The BEST Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Smooth, creamy, silky... so light it barely lasts on your tongue despite all that butter. This is how to make the BEST Chocolate Buttercream Frosting - it is in fact Swiss Meringue Buttercream. It is my favourite of them all and it sits somewhere between American Buttercream and Italian Meringue Buttercream in terms of its difficulty.

Unlike American buttercream, this recipe uses no icing sugar (and a lot less sugar in general) so expect ZERO grittiness that is typically associated with sickly sweet frostings.

Like Italian Meringue Buttercream, Swiss Meringue Buttercream also requires separating eggs but no sugar syrup. For the former type, you need to boil sugar with water to a certain temperature which cooks the egg white and essentially forms marshmallow. The Swiss kind applies the same principle but in a less intense method. Instead you combine the egg whites and sugar in a bowl and whisk vigorously over simmering water until the sugar is completely dissolved and the eggs reach a safe eating temperature - although with fresh eggs, this isn't so much of an issue. The temperature serves mostly to dissolve sugar and slightly denature (or break down) protein strands so that they can grab on to each other and trap air better.

Dissolved sugar = no grit = silky smooth = stable meringue.

You will find that this frosting tastes light and silky smooth despite 1 cup of butter in the recipe! It pipes like a dream thanks to the stability provided by the meringue. Also, it is more resistant to heat (ie. melting) making it perfect for summer BBQ's.

Once you get the hang of this you will find that it easy to whip up! The main issue most people have is when the butter is added, the mixture begins to curdle and look like there is no way in hell it will recover. It will! It comes back when the balance is just right and there is enough physical force to bring it all together.

How to ensure smooth buttercream? 

Heat the egg whites slowly and carefully over the simmering water and don't let them get too hot. If you cook them, the proteins will break down entirely and they will lose their emulsifying properties.

What happens if my buttercream separates? 

Either you didn't add all of the butter or you added it too quickly. Add the butter to the meringue while the machine is whipping just 1 tablespoon at a time. Once it is all added, continue to whip on high speed for up to 2 minutes. Sometimes it just takes force to bring the fat and water phases together. If this still doesn't work, then it might mean your water-fat balance is off. Your egg whites may be larger than normal and there is too much water, so try adding a tablespoon or two more butter.

Can I use any type of chocolate?

To control the sweetness of the frosting, I always prefer to use dark chocolate. Anything from 55-80% will work well. I prefer 70% bittersweet chocolate and if you are really serious about achieving those super sharp straight cuts and defined swirls then use couverture chocolate with a high cocoa butter content. It's uber professional and you can use it to make tempered chocolates too.