Dark Chocolate Buttercream - American Style
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Makes about 600ml, or 2½ cups. Enough to generously frost 10 cupcakes. The recipe can easily be doubled to make 5 cups of buttercream, which is enough to fill and frost a 18- to 20-cm (7- to 8-inch) cake.
Ingredients
  • 130g (or ½ cup + 4 teaspoons) unsalted butter, cubed and softened at room temperature*
  • 250g (or 2 cups) powdered sugar
  • 70g (or ½ cup + 5 teaspoons) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 80ml (or ⅓ cup) heavy whipping cream
  • pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. In a medium-sized bowl, beat softened butter with a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl, then beat for another 30 seconds.
  2. Add powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Combine vanilla, cream and salt and add it to the bowl with the butter. Using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, stir ingredients until somewhat incorporated and the mixture looks dry and crumbly, but not powdery. This is just so that you don't end up with a big cloud of powdered sugar and cocoa in your kitchen when you turn the mixer on.
  3. Mix for 3-5 minutes, or until the buttercream looks creamy, fluffy and smooth.
  4. Use immediately or keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 hours until ready to use. If you want to keep the buttercream for a little longer, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week and allow to come to room temperature before you use it to frost cake or cupcakes.
  5. Frosted cakes and cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days**. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Notes
* I usually cube cold butter, then allow it to come to room temperature in about 30 minutes.
** To be honest, I usually store frosted cupcakes at room temperature in an airtight container, but I'm not sure whether this is really safe, because there's dairy in the buttercream. Therefore, I advise you to store them in the fridge.

To make absolutley delicious double chocolate cupcakes, pair this buttercream with my easy and delicious Dark Chocolate Cupcakes, also known as 'The Best Chocolate Cupcakes in the World'!
Recipe by The Tough Cookie at https://thetoughcookie.com/2015/05/18/easy-dark-chocolate-buttercream-american-style/