Not Too Sweet Chocolate Frosting
I’ve dubbed this my not-too-sweet chocolate frosting recipe because it’s the perfect hybrid between my American buttercream and Swiss meringue buttercream!
It’s essentially the chocolate version of my popular not-too-sweet buttercream recipe, and it has an amazingly fluffy texture and a rich, decadent chocolate flavor.
This frosting is a dream to frost on cakes, cupcakes, and even cookies. It’s a total crowd-pleaser and is perfectly sweet (hence its name!).
This recipe is adapted from my friend (and wedding cake genius) Minette Rushing’s faux Swiss meringue frosting recipe.
How to Make This Not-Too-Sweet Chocolate Frosting
To make sure this recipe turns out as amazing as possible, let’s walk through each step together!
Step 1: Whip the Meringue into Soft Peaks
Place the room-temperature pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if you plan to make it with a hand mixer).
Mix on a low speed to combine. Once all the powdered sugar has been incorporated, mix on high with a whisk attachment for 5-10 minutes until the meringue has soft peaks.
Sometimes the egg whites will reach stiff peaks, like in the picture below, but if you only get soft peaks, the frosting will still turn out great once you add the butter.
Step 2: Slowly Mix in the Butter
Swap the whisk attachment for a paddle attachment. This will help make your buttercream super smooth once it’s fully made.
Mix in 3 sticks of room temperature butter on a low speed, one at a time. Wait until each stick of butter has been fully mixed in before adding the next stick.
Once the butter is incorporated, mix on medium speed for an additional 5 minutes until the frosting looks fluffy and smooth.
If the frosting breaks during this stage, don’t worry! Just keep mixing, and it should come back together in 5-10 minutes.
Step 3: Add in the Good Stuff!
Mix in the dark or milk chocolate that has been melted down and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes, vanilla extract, and fine salt on a low speed until combined.
The final step is to stir the frosting for a few additional minutes by hand with a rubber spatula to make it silky smooth. Then it’s all ready to go!
How Much Frosting Does This Recipe Make?
This recipe makes about 4 1/2 cups of frosting, which is enough to frost a 6-inch or 7-inch layer cake or 2 dozen cupcakes.
This recipe can be doubled if you have a 5 Qt or larger KitchenAid or stand mixer, but it will give your mixer quite a workout (mine always gets quite warm when I make a double batch).
Tips for Making the Best Hybrid Chocolate Frosting
- Use good-quality dark or milk chocolate! I recommend using either Couverture chocolate, Guittard, or Ghirardelli chocolate chips.
- Make sure that you let the melted chocolate sit for about 10 minutes to cool before mixing it into the frosting. It should still be fluid but only slightly warm to the touch. This will prevent the heat from the chocolate from melting the butter in the frosting.
- Don’t bother sifting your powdered sugar! Most brands in the US contain cornstarch to prevent caking, and this means no sifting is needed. Only sift if you notice clumps in your powdered sugar.
- Make this recipe with a stand mixer if you have one. You can use a hand mixer, but it will take about twice as long to whip up the meringue.
- Make sure the butter is at room temperature! If it isn’t, the frosting will break, and it can take a lot longer to get it to the right consistency.
- Switch to a paddle attachment once you’ve whipped up the egg whites and powdered sugar! It’ll help make the frosting nice and smooth.
- Seal off the top of your piping bag with a rubber band to prevent any frosting from seeping out of the top of the bag and make the piping bag easier to use.
Making This Perfectly Sweet Chocolate Frosting in Advance & Storage Tips
Make this frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Be sure to give it a good mix with either a hand mixer or a stand mixer once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again.
Frosted cupcakes can sit out at room temperature for up to a day or be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
A frosted cake can last in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month. If you freeze the cake, transfer it to the fridge the night before you plan to eat it.
This will help it gradually thaw and minimize any temperature shock. Remove the cake from the fridge about 30 minutes before you plan to cut into it.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this chocolate frosting recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a rating and comment below.
Don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets so that I can see your amazing creations on social media!
Not Too Sweet Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
Hybrid Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (adapted from Minette Rushing’s Faux Swiss Meringue Frosting)
- 1/2 cup pasteurized egg whites, room temperature 120g
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar 454g or a 1 lb. box
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 339g
- 3/4 cup dark or milk chocolate, melted and cooled 130g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 4g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 3g
Instructions
Not Too Sweet Chocolate Frosting:
- Place 1/2 cup of room-temperature pasteurized egg whites and 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if you plan to make it with a hand mixer). Mix on a low speed to combine.
- Once all the powdered sugar has been incorporated, mix on high with a whisk attachment for 5-10 minutes until the meringue has soft peaks. Sometimes the egg whites will be able to reach stiff peaks like in the picture above, but if you only get soft peaks, the frosting will still turn out great once you add the butter.
- Swap the whisk attachment for a paddle attachment. This will help make your buttercream super smooth once it's fully made.
- Mix in 1 1/2 cups or 3 sticks of room temperature butter on a low speed, one at a time. Wait until each stick of butter has been fully mixed in before adding the next stick.
- Once the butter is incorporated, mix on medium speed for an additional 5 minutes until the frosting looks fluffy. If the frosting breaks or becomes soupy once you add in the butter, don't worry! Just keep mixing, and it should come back together in 5-10 minutes. When in doubt, keep mixing!
- Add 3/4 cup of dark chocolate chips that have been melted down and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes (it should still be fluid but just slightly warm to the touch), 1 tsp of vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp of fine salt. Mix on a low speed until fully combined.
- Stir for a couple of additional minutes by hand with a rubber spatula to make the frosting silky smooth. Then use as desired! This frosting is amazing on layer cakes, cupcakes, and macarons.
Notes
Tips for Making the Best Not Too Sweet Chocolate Frosting
- Use good-quality dark chocolate! I recommend using either Couverture chocolate, Guittard, or Ghirardelli chocolate chips.
- Make sure that you let the dark chocolate sit for about 10 minutes to cool before mixing it into the frosting. It should still be fluid but only slightly warm to the touch. This will prevent the heat from the chocolate from melting the butter in the frosting.
- Don’t bother sifting your powdered sugar! Most brands in the US contain cornstarch to prevent caking, and this means no sifting is needed. Only sift if you notice clumps in your powdered sugar.
- Make this recipe with a stand mixer if you have one! You can use a hand mixer, but it will take about twice as long to whip up the meringue.
- Make sure the butter is at room temperature! If it isn’t, the frosting will break or can become soupy, and it can take a lot longer to get it to the right consistency.
- If the frosting breaks or becomes soupy once you add in the butter, don’t worry! Just keep mixing, and it should come back together in 5-10 minutes. When in doubt, keep mixing!
- Switch to a paddle attachment once you’ve whipped up the egg whites and powdered sugar! It’ll help make the frosting nice and smooth.
- Seal off the top of your piping bag with a rubber band to prevent any frosting from seeping out of the top of the bag and make the piping bag easier to use.
- If you make this frosting for a cake, mix the buttercream on the lowest speed at the end of the process for a couple of minutes, to get out any extra air that might have been incorporated during the mixing process.
Making This Chocolate Frosting in Advance & Storage Tips
Make this frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Be sure to give it a good mix with either a hand mixer or a stand mixer once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again. Frosted cupcakes can sit out at room temperature for up to a day or be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. A frosted cake can last in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month. If you freeze the cake, transfer it to the fridge the night before you plan to eat it. This will help it gradually thaw and minimize any temperature shock. Remove the cake from the fridge about 30 minutes before you plan to cut into it.Nutrition
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Hi. I have a question but don’t know how to submit it. I bake cakes for at-risk vulnerable kids. I cannot include cream, cream cheese or custard in frosting because they cannot stand out on a counter for any length of time. I can make American buttercream and cooked frosting like Swiss meringue. Because the eggs are pasteurized for this recipe, can I assume I can safely use it?
Susan Sanders
630.329.3343
Sent from my iPad
Hi Susan,
I believe we emailed about this separately, but you can totally leave questions for me as comments on here too! I check them every Sunday 🙂 I am answering this on here too because I think people might find the answer helpful:
Exactly!! I use pasteurized egg whites that come in a carton, so they are safe to eat without cooking / have already been heat treated. Hope that helps, happy baking!!
Can I use Nutella in place of the chocolate?
Hi Tiziana,
I haven’t tested it but I feel like that should work just fine! It sounds delicious!! Let me know how it turns out if you try it, I’d love to know! Happy baking!
@Chelsweets, thank you! I just tried it and came out delicious!!
Just made this and the vanilla recipe for a baby shower and it was outstanding! Just the right amount of sweetness, smooth and creamy, and very easy. Cannot recommend this recipe enough.
Hi Tammy,
I am so happy to hear that!! I love it too 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing!
I made this for a birthday cake yesterday bc they requested “not too sweet.” It was PERFECT and I got soooo many compliments. Thank you!
yesssss!! I am so happy to hear that Nancy 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!!
Hello! What tip did you use?
Hi Kita,
I used an Ateco 826 (https://amzn.to/4kNmuB9)! Hope that helps, happy baking!