My friend Sarah ordered an Ultimate S’mores Cake for her sister back in June, and I thought this would be the perfect time to document My Favourite Chocolate Buttercream, which is a key component of that cake. [This is the long overdue companion to My Favourite Chocolate Cake that I posted a year ago!].

For a long time, I used the chocolate buttercream recipe in the Joy the Baker cookbook, which I loved. The problem was that it called for Ovaltine to give it a more complex flavour, but that’s just not something I always have around. I tried substituting more cocoa powder or more icing sugar, and just never seemed to get it right.

I then moved on to this recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. It has very similar proportions to My Favourite [Vanilla] Buttercream recipe, of course with the addition of cocoa powder. It is rich and chocolately and the perfect consistency for layer cakes. It also easily scales up and down if you need a bigger or smaller batch. It’s perfect, and it’s my go-to from now on!

My Favourite Chocolate Buttercream

Source: Sally’s Baking Addiction

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, room temperature
  • 3 1/2 cups (420 g) icing sugar
  • 1/2 cup (41g) cocoa powder
  • 3 tbsp whipping cream
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • pinch salt

Directions

  1. Add the butter to a large bowl and mix for a minute until light and creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and mix again until smooth and combined, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add a splash or two of cream if the icing is too thick.