Note: This recipe was updated in March 2025 to increase the yield and include more troubleshooting to make sure your buttercream turns out perfectly!

While I frost most of my cakes with American buttercream, sometimes I like to mix things up! After a bit of trial and error, I feel like I’ve finally mastered chocolate Italian meringue buttercream (IMBC).

My favorite thing about Italian meringue buttercream is that it’s silky smooth and doesn’t crust. You don’t have to cover it with plastic wrap or worry about the frosting crusting on your cake if you make it in advance.

I find that I prefer my Italian meringue buttercream with a little more sugar and slightly less butter than most IMBC recipes call for.

How To Make This Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream

While half the battle of IMBC is having a good recipe, the other half is how you make it!

That’s why I’m also walking through everything you need to know and use to make the smoothest, fluffiest chocolate Italian meringue buttercream frosting.

Below are to the tools I use to make this frosting:

• Small saucepan with lid
• Digital thermometer
• Stand mixer

Step #1: Melt the Chocolate

I like to melt it at the beginning of this recipe because it needs time to cool before it’s added to the frosting.

You can heat the chocolate with a double boiler or a microwave.

If you use a microwave, heat the chocolate in 15-second intervals. Stir between intervals to help the chocolate heat more evenly.

Once the chocolate is mostly melted (usually takes 4 intervals for me) with a few bits of chocolate still intact, let the chocolate sit for a minute.

This will allow the heat from the bowl to melt those last bits of chocolate and prevent your chocolate from overheating.

If the chocolate gets too hot, it can seize up and become chunky. Stir the chocolate until it’s smooth, then set aside to cool.

Step #2: Whip Up the Egg Whites

I suggest separating your eggs about an hour before you plan to make your frosting. Be careful as you do this because they won’t whip up properly if any yolk gets into the mixture!

Then, it’s time to whip up the egg whites and add a bit of cream of tartar. Slowly add in 1/3 cup of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.

This happens quite quickly and usually takes about a minute when mixing with a whisk attachment at a medium-high speed.

You could in theory make this chocolate Italian buttercream with a hand mixer, but it would take forever!! Making it with a stand mixer is much easier and quicker.

Step #3: Make the Egg Whites Safe to Eat

While the egg whites are whipping, we heat a sugar syrup to 240 F / 116 C and pour it into the egg whites while they mix. This kills any potentially harmful bacteria and makes the frosting safe to eat.

Step #4: Make the Meringue

After whipping the egg whites while pouring in the hot sugar syrup, the meringue should form stiff peaks. Stiff peaks are when meringue can stand up on its own when flipped upside down.

If you’re having a hard time knowing when the meringue reaches this stage just by looking at the mixing bowl, feel free to turn off your mixer and test the meringue by removing your whisk attachment and flipping it upside down.

It should look like the picture below at this stage.

Step #5: Add in the Butter

Once the meringue has stiff peaks and has cooled to room temperature, it’s time to mix in the unsalted butter.

During this step, I like to feel the bottom of my mixing bowl with my hand. If it feels pretty much room temperature, I add in my butter.

However, if it still feels warm, I’ll wait a few more minutes before adding the butter and place some frozen veggies or berries around the base of my bowl to help it cool down.

If the meringue and bowl are still warm when you add the butter, it can result in buttercream that’s too thin or soupy.

When I add in the unsalted butter, I do it in small chunks. This gives the meringue time to incorporate the butter and helps it mix together more easily.

As you add the butter, it’s super important that the butter is at room temperature. This does NOT mean soft to the touch or greasy.

Most sticks of butter come to room temp in about 2 hours. Don’t let your butter doesn’t sit out much longer than that or it may become too soft.

It should be soft enough for you to be able to press your finger into but firm enough that you have to apply a bit of pressure to do so.

Step #6 Mix in the Chocolate

The final step is to add in the melted and cooled chocolate.

Then mix in a bit of vanilla, espresso powder, fine salt, and the melted and cooled chocolate, and you’re done!!

Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream Troubleshooting Guide

While I’d love to think everyone’s first attempt at this recipe will turn out perfectly, I know that’s not always the case!

So I’ve pulled together a fun little table to help walk you through any issues you might encouter along the way.

Italian meringue buttercream is more forgiving than it seems, I promise! Temperature issues can always be fixed, so don’t give up if it doesn’t look perfect right away.

Common Chocolate IMBC Issues & Fixes

Problem	Possible Causes	Solution
Meringue won’t form stiff peaks	• Traces of grease or fat in bowl/whisk • Egg whites too cold • Egg yolk contamination • Using carton egg whites	• Wipe down bowl and whisk with lemon juice or vinegar • Let egg whites come to room temperature • Separate eggs carefully; restart if yolk contaminates whites • Use fresh eggs, not carton egg whites
Curdled/broken buttercream	• Butter too cold • Kitchen temperature too cold • Buttercream not fully thawed	• Place bowl over hot water bath/double boiler until edges of frosting melt • Mix for several minutes to incorporate the melted frosting with the cold frosting • Continue mixing until smooth (can take 3-10 minutes)
Soupy buttercream	• Meringue too warm when butter added • Butter too warm/soft • Chocolate too warm • Kitchen too warm	• Place entire mixing bowl and whisk in refrigerator for 15 minutes • Mix for 3-4 minutes to see if it firms up • If still too soft, refrigerate for another 10 minutes and mix again
Chocolate seizes	• Chocolate overheated	• Heat chocolate in 15-second intervals, stirring between each • Stop microwaving when most but not all chocolate is melted • Let residual heat melt the remaining pieces • For future batches, start with finely chopped chocolate for more even melting
Sugar crystallizes	• Sugar crystals on sides of pot • Stirring after sugar dissolves	• Use a wet pastry brush to wash down crystal formation on sides of pot • Only stir until sugar dissolves, then leave it alone to boil
Deflated meringue	• Adding butter before meringue cooled • Adding butter too quickly	• Ensure meringue and mixing bowl feel room temperature before adding butter • Add butter 1 Tbsp at a time, allowing each addition to incorporate fully

Other Important Steps in the Process

If you run into issues that aren’t outlined in my troubleshooting table above, below are a few more parts of the recipe that are super temperature sensitive!

Stage	Temperature	How to Check	Why It Matters/What To Do
Sugar syrup	240°F (116°C)	Digital thermometer	Temperature too low: meringue won’t stabilize Temperature too high: sugar may caramelize
Meringue before adding butter	Room temperature	Feel bottom of mixing bowl	If warm: Wait longer or place frozen veggies around bowl to cool If cool: Proceed with adding butter
Butter	Room temperature	Press finger into butter – should leave slight indent but not be greasy	Too cold: causes curdling Too warm: causes soupy frosting
Melted chocolate	Slightly warm but not hot	Should flow but not feel hot to touch	Too hot: can seize or make frosting soupy Too cool: won’t incorporate smoothly

Substitutions & Swaps

This chocolate Italian meringue buttercream recipe uses quite a few ingredients and you might not have them all on hand.

Below are some swaps and substitutions that you can make.

• Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it in place of the unsalted butter, just omit the salt that the recipe calls for. You can also use vegan butter in its place.
• Dark Chocolate – you can use milk, dark, or semi-sweet chocolate to make this chocolate frosting! Just be sure it’s a good quality chocolate so it will melt down smoothly.
• Vanilla extract – You can use another extract in place of the vanilla! Almond, coconut, or even orange would taste great with the chocolate in this recipe.
• Espresso powder – This ingredient is optional and can be omitted. I like to add it because I think it really enhances the flavor of the chocolate in this frosting.

Making This Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream in Advance & Storage Tips

Make this frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

If made in advance, re-whip the frosting once it thaws to room temp to get the consistency nice and fluffy again.

A frosted cake can last in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month. The buttercream locks in all the moisture, keeping the cake fresh and delicious!

If you cut into the cake and have leftovers, use any remaining frosting to cover the cut section to keep it moist and store it in the fridge for up to a week.

How Much Frosting Does this Recipe Make?

One batch of this recipe makes about 5 cups of frosting. I find that’s enough to frost about 3 dozen cupcakes or a small 6-inch layer cake.

This recipe can easily be doubled to frost a 7- or 8-inch layer cake.

Tips For Making the Best Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting:

• Traces of grease in your mixing bowl can prevent your meringue from forming stiff peaks. Wipe down your bowl and whisk attachment with lemon juice or vinegar to make sure they’re grease-free.
• Use room-temperature egg whites; they whip up more quickly and easily than cold egg whites.
• Closely watch the temperature of your sugar mixture, and remove it from heat as soon as it reaches 240 F / 116 C.
• Whip the meringue until its peaks are stiff enough to defy gravity.
• Make sure your butter is actually at room temp and add it in gradually (1 Tbsp at a time).
• When in doubt (if your frosting breaks/curdles), just keep mixing!! It should come back together with the help of your stand mixer.
• Chocolate quality matters! Use the best quality chocolate you can – it’s the star flavor.
• If you want smooth frosting for a cake, mix your finished buttercream on the lowest speed with a paddle attachment for a few minutes to make it super smooth.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this recipe for chocolate Italian meringue buttercream frosting, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and comment below.

And don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets so that I can see your amazing creations on social media.

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