It’s my first blog post of the new year (Happy 2022!) and I don’t think there’s 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 you’re reading this you’re already a big fan of coffee. If that’s the case, get ready to crave this frosting. It’ll 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 toddler’s snack (you won’t 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 you’re 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 you’re into recipe videos like this, head over to my YouTube page. There, you’ll 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!
Cake Flavors to Pair with Coffee Buttercream
If you need inspiration on what cake flavors to pair this coffee buttercream with, here are some suggestions from my blog. Just be sure to make a double batch if you plan on filling and frosting these layer cakes:
- Chocolate Cake
- Vanilla Cake
- Banana Cake
- Coffee Layer Cake
- Vanilla Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Gingerbread Latte Cake
- Pumpkin Layer Cake
- Peppermint Mocha Cake
I hope you love this carrot cake as much as I do! Let me know if you make it in the comments below and don’t forget to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram if you post a pic. I love to see what you create with my recipes!
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.
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 you’re caking!
Will 2% milk work instead of whole milk?
Hi Nadia! Yes, that will work just fine.
I’m going to be making this frosting along side your vanilla buttercream to decorate a cake. Any particular reason you use milk instead of heavy whipping cream in this frosting? Just wondering if I should add the coffee to the heavy whipping cream in your vanilla recipe to make sure the consistencies of the two are the same. Thoughts? Thanks so much!
Hi Marcy! You can use heavy whipping cream and whole milk interchangeably in my buttercream recipes. Whipping cream will make the frosting a little silkier. You can absolutely sub the heavy whipping cream in for the milk in this recipe and add the coffee to it if you’re used to using heavy whipping cream with my vanilla buttercream recipe.
I know this is an older post, but could this be made with fresh espresso rather than instant espresso powder?
Hi Nathan! I’ve never tried it with fresh espresso but I bet it would work. You’ll have to play around with the amount and be sure to only use room temp espresso.
I just made this last night and it tastes amazing. I will definitely be making this a lot more. I used decaf instant Folger’s individual packets. It took one and a half of them. The flavor was perfect.
Yay, CJ! So happy you loved this recipe and it worked well with decaf coffee packets!
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.
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 🙂
Great filling for homemade macrons!
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!
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 🙂
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!
it’s really nice and fluffy but i couldn’t taste the coffee i ended up adding a lot more coffee to taste anything
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
That is exactly what I am going to do for my husband’s birthday next week.
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 🙂 and you can absolutely pair this buttercream with those elements – that sounds delicious!!
Going to make a coffee and walnut cake and grist with this, can’t wait
Yum, Catherine! That sounds amazing!
I want to make this to go with a 3 layer 6” cake… crumb coat, filling and frosting and rosettes… should I double the recipe? I’m 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!
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!!