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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!
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:
-
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
-
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.
This recipe makes enough frosting for a two layer 8-inch cake or to generously frost 12 cupcakes. Recipe from the amazing Stella Parks via Serious Eats.
This post was originally published in 2020 and has been updated with additional tips and recommendations. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
What brand of chocolate bar semi sweet does she use?
Hi Deborah! Tessa loves using Ghirardelli brand semi-sweet chocolate baking bars, but any high-quality brand of baking chocolate bar should work just fine. Let us know what you think once you’ve given this chocolate buttercream a try 🙂
Delicious and so easy!!!! Thank you
Hi, this is a great recipe! I can’t wait to try it and taste the difference. How can I make this buttercream to stand firm in the heat ?
Thanks!
Hi Audrey! We can’t wait to hear what you think of this buttercream! We haven’t experimented with additions for helping this stand up in excessive heat, but Tessa lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where it’s super hot most of the year, and this buttercream does great in those conditions. For best results, ensure the cake/cupcakes are extremely well-chilled before removing from the fridge and taking where it needs to be served. This way, the cake can slowly warm from its chilled state and prevent it from entirely melting. Be sure to keep it out of direct sunlight. You can also try using half shortening, half butter if the cake needs to sit out for an extended period, as shortening stands up to heat better – but he only drawback here is that shortening doesn’t taste as nice as butter! Let us know how it goes 🙂
When tou mix Butter cream frosting and white chocolate ganache, does this mixture harden to be used under fondant?
Hi Elizabeth! Adding ganache to buttercream won’t harden it much more than a typical buttercream- it’s just enough to give it a deliciously decadent flavor. Refrigerating buttercream will harden it, so you can try icing the cake, chilling it completely until firm, and then covering with fondant. Let us know how it goes 🙂
I should have trusted the recipe note stating this recipe would do a two layer 8inch cake lol. I saw the amount of butter needed and thought, no way. So I doubled it. I always forget that after adding the sugar and cocoa powder in buttercreams makes the volume larger, then adding the ganache on top doubled it again! Now I know for next time. I used some left overs to pipe onto brownies, and have frozen the rest. I haven’t tried the frosting, but mum licked the bowl and is in love, which is saying something because she hates any kind of buttercream! I’m excited to try it with the cake I made tomorrow.
I live in a small community where I don’t have a lot of options with regard to baking items, so I made this with regular icing sugar and a low fat Dutch process cocoa powder, and the icing was still fabulous – by far the best chocolate icing I’ve ever made!
Tessa,
Do you have a go to vanilla buttercream frosting that goes well with the birthday cake?
Hi Maggie! Check out this post with instructions and recipe for an incredible base vanilla recipe, plus a ton of idea on how to customize it for other flavors 🙂
Can I make this frosting ahead of time? And how should I store it? Thanks!
Hi Valerie! As Tessa mentions in the pink tip box above the recipe, “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.” 🙂
can i use the ghirardile dutch process cocoa powder?
Hi Kathleen! Yes, that will be fine 🙂 Let us know what you think once you have given this frosting a try!
Delicious and fluffy. I didn’t put as much vanilla as need (1-1.5 tbp) because I prefer my desserts with less vanilla.
I have been baking for about a year, read and made made recipes of cakes and frostings Love your reasoning and science behind each ingredient. I have a large extended family who are all great bakers who appreciate great food, can’t wait to serve you chocolate frosting.
Looking forward to more of your recipes.
Do you have a Swiss vanilla meringue frosting.
Hi Jerry! We are so thrilled to hear that you’re enjoying learning all of Tessa’s incredible tricks, tips and all about the science of baking! Tessa’s vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream, plus loads more information, can be found here! In case you’re at all interested, I’m also going to include a link to the Waitlist for our Handle the Heat Baking School. Joining the Waitlist means you will be first to know when the doors to the Baking School re-open at the end of this semester. Tessa teaches all about the science of baking, why certain ingredients do what they do, and even how to create your own recipe! Hope to see you inside the Baking School!!
Hi! I love your blog. I live in Argentina and every recipe I make people can’t believe it and ask where did I find it! I have a question. How do you achieve to get a super steady buttercream for warm weather. I use vegetable shortening half and half with butter but I never get a silky texture, always with crumbs from the shortening.
Hi Melisa! I’m so happy you love Handle the Heat’s recipes! That butter/vegetable shortening combination should work well for a more stable and heat-resistant buttercream! Make sure your shortening is at room temperature before it’s beaten with your cool room temperature butter, and ensure you scrape the bowl often, continuing to beat until the shortening and butter is smooth and well combined. I also recommend to pop the buttercream into the fridge for a little bit, if the buttercream starts to get too warm while icing/piping. Chilling the cake layers or cupcakes before decorating, then storing the iced cake/cupcakes chilled (until an hour before serving) also helps! Finally, using something called a High Ratio Shortening can also help a lot with this issue. Check out this article by Sugar & Sparrow for more information on High Ratio Shortening. I hope that helps! Happy baking! 🙂
What a delicious chocolate buttercream frosting!! We all loved it because it wasn’t too sweet. Thank you!
Can you please advise which brand or cocoa is high fat content
Hi Celia! Tessa links three options in the pink box above this recipe 🙂
Can you tell me how to read the fat content information when I look at a can of cocoa?
All I see is on the Total fat line in grams as in 0.5 grams…no % ??
Same with those you’ve listed. Where donyou see the %
Hi Denise! If the label on your cocoa powder doesn’t specify the percentage, then the total fat in grams is fine. You are looking for 1g of fat or more. When you go to the grocery store, turn all the containers around and you should see this listed. Some more specialty stores (such as Penzeys, or online stores) will list in percentages, though. Hope that helps!
Made this frosting for cupcakes, and it turned out absolutely delicious. The texture was amazing at room temp. However, it got somewhat harder, with an almost fudge like texture, after being in the fridge for a bit. Is this normal? Any way to mitigate it? definitely wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but my cupcakes were soft and I would have loved if the frosting stayed soft as well
Hi Nensi! Yes, that is normal! This recipe contains butter, which solidifies when refrigerated. You’ll want to let your frosted cupcakes come back to room temperature before enjoying 🙂
I just made this to top my granddaughter’s birthday cake. It’s delicious and so smooth and creamy.
Yummy!! So happy you loved this recipe, Krystal!
So easy and so smooth and delicious and so CHOCOLATY! I love this recipe! Made it to top your BEST EVER Chocolate Cake!! SO GOOD!!
So happy you loved this buttercream, Brianna, especially on the Best Chocolate Cake, YUM!!
This buttercream frosting is so tasty! I think it is the best buttercream recipe out there. It is so silky and not too sweet..kind of a cross between a swiss meringue buttercream and American buttercream. Thank you so much for this truly amazing recipe which I will be using forever.
So great to hear this, Mag! Thanks for the comment!
This is a very silky and smooth buttercream that, in my opinion, is very similar to SMBC but is easier to make! It is luscious and creamy. The organic powdered sugar and high fat cocoa powder make this a game-changer for chocolate icing. I paired this with Tessa’s Best Yellow Cake and it was a winner with my family and guests we had for dinner. Thank you Tessa for all the tips!
Wonderful! I’m so pleased it was such a hit!
Fantastic! This will definitely be my go to for Chocolate buttercream! It is rich, creamy, smooth and silky – almost a mousse type consistency. I used good quality milk chocolate (I didn’t have semi-sweet) and it was terrific and the frosting piped really well. The only change I would make would be to make my ganache thicker – so use less heavy cream or more chocolate. The only downside was that I ran out of clean spoons because I kept eating it! Seriously yummy!
haha LOVE it! I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed this frosting recipe and that it’s now your go to!
I personally loved this frosting, but my husband prefers milk chocolate. If I wanted to use milk chocolate instead of the semi-sweet chocolate, would I still use the same amount of cocoa — to make it milk chocolate?
Best ever! Thanks so much for sharing!
I made a cake for my husband’s birthday and used your recipe. For some reason (I think the bowl was too small) the chocolate ended up everywhere. We just found more icing on our fan yesterday and his birthday was mid February.
Again, thank U for sharing!
Oh my gosh, hahaha!! I’m so happy you all loved this recipe!
OMG – BEST chocolate icing ever! Last year, I had a disaster for my husband’s birthday. He loves the chocolate cake from Costco, and someone posted the recipe, online. I have baked my entire life and this recipe was not edible. I promised him, this year it would be spectacular.
I found a recipe online for the cake. I looked for different icing recipes and I loved how you went into so much detail.
The icing turned out to be the most amazing chocolate icing I have ever made. Truly, the icing just melts in your mouth.
The only issue I had was that there was icing all over the kitchen due to my husband sampling it!
Thank U so much & I know I will be using this recipe, again!!!!
I’m the biggest cynic on this earth…I truly laughed at the use of organic confectioner sugar BUT I will admit when I’m wrong…This was the best buttercream frosting I’ve ever made (and I bake a great deal)
I did make one change because who,efoods did not have premium semi sweet bats. I used a 70% cocoa, pure dark chocolate bar also organic and made in Madagascar. Thank you, this will be my go to chocolate buttercream frosting going forward.
Hooray! So glad you enjoyed!
Hi, can i use this buttercream under fondant?
This is the best chocolate frosting I’ve ever had! Can’t believe I made this! Thank-you for sharing. Will definitely be making this again. I used ghirardelli baking chocolate and dutch cocoa powder- came out silky and so delicious!
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!
This was seriously amazing. I made it for my 4yo son’s birthday cake and he was licking the beaters as I was taking them off the machine. Even I couldn’t believe how creaming and delicious it was. I’ve frozen the leftover buttercream and cake cut offs to make cake-pops on a rainy day. Have saved this recipe and will DEFINITELY make it again.
Hi Gemma, whatever frosting/buttercream/glaze I make does not turn out to be good.Can you tell me what can i do because i love decorating but they don’t taste good
I made both this and the yellow cake. Both were amazing and I followed the directions exactly. I am usually a sweets person, so I was surprised that this frosting was not. It was unbelievably silky and smooth and the spreadability was spot on. Just not sweet to me. I guess I could either add another 1/2 cup of the Confectioner Powder or less of the Dutch Process Powder?
The ingredients definitely make the difference. Thanks for the great recipe!
This was my first time attempting to make buttercream and it was perfect. I made this to go on the yellow cake recipe and it was the best buttercream I have ever had. Make sure to read all the great tips in the pink box before starting.
I made this today. I have to admit it was absolutely delicious and the best part was that it was so simple and easy to make. I will definitely be making this frosting again.
This is as luscious chocolate buttercream! Can you adjust the ganache recipe to make a vanilla version?
Ive made many chocolate buttercream recipes over the years – THIS ONE IS BY FAR THE BEST! Made it for a birthday last week and so many people commented on the taste and silky texture. One problem, you literally could just make a batch and eat it on its own – you’ve been warned!!
This is a wonderful chocolate buttercream, thank you. I love the flavor, buttercream can be so overwhelmingly sweet, this was perfect.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this and it is perfect for when you’re too lazy to make SMBC. It was super easy to make and a great hybrid between American buttercream and SMBC. I used ghirardelli Dutch process cocoa powder and C&H powdered sugar since that’s what I had on hand. I definitely recommend this if you’re intimidated by making SMBC.
Delicious, thanks so much!
The recipe doesn’t say when to
Add the vanilla or salt? Thanks!
I’ve been baking for more years than I want to confess! And always thought my homemade icing was amazing…I made this exactly as you directed, and it is unbelievable! My family was dumbfounded and I will never go back to the old method again!