A perfect Chocolate Cake needs the perfect Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. The cake offered its own challenges – see the cake post for more on how I overcame those – but the frosting also proved to be surprisingly elusive. I knew what I was going after – deeply fudgy, fluffy, and spreadable with a texture that was neither too soft nor too dry. After the too-sweet, the too-runny, and the not-chocolaty-enough versions, I started wondering if there was a trick to frosting that I just wasn’t getting. I got in the habit of buying a just-in-case can of store-bought frosting every time I baked a cake, because I was never satisfied.
I finally nailed it with this version, which uses both melted chocolate and cocoa powder for a double hit of fudginess. It gets its fluffy structure from confectioner’s sugar and its spreadable creaminess from butter and heavy cream. I’m off the canned stuff for good.
I often make a downsized version of cake recipes since we’re just a family of two. The main version of this frosting recipe will frost a 3-layer, 8-inch diameter cake with a little frosting to spare for decorating, if you’re into that sort of thing. (You can tell from these photos that I am really not.) The downsized version below will frost a 6-inch cake, or a 9×13-inch sheet cake.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 3 cups (340 grams or 12 ounces) confectioner’s sugar
- ¾ cup (64 grams or 2¼ ounces) Dutch process cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 1/8 teaspoon Morton’s)
- ¾ cup (12 tablespoons or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1½ tablespoons (1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons) Lyle’s Golden Syrup, or light corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) heavy cream, plus additional if needed
Directions
- Step 1 Heat the chocolate, either in a small bowl in the microwave or over very low heat on the stove, just until melted, stirring frequently during melting. Set the chocolate aside to cool slightly.
- Step 2 Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder together into a medium bowl. Add the salt and toss to combine.
- Step 3 Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat it on high speed for 2 minutes, until the butter is very soft and fluffy. Add the cooled chocolate (scraping the bowl or pan completely clean with a rubber spatula to make sure you get all the chocolate), the golden or corn syrup, and the vanilla. Beat on high until blended.
- Step 4 Add ½ the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until they’re incorporated. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and beat on low until incorporated. The mixture will be very dry and crumbly.
- Step 5 With the mixer running on low, gradually pour in the cream. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat the frosting until it’s light and fluffy, about 1 minute. If the frosting looks dry or too thick, add a little more cream and beat until you reach your desired consistency.
Ingredient amounts for a 6-inch cake
Ingredients
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 2 cups (227 grams or 8 ounces) confectioner’s sugar
- ½ cup (45 grams or 1½ ounces) Dutch process cocoa powder
- Heaping 1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or a large pinch of Morton’s)
- ½ cup (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon Lyle’s Golden Syrup, or light corn syrup
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup heavy cream
