Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Creamy Chocolate Buttercream Icing rich, smooth, and perfect for cakes, cookies and cupcakes.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword chocolate-buttercream, chocolate-buttercream-icing

Prep Time 15

Total Time 15

Servings servings (2 Tbsp)

Calories 215kcal

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt, hot water and vanilla extract. You’ll end up with a thick chocolate paste. Set aside.
In the large bowl of a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to beat the butter with the powdered sugar on medium-high speed until smooth.
To the bowl, add the chocolate paste mixture along with the melted chocolate and corn syrup. Beat on medium speed until smooth, stop and scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. The frosting will be on the thinner side (compared to usual buttercream frostings) but the frosting will firm as it sits and set.
Once the frosting is done, slather on vanilla cake, chocolate cake, strawberry cake or cupcakes, brownies, cookies or sheet cakes.
This recipe makes enough to frost One 8-inch or 9-inch two or three layer cakes, One half sheet cake or two 13x9-inch sheet cakes or 24 cupcakes.

Cocoa Powder - You could use dark cocoa powder like Hershey's dark or Dutch process cocoa powder for an even deeper chocolate flavor.
Chocolate - You could use bittersweet chocolate in place of semi-sweet chocolate.
Flavorings - You could add a dash of almond extract, rum extract or raspberry extract to change the flavor profile.
Sugar - You can add 1/2 cup additional powdered sugar (also called icing sugar) until it reaches the right consistency.
Corn Syrup - You can use heavy cream in place of corn syrup. Add one tablespoon at a time until your desired consistency is reached.
Allow Time for the Frosting to Set - This buttercream will firm once chilled. I recommend storing any cakes topped with this frosting chilled in the refrigerator. Allow time to come to room temperature to soften for serving. When serving immediately, let the cake stand at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes to allow the frosting to set properly before slicing.