Whipped chocolate buttercream frosting is a fluffy and sweet no-cook frosting that's perfect for topping your next baked treat. Ready in less than ten minutes, this chocolatey frosting pipes easily onto cupcakes, brownies, and more.
Recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Sweet, fluffy, and rich chocolate frosting that's perfect for birthday cakes, brownies, and cupcakes.
How much frosting do I need? This recipe makes enough for 18 cupcakes, a 9x13 or 13x18 sheet cake, or a two layer 8-9 inch round cake.
Yield: About 3 ½ cups
Similar to: Whipped Buttercream Frosting, Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Frosting ingredients - Unsalted butter, confectioner's sugar, natural cocoa powder, and heavy cream are the base of the recipe. Make sure your butter is room temperature (not melted, not cold) to create a smooth, even frosting. Heavy cream can be substituted with whole milk if needed (reduce the measurement to ¼ cup to prevent a thin frosting).
- Flavor - Vanilla extract and salt add flavor to your frosting and balance with the sweetness of the sugar. Don't omit the salt unless you're using salted butter.
How to make whipped chocolate buttercream
- Beat room temperature butter until creamy.
- Mix confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder in slowly, half at a time, and then whip at high speed until fluffy.
- Whip in heavy cream, salt, and vanilla until fluffy.
- Add additional heavy cream as needed to reach the desired fluffy and light consistency.
Tips and tricks
Use a hand mixer or stand mixer - This frosting must be whipped with a whisk attachment for several minutes, so I recommend using a mixer instead of trying to mix it by hand.
Don't skip the salt - The salt listed in this recipe helps balance with the sweetness of the frosting and enhances the flavor.
Use heavy cream - To ensure your frosting whips up nice and fluffy, use heavy cream. If you need to use milk, use less (start with a few tablespoons at a time) because milk won't whip up like heavy cream does. Adding extra milk will cause your frosting to turn out thin.
Frequently asked questions
No. Buttercream frosting is a traditional, very sweet frosting that is often found in grocery store bakeries and on birthday cakes. It is popular because it's easy to prepare with just two main ingredients - butter and confectioner's sugar. Since buttercream includes so few ingredients, it is not easy to alter to make less sweet. Adding less sugar makes the frosting too soft to pipe and also tastes like sweetened butter.
Instead, I'd suggest making a less sweet frosting recipe. All of these frostings are less sweet that buttercream: ermine frosting, chocolate ermine frosting, homemade whipped cream, chocolate Italian meringue buttercream, and chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream.
Butter (and buttercream frosting) melts around 90-95F. If your home is hot, refrigerate your frosted cake (or frosting) until about an hour before serving, then allow it to come back to room temperature. Here's a fantastic article about how frosting holds up to heat: The Best Cake Frosting For Hot Weather
Yes, this frosting pipes beautifully and can be used for rosettes, borders, and topping cupcakes. However, it is slightly more delicate and will not crust as much as a traditional buttercream.
Frosting will keep for 3-4 days on baked goods at room temperature, 1 week in a sealed container in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer. Bring to room temperature before spreading onto baked goods.
This recipe makes enough frosting to frost the following cupcake quantities and cake sizes:
- 6-inch three layer cake
- 18 cupcakes with piped frosting
- 24 cupcakes spread with a knife
- 9x13 sheet cake
- 13x18 sheet cake
- 8-inch or 9-inch two layer cake on the top, sides, and middle
No, buttercream frosting can be kept at room temperature for 3 to 4 days with no issues. However, if your frosting contains other ingredients like eggs or cream cheese, it must be stored in the refrigerator.
The main ingredient in buttercream is butter. Butter gets hard when it's refrigerated. If you've refrigerated your buttercream, allow it to come to room temperature and it will become soft and spreadable again.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (342 g) confectioner's sugar
- ½ cup (42 g) natural cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup heavy cream, cold
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add room temperature butter and beat with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) until creamy, about 1 minute.
- Add confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder, half at a time, and slowly mix until ingredients are fully combined. Then, whip at high speed for 1-2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Add heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract and whip for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add additional heavy cream as needed to reach desired consistency.
- Pipe or spread frosting with a knife onto cupcakes and serve.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Storage: Frosting will keep for 3-4 days at room temperature on baked goods, 1 week in a sealed container in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer. Bring to room temperature before spreading onto baked goods.
- Yield: About 3 ½ cups
- How much frosting do I need? Recipe will make enough to frost up to 18 cupcakes with piped frosting, 24 cupcakes spread with a knife, a 9x13 sheet cake, a 13x18 sheet cake, or the top and middle of a round 8 or 9 inch 2-layer cake (leaving the sides bare). To frost the sides of a 2-layer cake, make an additional half batch of frosting.
- Melting point: Butter melts around 90 to 95 degrees, and so will your frosting. If your location is nearing this temperature, refrigerate your baked goods until an hour before you're ready to serve them. Refrigerating your frosted baked goods will not hurt them, but you will want to give them some time to come to room temperature before serving.
Absolutely wonderful!!! So much better than store bought!! Do you have to refrigerate your cake after icing it? Thank you so much!!!
Hi Theresa, so glad you liked the recipe! Baked goods can be frosted with buttercream the day before an event and left at room temperature in a sealed container. You can find more details on storage in the FAQ section above. Enjoy!
Is there a way to make this slightly less sweet?
Buttercream frosting is one of the most sweet types of frostings. Unfortunately, since it's made with two main ingredients, butter and sugar, it's not easy to make less sweet without it tasting like sweetened butter. I'd recommend something like a chocolate ermine frosting if you're looking for a fluffy, less sweet frosting: https://iambaker.net/chocolate-ermine-frosting/