Try this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. No powdered sugar needed. It is so light and fluffy and smoother than the classic American Buttercream Frosting. It is easily the best buttercream frosting I've tried.
My best friend, Sharon, asked me to make a chocolate cake for her hubby, Ariel, for his birthday last week.
The thing is I know a really good (probably the best) chocolate cake recipe that I usually use to make my mousse cake. But the usual mousse cake I make is probably not the best one in a hot weathered country like the Philippines.
Sure we have mousse cakes here but I am just worried about the handling from the time the cake will be picked-up up to the time that it will be served.
I am not sure if this delicate cake can handle all that heat...literally! Frankly, I am really hesitant to make anything that involves whipped cream unless I know it can be served cold or directly from a fridge or chiller.
So, the answer:Â buttercream frosting!
I've made American buttercream and Swiss meringue buttercream before. They are both with advantages and disadvantages.
American buttercream is the easiest to make but it can be too sweet.
On the other hand, swiss meringue is less sweet but can be a little daunting to make.Â
I personally find American buttercream tooth-achingly sweet and I usually end up with a slightly gritty texture (from the powdered sugar) which is fine for other people, some actually like it. But for those people (like me) who are not a big fan of American buttercream, you should definitely try Ermine Icing.Â
It is also called flour buttercream or cooked frosting. It is light and fluffy and smoother than the classic American Buttercream Frosting.
Although it involves a bit more work but definitely easier than Swiss Meringue Frosting. It is simply making a milk pudding and combining it with softened butter.
But for my cake, I added cocoa powder to make chocolate frosting. I actually ended up with two variations. The first variation is with cocoa powder added at the end, while with the second, it was added in the beginning to make chocolate pudding. The first variation is great for frosting cakes as it is sturdier and the latter for cupcakes because of its lightness and fluffiness.Â
To me, it is easily the best cupcake frosting.Â
Above is how your butter should look like after beating it for five minutes with electric mixer. Below is how it looks like after combining the pudding and butter together.
Printable Recipe
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting without Powdered Sugar (Ermine Icing)
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup dutch cocoa powder
- 1 cup milk
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup butter - softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine and sift together the flour, sugar, salt and cocoa powder in a bowl and mix well. Transfer the mix into a small pot or a saucepan. Add the milk and whisk until dry ingredients are completely dissolved.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over low to medium-low heat while stirring constantly to avoid burning the bottom. Once it starts to bubble, just let it cook for another two minutes or until it thickens into a pudding consistency. Then remove from heat, add vanilla extract and continue whisking for another minute.
- Transfer pudding into a shallow bowl and immediately cover with a plastic wrap, press down the plastic wrap until it touches the surface of the pudding. This will prevent it from forming a skin. Put it in the fridge so it can cool down faster if needed or just let cool down on your kitchen counter.
- Once the pudding has cooled, beat the butter using a hand or stand mixer at medium-high speed for 5-7 minutes or until it is pale and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, beat the cooled chocolate pudding for 2-3 minutes (Skip step for sturdier frosting mentioned in notes below).
- Add the pudding one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all the pudding has been added, mix for another few minutes, until the buttercream looks thick, smooth and creamy.
- Use immediately or store, covered in the fridge, for up to seven days. Before you want to use it, allow the buttercream to come to room temperature and mix briefly until smooth and creamy again.
Notes
- This chocolate buttercream frosting is best for cupcakes. It is very light and fluffy, with a mousse-like consistency.
- If you prefer a bit sturdier version to use for cakes, add the cocoa powder in the end instead of adding it to the pudding. After you have added all the milk pudding to the creamed butter, sift the cocoa powder and beat the mixture for another 2-3 minutes.
- This recipe is enough generously frost about 12 cupcakes or a two-layered 8-inch cake.
Nutrition
Below is the cake I made using this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe (Variation 1). It is a bit denser and darker than the (cupcake frosting) second variation. This is not the cake I made for Ariel, but since they were so happy with that cake, Sharon asked for a second one for her sister who also recently had her birthday and I had the chance to make a similar one to test my new recipe. This is, by the way, my Bare Chocolate Drip Cake, which I will share on my next post!  Â
1PassionateBaker says
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I'm an 11 year old baker and I've always wanted a thick and creamy frosting or icing to perfect a cake, and I've tried to ask my mum to buy powdered sugar. She explained how many chemicals are in powdered sugar and I never tought I would be able to make a similar frosting. This worked and I'm gonna put it on my chocolate cake now!
Have a great day!
Bebs says
Wow, you are amazing! Hope you like this frosting recipe as much as I do. Keep it up and I wish you all the best. Happy baking!
Amy says
I don't know what I did wrong but it came out runny. So it's sitting in the fridge now and hopefully it'll thicken up. But I would give the flavor a five-star.
Bebs says
Hi Amy, could it be that you did not cook it long enough to get the correct consistency?
Bebs says
Could it be that it was not cooked enough to get to the right consistency?
Sheila Thielman says
I tried this because I didn't have any powdered sugar. Everyone loved it. It is now my go-to. Very chocolate and not too sweet.
Ademily Lewpes says
Kind of a long process but okay..But absolutely YUMMY😋🤤😋🤤😋😋😋
Jennifer says
This was an incredible recipe. I can't imagine a better chocolate frosting. Seriously right up my alley.
Bebs says
Thanks, Jennifer. Glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Amelia says
Hi! I was wondering did you use the cocoa powder that was called for in thee recipe or just the normal kind?
Bebs says
Hi Amelia, I always use dutch process cocoa in my recipes. For this one, I recommend you use the same.
Esther says
This was nice but didn’t come out as dark as the pictures. It’s a very pale chocolate colour.
A bit disappointing because I was after a dark fudgy buttercream.
Bebs says
That depends on the cocoa powder you used.
Sha says
I've preferred Ermine frosting for the past several years. I googled chocolate ermine frosting and clicked on this site. So glad I did! Great tasting chocolate frosting.
Marian B says
This is going to be my go-to chocolate frosting because it’s fabulous! I used vegan butter and oat milk for this. I don’t know why but the pudding isn’t very sweet at all on its own, yet whipped into whipped butter it becomes perfect. Sweet but not sickly and soooo fluffy!
Rachael says
I was so pleased with this recipe. It will be my go to from now on. I can't stand powdered sugar icing. This one is so light and nicely sweet. I used coconut sugar and it worked well.