Have tried several chocolate buttercream recipes and haven’t been sold on any of them… Maybe because I’m not a big fan of buttercream in general… anyway, had to make a last minute cake with chocolate buttercream filling and icing… so I just started throwing things in the mixer. It turned out beautifully and my family is now eating the icing by the spoonful. Add 1/2 cup of peanut butter and you have an amazing chocolate peanut butter icing or filling… If using as a filling, chop up some peanut butter cups and sprinkle on top of the filling once you’ve put it on the cake and it’s beyond belief!
Ingredients
- 6 sticks or 3 cups of salted butter (softened)
- 3 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (special dark for a darker frosting)
- 1 bag of Ghiradelli 60% cacao dark chocolate chips (melted)
- 2lbs (1 bag) of confectioners sugar
Instructions
-
Mix Butter, milk, vanilla, and cocoa powder in your mixer until thoroughly combined and smooth.
Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave on 30 second intervals stirring between heatings. Then pour into the mixer a little at a time mixing as you go.
After the chocolate has been added to the other ingredients and you have a smooth consistency, add in the confectioners sugar. I just drape a dish towel over my kitchen aid and pour in the whole bag. Then turn it on low and let it go for a couple of minutes. If it is a little too thick, add another tablespoon of milk.
Let it sit at room temp for a couple of hours and ice your cake! Also great as a filling.
FOR DARKER CHOCOLATE… Use the Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder or add 3 drops of black food color and about a teaspoon of brown. You’ll get a nice dark chocolate color.
For Chocolate Peanut Butter filling, add 1/2 cup of peanut butter to your butter mixture before adding your powdered sugar.
For even tastier filling, sprinkle chopped peanut butter cup between the layers after you spread your filling. NOTE: I don’t recommend mixing the peanut butter cups into your filling will just break them down into nothing and you won’t even recognize they are there…
could you describe how much is in the bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips? I have never found those here and am trying to substitute. Thanks!
Please, what size bag of chips? Looks really good - I'll try it next time I need a chocolate buttercream. The PB addition is really screaming my name!
According to the Ghiradelli website, the chips come in an 11.5 oz bag. Hope this helps.
How "chocolatey" is this recipe? I have always used a Hershey recipe, and it had variations for light, medium, and dark chocolate flavors. This one would be great, as it makes a larger quantity.
I will use Hersheys too. What size bag and semi sweet or regular??
Would you describe this as a fudgy chocolate frosting?
Why do you have to let this sit at room temp for a couple of hours?
I made this recipe and it did not set up well and seemed "greasy" looking for lack of a better word. Followed directions to a T. Not sure what happened? Also the flavor had a coffee'ish taste to it, probably due to the combo of chocolates in it
try using choc. syrup instead of some of the liquids! yummy!
Wow! This is fab-u-lish! I hate PB and this was the best Chocolate frosting ever. Thank you for this post and post more recipes....
Might be a silly question but can this (and other buttercream recipes) be frozen or does that ruin the taste or consistency?
How much buttercream does this yeld?
This was my first attempt at chocolate buttercream, and I am so pleased with the result! I did change the recipe a little, I used 1 stick butter, 1 stick crisco, 1 t. vanilla, 1/4 c cocoa, 1/2 bag 60% cacao chips and 2lb bag of powdered sugar....milk till the consistency was right. Has a milk chocolaty color and taste....very happy! Thank you for sharing!
Some of you have asked why I let it sit? I wrote down for you EXACTLY what I did. If it matters or not... you can decide. But if it is something that factors into the results. I didn't want to leave it out.
As far as chips... can't tell you the results if you experiment. I only used the Ghiradelli 60% Cacao dark chocolate in the 11.5 oz bag. I would assume it would work fine with another chip but your coloring and depth of flavor might vary a bit.
I'm the kind of person that "wings" it a lot. If you do something a little different, please share.
Sounds delicious! How much does the recipe yield? I need enough for a 9-inch round layer and a 6-inch round layer.
Just made this frosting and the flavor is great however the consistency is quit creamy almost like a thick version of mouse. I followed the recipe to the T using the exact ingredients and measurements. Since I do not need it just yet I have put it in the fridge to firm up for me. I hope it sets up enough to do some boarder piping and crust for me. xxxx crossing my fingers but the flavor is great and OMG I have tons of it. This is my first attempt at Chocolate Buttercream I did not like the idea of just adding coco powder to plain white buttercream.
Finally iced my cake last night let it sit out and it really did not crust up. I was able to use the VIVA papertowel to smooth it but had to do it ginerly. Also as it say I could see grease rising to the top out of the frosting kind of like it was sweating grease. I do like the taste but I dont think its what I was looking for at this time. So if I need crusting chocolate buttercream I probably wont be using this one I hate to say. I was hoping it would be "the one"
I love this recipe. I followed the recipe except I used margerine instead of butter and I got a great result. It is very light and fluffy but I was able to still pipe a border and do some rosettes with it. The taste is perfect as it is not overpowering. I will have to try the peanut butter next. Thank you for sharing. Oh and I used a bag of the special dark chipits chocolate chips, they worked really well.
wow this is goooooood!!! so here is what i did to it. 1 cup butter, 1 cup shortning, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, 11 oz choc chips, i mixed the semi sweet and dark choc. 3 tbsp milk, 1/3 c cocoa powder, and the full bag (2 lbs) of powdered sugar! my waistline is not gonna thank you!!! but i do, its really great! thanks for the recipe!
6 sticks butter = 1 1/2 cup not 3 cups
Ok, I just made this using 6 sticks butter. It is wonderful, I'm glad I have iced my cake or there would not be enough left to do it later. :) I does yield a big batch.
I cannot believe I said that; 6 sticks butter does equal 3 cups and math was my favorite subject! Good thing I wasn't baking the day I posted that. :)
is it good with VIVA method?
Does this have a bitter taste or is it a sweet tasting buttercream? I just feel like with the cocoa powder and dark chocolate it would be very bitter…
Thanks in advance.
Not bitter at all weidermtm24. It's AMAZING! I used this recipe on my cake at Philadelphia's Annual Let Them Eat Cake Competition. I won Best Tasting and beat out 40 other entries. Including bakeries that have been in business for decades! It's yummy. I promise.
If any of you have trouble with it not crusting or getting oily. The only thing I can suggest is that you should try some different brands of butter or something. I've made it over and over and over since I created it and it comes out perfect every time. I've even substituted milk chocolate chips for Ghiradelli chips and regular cocoa poweder for Special Dark Cocoa Powder. Either way, it turns out great. :)
Happy Baking!
I tried this yesterday mine was very thin. THIS MAKES a HUGE amount. Tastes O.K. Could not use for borders or flowers. Let sit overnight crust very little. I will keep looking. thanks anyway.
Kimbolisous, you should try again. Mine is never thin. Maybe you need to add a little more powdered sugar. This should pipe just like your standard buttercream. I use it to swirl on cupcakes, to ice cakes, as a filling. And I promise, it's delicious. My clients LOVE it. If you look in my gallery, you'll see a gerbera daisy wedding cupcake tree. The cupcakes iced with chocolate is this recipe. That is what your consistency should look like. And it crusts! I recently did a fall wedding cake too. It's in my gallery. Alternating tiers of chocolate buttercream and homestyle iced standard buttercream. Works like a dream.
This was my first time ever making chocolate buttercream....Deeelish!!! Thanks!
are these the bittersweet chips that are 60% cacao ?
OMG, This icing was FABULOUS! My husband is not a fan of icing but he loved this. It was smooth to spread a and crusted perfectly. Thanks so much for sharing.
How does this icing handle heat? I have an outside (tent) reception this weekend, in Alabama and a little scared of the butter. Can I use shortening and butter flavoring?
This is my absolute favorite icing. Thank you so much for posting. It makes a huge amount, so there is always a pile left. Good to spread on graham crackers for a quick treat.
I made a double batch of this and it was the sexiest, most decadent chocolate buttercream ever. I would say a batch would generously ice a minimum of 50 cupcakes. Not overly sweet, either. I made Chocolate Turtle Cupcakes with them and people LOVED THEM.