dang fluffy. It seems like a lot of powdered sugar, but I promise it will mix into that cream cheese and butter quicker than you think!
Heavy Cream: For thinning out the frosting later on if you’d like to. This is totally personal preference. I like mine to be a little bit thicker, so I don’t use much cream. BUT, if you like your frosting a bit thinner, feel free to add more!
Instant Coffee: Once again, a MAJOR difference-maker in this recipe. There’s just something about the combination of coffee and chocolate that makes everything taste SO much better. I’m here for it.

Tips for Making Chocolate Buttercream

ROOM TEMPERATURE INGREDIENTS!!! I can’t stress this enough for this buttercream. If you use cold butter and cream cheese, it won’t whip up correctly.
Be sure you beat your cream cheese and butter for a solid 2 to 3 minutes. I know, it seems like a lot, but we really want to make sure things are nice and whipped. Be looking for the color to move from yellow to pale (almost white).
PRO-TIP: Add the powdered sugar in a little bit at a time, and pulse your mixer. Otherwise, you’ll be wearing the powdered sugar instead of beating it into the buttercream… I know from personal experience!

YAY! You’re ready to take on the world with your butter and cream cheese in hand. I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Feel free to double the recipe for extra big batches of cupcakes, or an extra-large cake. It doubles perfectly!

XO,

Sarah

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