Perfectly Sweet Chocolate Frosting
Looking for a pipeable, versatile chocolate frosting that is not too sweet? This chocolate swiss meringue buttercream is the answer! It’s silky smooth, buttery, and has a distinct chocolate flavor (thanks to melted chocolate rather than cocoa powder!). Today I’m pairing it with cupcakes made from my yellow cake recipe (coming very soon!), and it’s simply stunning. I thought creating this recipe would be as simple as adding cocoa powder to my classic Swiss meringue buttercream (like with my chocolate buttercream), but not so. After many attempts, I found that in order to achieve a rich, distinct chocolate flavor, we need to use melted chocolate (and a dark, high percentage cacao chocolate at that!). A few other modifications were in order as well, including increasing the salt and decreasing the egg whites to get the texture and flavor just right. Swiss meringue buttercream is a bit more tricky than American buttercream, so I’m including lots of tips to help you have success. I highly recommend watching the video first, especially if this is your first time making a meringue!
What You Need
Just six ingredients come together to make this fabulous chocolate frosting. Here are the important ones:
Egg whites. I do not recommend using the egg whites that come in a carton; those tend to have mixed results and won’t consistently whip to stiff peaks. Granulated sugar. Unlike most chocolate frostings, my chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream uses granulated sugar instead of powdered or confectioner’s sugar. You’ll want to make sure the sugar fully dissolves into the egg whites while it’s cooking; just rub a small amount between your fingers and make sure you don’t feel any grit to make sure it’s all dissolved. Unsalted butter. Use unsalted butter! If you use salted butter, your frosting will be too salty (even if you were to omit the salt!). Make sure your butter is softened; it shouldn’t be cold, but it also shouldn’t be melty. If you have an instant-read thermometer handy, use it and look for a temp of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Chocolate. Use a dark or bittersweet chocolate with a high cacao percentage. Bars are best rather than chocolate chips, though chips will work in a pinch too. I don’t like to use semisweet chocolate; I think it makes this frosting too sweet.
SAM’S TIP: If you are looking for a way to use up your egg yolks, I have many recipes that use this exact number, including: eclair cake, coconut cream pie, lemon pie, banana cream pie, chocolate pie, and cream puffs. Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
SAM’S TIP: You’ll know your meringue has reached stiff peaks when it holds its shape (doesn’t flip over or fall) when the whisk is lifted out of the bowl. For a visual, check out my meringue cookies post or the video in the recipe card.
Troubleshooting
Swiss meringue buttercream is susceptible to temperature and can curdle if it gets too cool or become soupy if it gets too warm. Here’s how to prevent this from happening:
Don’t add your butter until the meringue has completely cooled. Feel the bottom or sides of the bowl, it should not feel warm to the touch. Making sure your butter is not too warm or cold when you add it (~60F is ideal). Keep beating your frosting until all of the butter is added; sometimes it can curdle when the butter is introduced but comes back together with a good mix! If your buttercream just isn’t coming back together, try placing it in the fridge for a few minutes before beating again. Make sure your chocolate is smooth and melted but NOT warm before adding it (stir it periodically to ensure even temperature throughout and, again, feel the bottom of the bowl and make sure it isn’t warm). If your buttercream has turned into a complete mess, check out this guide on rescuing Swiss Meringue Buttercream from Serious Eats!
If you plan to frost your cupcakes as generously as I did here, you’ll only be able to cover about 12. If you do a more acceptable amount (according to some 😉), you can cover 24. Enjoy! Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
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