Itās my first blog post of the new year (Happy 2022!) and I donāt think thereās a better way to kick it off than with this delicious Coffee Buttercream recipe. After frosting my Peppermint Mocha Cake and Gingerbread Latte Cake with this glorious buttercream I decided it needed its very own recipe post. Chances are that if youāre reading this youāre already a big fan of coffee. If thatās the case, get ready to crave this frosting. Itāll blow your mind!
This Coffee Buttercream is so silky smooth, bursting with coffee flavor, and pairs well with almost any kind of cake. You could use it to transform your favorite coffee drink into cake form (for example: chocolate cake + this coffee buttercream = chocolate mocha cake. Boom!). Just imagine the possibilities. You could also do what I did and spread some on a leftover graham cracker from your toddlerās snack (you wonāt regret it!).
To add the perfect coffee flavor, I dissolved a few teaspoons of instant coffee into the whole milk in this recipe before pouring it in. I used these Starbucks packets, but any instant coffee will do. You could use espresso powder as an alternative as well. Just be sure to use an instant coffee or espresso powder that you like the taste of in cup-of-coffee form since it plays such a huge role in the overall flavor.
This Coffee Buttercream ends up being the perfect consistency for filling and frosting cakes or piping onto cupcakes (shown above on my Gingerbread Latte Cake). It yields about 3 Cups of frosting, which is enough to frost 12-16 cupcakes or fill and frost a two layer cake. I always like to make triple layer cakes, and if youāre wanting to use this buttercream on a cake of that size I recommend making 1.5x the recipe to ensure you’ll have enough.
One of my goals this year is to make more videos, so I filmed the process for whipping up this Coffee Buttercream to show you every step:
If youāre into recipe videos like this, head over to my YouTube page. There, youāll find a collection of recipe videos, cake decorating tutorials, my Cake Basics series, and more! Be sure to hit the subscribe button so you never miss a new one!
Coffee Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
- 1 1/2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
- 1 Cup (227g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 1/2 Cups (420g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Combine the instant espresso/coffee with the whole milk and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter on med-high until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes), scraping down the bowl and paddle a few times in between.
- Add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle between intervals. Then add the vanilla, the coffee/espresso milk mixture, and salt. Mix on low until fully incorporated, about one minute.
Notes
- Frost 12-15 cupcakes with a piping bag
- Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 8-inch cake. To have enough for frosting and decorating as well, double the recipe.Ā
Did you make this recipe? I want to know what you think! Let me know in the comments below or tag me on Instagram. I love to see what youāre caking!
Just made this beautiful buttercream today. Getting ready to pair it with chocolate and vanilla cake layers, and homemade caramel!! Thank you Whitney! So pretty and tasty!
That sounds amazing, Paula!!
I want to make this to go with a 3 layer 6ā cakeā¦ crumb coat, filling and frosting and rosettesā¦ should I double the recipe? Iām pairing it with your chocolate cake.
Hi Kathy! Yes, I would double this recipe to fill, crumb coat, frost, and pipe a three layer 6-inch cake. Enjoy!
Going to make a coffee and walnut cake and grist with this, can’t wait
Yum, Catherine! That sounds amazing!
Hi Whitney,
Wonderful recipe and you are my go to for all the recipes. Quick question, can I pair this recipe with vanilla cake and butterscotch sauce?
Yay, Sravanthy! I’m so happy you love this recipe š and you can absolutely pair this buttercream with those elements – that sounds delicious!!
So happy to find your recipe for Coffee Frosting. My Mom used to frost her Banana Cake with it. Recently it popped into my head and I just had to make one. Used your recipe, it was heavenly.
I just wanted to sit down with the bowl and eat it with a spoon!! Looks like I will be making Banana Cake more often. THANKS.
Yay, Christine! And oh my gosh that flavor combo sounds DELICIOUS! I need to make that asap
Oh me oh my……
I made this buttercream to add to a 3 layer chocolate cake using your one bowl choc cake recipe and it was divine. I don’t even drink coffee however, I continued to dip the cake off cuts into this buttercream it was so irresistible.
Thankyou for the recipe, perfection again
Oh my goodness! I’m so happy to hear that, Lori!
itās really nice and fluffy but i couldnāt taste the coffee i ended up adding a lot more coffee to taste anything
This recipe is perfect! I wasn’t sure if it would have a light coffee taste or be more bold like I was wanting. So I started with the recipe as written and didn’t need to tweak a thing. I paired this with a simple chocolate cake for a mocha vibe. The birthday recipient and all guests truly enjoyed it. Thanks for a great recipe!
Yay, Kelsey! I’m so happy this buttercream was a hit! It’s one of my faves š
Could I substitute some or all of the butter with cream cheese or mascarpone for a whole new frosting experience?
Hi Susan! Yes, you could sub half of the butter with either of those and I bet it would taste amazing!
Great filling for homemade macrons!
Hi Whitney!! Thanks so much for this coffee butter cream recipe. I paired it with coffee flavored cupcakes. Put a dark chocolate covered coffee bean on top. So cute. And the taste was extraordinary! I used instant expresso powder. Yowza!! We all wanted seconds. I’m making a coffee flavored birthday cake with your coffee butter cream frosting for a friend’s birthday celebration. I know it will be a hit!
Yay, Chris! YUM that sounds like an amazing flavor combo! So happy you loved this recipe as much as I do š
With this Coffee buttercream recipe can I use butter instead of unsalted butter? Maybe don’t add the salt, what do you think Whitney?
Hi Bernice! You are welcome to use salted butter and omit the salt. The end result will still be slightly more salty since salted butter contains more salt than would be added in the original recipe.