Christie C. Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream is the sweet sibling of my Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It is a light, airy, creamy, buttery, and chocolatey icing reminiscent of soft serve ice cream.
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” ―
Charles M. Schulz
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe
- Airy chocolate flavor
- Super smooth and buttery texture
- Not too sweet
- Tastes like chocolate soft serve ice cream
Inspiration for Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe
The dangerous thing about working at my bakery at the time was being able to eat mistakes or orders that were never picked up. There was once this black and white cake a lady abandoned, and one of my coworkers offered a slice to me. Delicious chocolate AND vanilla buttercream was swirled into the cake. I never forgot about it, and I finally came up with my own chocolate buttercream ratio to use in future black and white cakes.
How the buttercream is made
Swiss Meringue Buttercream is made by dissolving sugar into heated egg whites, whipping it into a stiff meringue, then whipping butter and vanilla into the meringue. Use good quality or your favorite butter, cane sugar or white sugar, and true vanilla extract. If you’re skeptical about using eggs, simply use the pasteurized variety found in the grocery store. Cocoa powder is added at the end.
The buttercream has a creamy, satiny finish that is easy to frost and pipe. The recipe is enough to frost a double later 8” cake and 12 to 18 cupcakes, with some left over for decorating
Decorates well
Like my classic Swiss Meringue Buttercream, the chocolate version also decorate well. It can be easily piped into various shapes and designs, making it ideal for cake borders, rosettes, swirls, and other decorative elements. Its pliability allows decorators to create both simple and complex designs.
The consistency of the buttercream is also very stable. It doesn’t become overly stiff when refrigerated and doesn’t melt too quickly at room temperature. This makes it a reliable choice for decorating cakes and other desserts.
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Special Tools and Equipment
- Double boiler
- Stand mixer
- Silicone spatula
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200ml) pasteurized egg whites
- 2 cups (400g) sugar
- 6 sticks (600g) butter, room temperature, cubed
- 2 tsp (10g) vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (80g) cocoa powder, sifted
Instructions
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In a double boiler, heat the egg whites and sugar on medium heat, whisking constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved. This can take 5 to 10 minutes.
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Pour the egg and sugar mixture into a large mixing bowl and whip the mixture on medium-high until a meringue develops. It is ready when the meringue is cool, shiny, and reaches stiff peaks.
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Set your electric mixer to its lowest speed and add the butter a few cubes at a time. As the butter gets incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl and slowly increase the speed to medium.
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Add the vanilla extract and cocoa powder and whip until the buttercream is glossy and light brown in color.
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Makes enough to frost an 8″ layer cake or 12 to 18 cupcakes with some leftover for decorating.
