When I was coming up with flavor combinations for my cake book, Anyone Can Cake, I decided to do a little experimenting with blending my favorite buttercream recipes together. So I took my favorite chocolate buttercream and my coffee buttercream recipes and married them to make this incredible mocha buttercream! Y’all. If you love chocolate and coffee together this is one of those frostings you could eat by the spoonful.
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This mocha buttercream frosting is so delightful on chocolate cake and would also make a glorious filling for macarons, topping for cupcakes, or really any frosted dessert that pairs well with coffee and chocolate. It’s the perfect consistency for filling and frosting a cake with smooth or textured buttercream and pipes like a dream.
To get the coffee flavor, I like to whisk together espresso powder and whole milk before adding it in the mixing process. You could absolutely use your favorite instant coffee as an alternative. Either of these create a wonderful burst of coffee flavor as opposed to freshly brewed coffee, which won’t be strong enough and will end up adding too much liquid. And for the chocolate flavor, a touch of cocoa powder does just the trick.
Cake Flavors to Pair with Mocha Buttercream
You’ll find this recipe paired with a coffee-infused chocolate cake in my book to make a chocolate mocha cake (pictured here), but I’ve listed some other flavor suggestions below! See the notes of this recipe card to calculate how much you’ll need for your specific baking project.
- One-Bowl Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Hot Cocoa Cake with Marshmallow Creme Filling
- Peppermint Mocha Cake
- Cookies & Cream Cake
Whatever you pair this mocha buttercream with, I hope you love it as much as I do! Let me know if you make it in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create with my recipes!
Mocha Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 Cups (360g) powdered sugar
- 1/4 Cup (22g) unsweetened cocoa powder natural or Dutch-processed
- 1 1/2 tsp espresso powder or instant coffee
- 2 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- 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. Turn the mixer off and sift in the cocoa powder with a fine mesh sieve, then mix it in on low speed.
- In a small bowl, combine the espresso powder (or instant coffee) with the whole milk before adding it in with the vanilla and salt. Mix on low until fully incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed.
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.
Hi is this recipie will be enough to fill and crumb coat a 4 layered 8×2” cake ?
Hi Shagufta! I would make 1.5x the recipe to fill and crumb coat a cake that size. Just multiply the ingredients by 1.5 and you’ll be good to go. Enjoy!
Will this recipe be enough to frost 2 nine inch pans?
Hi Donna! Are you using this frosting as filling too? This should be enough to fill and crumb coat or do a thin layer of buttercream on a 2-layer 9-inch cake. If you’re just using it as frosting (and filling with something else) it will be enough. If you’re filling and frosting, I would double the recipe to have enough for decorating.
This Mocha Buttercream frosting with a smidgen more of instant coffee and beating the sugar with the butter 2-3 minutes after each addition by far is the most decadently delicious buttercream to kick up a chocolate cake. I was in a hurry for an Easter dessert and whipped up a box cake and frosted it with this Mocha Buttercream frosting as light as clouds it was on this cake. Great recipe!
Hello. I made your recipe just now and it turned out so good. It goes perfectly well with my banana bread/cake. My son and my niece loves it. Thank you for sharing your recipe. ,
Yay, Josefa! Thanks for reporting back, I’m so happy it was such a hit and it sounds AMAZING with banana cake.
This is super delicious! Had me licking it right out of the bowl!
Yay, Amy! Haha, I love that!
This frosting is really delicious. Fluffy like a cloud. This will get made many more times to come
Yay, Darlene! So happy you love this recipe!
PERFECTION! I use this on chocolate cake for Father’s day today! My dad us gonna love it!
I tried this recipie and it turned out really delicious. I halved the recipie based on my needs and I used it on a chocolate box cake mix.
Do you prefer using Dutch process cocoa in this buttercream or natural unsweetened? Which did you use in the photos?
Hi Payton! I used natural unsweetened cocoa powder in the photos. You can use either one, but Dutch process will give you a slightly darker color.
Wow! super great flavor! I used it for a layer “cake” made up of 8 layers of crepes. Absolutely delicious.
Yum! That sounds delicious!
This is the absolute best paired with your one bowl chocolate cake. So delicious!!!