Perfectly Perfect Chocolate Buttercream

creamy, smooth, melt in your mouth, Meringue based chocolate frosting that’ll knock your socks off.

Looking for that Perfectly Perfect Chocolate Buttercream that will put an end to your searching? Look no further… this… is IT!!! This Chocolate frosting starts out with a meringue base that gives you that creamy texture, and ends with the addition of both cocoa powder and melted chocolate for that deep chocolate flavor!! It’s perfectly balanced, and not overly sweet.

This buttercream has a similar base to my Perfectly Perfect Vanilla Buttercream. You’ll start out making it the same way: with egg whites, sugar and lots of butter. Followed by powdered sugar, coco powder and melted chocolate.

Lets get straight to it…

prep your Ingredients

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1. Sift your cocoa powder and set aside.
2. Remove your butter from the fridge and cut into tablespoon sized slices. Set them aside. (You don’t want them too cold, but you also don’t want them to be warm when you add it to your meringue.)
3. Empty your preferred chocolate (this is my favorite chocolate to make it with) into a glass bowl and place that bowl over a simmering pot of water to create a double boiler effect. Melt chocolate until smooth. Remove the chocolate from the pot and let it cool while you make your meringue.

Making MEringue

Using a bit of lemon juice or vinegar, wipe down the inside of the bowl to your stand mixer and the whisk attachment. It is important that there are no traces of grease before you make your meringue

To the bowl add 5 egg whites and 1 1/4 C of Sugar.

Place the bowl over a pot of shallow simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 160 degrees or until all of the sugar is melted and your mixture is hot and a bit frothy. Remove it from the pan of water and place onto the base of your stand mixer.

Using the whisk attachment, whip on high until the bowl of the stand mixer is room temperature (not hot anymore) and your meringue has beautiful stiff peaks.

add Your butter

With the mixer at about an 8, start to add your butter one tablespoon at a time. Pay careful attention not to add the next tablespoon until the first one disappears. After adding two sticks of butter, switch to the paddle attachment. Continue to add your butter. Slow and steady.

Once all of the butter has been incorporated whip until shiny and smooth.

With the mixer on stir, add your cocoa powder followed by your powdered sugar. Add them slowly, or you’ll regret it! (big powdered sugar cloud!)

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Add vanilla and mix until fully combined. Then add your melted chocolate. (It should not be warm, but still melted and room temperature). Mix until combined, then stop, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and mix on med-high for 2 minutes until glossy and silky smooth.

At this point you are finished, but if you’d like to remove air bubbles, set your mixer to stir and let it go for about 10-15 minutes until your buttercream is smooth and creamy.

You’re all ready to decorate, or eat it with a spoon and lick the bowl… your choice! 😉

MAking Perfectly Perfect Chocolate Buttercream

Trouble shooting

Don’t panic if at some point while adding your butter your buttercream looks curdled, this is normal, just keep whipping and it will become silky and smooth.

If you happened to add your butter too quickly, or your mixture was too warm while adding your butter, you may need to stick the mixing bowl into the fridge for 10-20 minutes and let it firm up a bit to get the buttercream to come together. So if you’re noticing that your buttercream is still soupy after adding all of your butter, let it rest in the fridge for a bit, then re-whip!

Because this buttercream contains melted chocolate, it is a bit temperamental when it comes to heat. After making it, if it seems a bit loose, stick it in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes and then re-whip it. Also, if you are piping with it, the heat from your hands can start to melt it as well. You may need to take breaks, chill it, re-whip and pipe again.

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Remember, this buttercream, though finicky when it comes to temperature changes, is the BEST Chocolate Buttercream. When your friends and family taste it and give you all the compliments, all the extra work will be well worth it!

Lick the spoon, and don’t feel a tad guilty! -Chels