Need a recipe for chocolate buttercream friosting please!

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**I have decided on a chocolate buttercream frosting for Lily’s b-day cake. The Kinnickinick cake (chocolate) mix turned out fine so that is what I’ll be making.

I have NEVER made frosting before and am overwhelmed by the sheer number of recipes online!!!

I want one that does NOT use shortening.

One that DOES use cocoa powder instead of baking chocolate.

One that tastes good and is relatively idiot-proof!

Ok, now HELP!**
 
I had to go to the web site for this, Malia, as all my cookbooks are still back in Vermont (sob) until I have my permanent place in Virginia, but I have used this recipe umpteen times; it is my favorite chocolate frosting ever.

Here you go:

ONE-BOWL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa or HERSHEY’S Dutch Processed Cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency (additional milk may be needed). Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

<<I personally have added in 1 teaspoon of almond extract (pure, NOT Imitation) with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla for a slight almond flavor which I like. Some people do not like the slightly ‘cornstarchy’ taste of powdered sugar. You can, very carefully, put the powdered sugar in the top of a double boiler, put water in the bottom part (about 2 cups, not to touch the top, and boil for about 5 minutes, making sure to stir the powered sugar frequently to make sure it does not start to ‘stick’. Supposedly this makes the cornstarchy taste less prominent. I personally think enough COCOA and really good fresh BUTTER make the flavor excellent without that extra step.

Yum!
 
Tantum_ergo said:
I had to go to the web site for this, Malia, as all my cookbooks are still back in Vermont (sob) until I have my permanent place in Virginia, but I have used this recipe umpteen times; it is my favorite chocolate frosting ever.

Here you go:

ONE-BOWL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa or HERSHEY’S Dutch Processed Cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency (additional milk may be needed). Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

<<I personally have added in 1 teaspoon of almond extract (pure, NOT Imitation) with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla for a slight almond flavor which I like. Some people do not like the slightly ‘cornstarchy’ taste of powdered sugar. You can, very carefully, put the powdered sugar in the top of a double boiler, put water in the bottom part (about 2 cups, not to touch the top, and boil for about 5 minutes, making sure to stir the powered sugar frequently to make sure it does not start to ‘stick’. Supposedly this makes the cornstarchy taste less prominent. I personally think enough COCOA and really good fresh BUTTER make the flavor excellent without that extra step.

Yum!
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Good recipe. This is basically what I do, but I don’t measure anything. I always use butter and not margarine. I don’t use very much powdered sugar, and I usually use about 2 teaspoons of vanilla.

I just say go easy on the powdered sugar. You can always add more to get the taste and consistency you are looking for.
 
Does the powdered sugar need to be sifted? I don’t own a sifter, lol. And I am assuming that powdered sugar is the same thing as icing sugar?
**
I will be using a really yummy organic cocoa (Cocoa Camino brand) and some organic butter that is very yummy. I hope I don’t screw this up. My mom suggested a simple whipped cream topping but I can’t whip cream for the life of me no matter what tricks I try:o**

dulcissima, how much less powdered sugar do you use?
 
This is the recipe I use, too, without measuring. Took me a long time to get the amounts where I wanted them.

The other chocolate frosting recipe I use with cocoa is for brownie cake, AKA Texas brownies, AKA chocolate sheet cake. It involves a pound of powdered sugar, melting butter, cooking the whole thing in a pot on the stove, and pouring it over the cake. You’re better off in my opinion doing the basic frosting.
 
Tantum_ergo said:
IONE-BOWL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa or HERSHEY’S Dutch Processed Cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency (additional milk may be needed). Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.
Click to expand...
Oooo!!! Saved this to my own recipe file!!! 😃

~Liza
 
That looks like a great recipe! 😃 The one we make uses way too much shortening! Can I ask - can you pipe with it? Or is it primarily just a spread frosting?
 
You do not need a sifter.

I never measure, just add a little of this a little of that until it tastes right 🙂
 
**Thanks so much ladies!!! One more question:

Can I make the frosting in advance or does it have to be when i am ready to use it?

One of my problems is that I do not know which day we will be having Lily’s party… it’ll depend on my dad’s work schedule. So if I could make the cake and the frosting ahead of time it would be great.
**
 
You can make the frosting in advance, just store it in the fridge (in fact, it will keep for some time in the fridge). Just put it in a covered container, and bring it to room temp before you try to spread it on the cake.

Be careful, when it is in the fridge, it will be very tempting just to have a bit to nibble on 🙂
 
Yes, you can store the frosting (yep, icing sugar and confectioner’s are the same) in the fridge. But don’t ice the cake until the day of the party, and be sure you let the icing get up to room temperature before trying to spread it on the cake (which likewise should be up to room temperature). Otherwise, it’s like trying to spread cold butter on cold toast–disaster!

Lotus blossom: I spread it; I think it might be slightly too thick as is to pipe. I usually pipe ‘fluffier’ type frostings.

I hope y’all realize the sacrifice I’m making contributing to this thread as ALL my pots, pans, and cookbooks are still in Vermont and here I sit in Virginia with NO real supplies to fix me a deep dark chocolate cake (also nobody to EAT it except for me if I did, yet another reason not to fix it) with frosting. And I am NOT going to get any ‘store bought’ stuff even though I am having chocolate withdrawals like you would not believe. Even looking at the Virginia ground (which here is a reddish clay) all I can think is, “Boy, red devils’ food cake sure would be tasty right now!”😃
 
Tantum_ergo said:
Yes, you can store the frosting (yep, icing sugar and confectioner’s are the same) in the fridge. But don’t ice the cake until the day of the party,
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Unless you do a crumb coat, then you can do that a day ahead.:o (A crumb coat is a VERY THIN layer of frosting to seal the cake and make applying the ‘thick’ layer of frosting easier. It’s called a crumb coat because it makes sure you aren’t pulling crumbs into the good frosting as you spread it across the cake. It might be an added step but BOY does it make frosting a cake a lot easier.

Just thin some frosting you make with a little more milk… you want it a little ‘looser’ than the regular icing, but not soupy.
 
Shiann said:
Unless you do a crumb coat, then you can do that a day ahead.:o (A crumb coat is a VERY THIN layer of frosting to seal the cake and make applying the ‘thick’ layer of frosting easier. It’s called a crumb coat because it makes sure you aren’t pulling crumbs into the good frosting as you spread it across the cake. It might be an added step but BOY does it make frosting a cake a lot easier.

Just thin some frosting you make with a little more milk… you want it a little ‘looser’ than the regular icing, but not soupy.
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Yes, you must must crumb coat. Seriously, listen to Shiann she knows what she’s talking about. One thin layer, then slather the rest on. Makes all the crumbs stay down and cake look nice. When you go to do the second layer, just heap all the remaining frosting on the top of the cake and spread it down and around.

Malia for whipped cream it can’t be easier, if you chill the cream(HAS to be heavy whipping cream) chill a metal bowl and the beaters too. And just keep beating and beating. It seems like it won’t ever whip but then all of a sudden it will.

You can mix butter cream frosting with whipped cream, softly whipped, for a really yummy frosting. I make a cream cheese frosting for all my cakes and mix it with whipped cream and it’s OOOOOOOH so good.
 
Feanaro_s_Wife said:
**I have decided on a chocolate buttercream frosting for Lily’s b-day cake. The Kinnickinick cake (chocolate) mix turned out fine so that is what I’ll be making.

I have NEVER made frosting before and am overwhelmed by the sheer number of recipes online!!!

I want one that does NOT use shortening.

One that DOES use cocoa powder instead of baking chocolate.

One that tastes good and is relatively idiot-proof!

Ok, now HELP!**
Click to expand...
You just limited me by not using shortening! Wilton’s buttercream has a chocolate version and it is very good - it does use 1/2 cup Crisco and 1/2 cup butter. You might be able to get by using all butter but remember then you must keep the cake refrigerated! It will also not make a decorators icing - it will be too soft ;).

Anyway, since you are making a knikinik cake you probably only need half a recipe. Are you planning on “dumping” the cake and frosting the sides or leaving it in the pan and just frosting the top? If that is the case then you will definitely only need half a recipe.

Here is where you can find the recipe wilton.com/recipes/recipesandprojects/icing/chocobutter.cfm

Here, Half a recipe

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (don’t worry about it being clear!)
2 cups (1/2 pound) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
Not more than 2 tablespoons milk

Put butter in mixer with 1 1/2 tablespoons milk and vanilla, blend until well mixed, slowly add powdered sugar (be careful because it will “poof” out at you:eek:). If not easy to spread add the last 1/2 tablespoon of milk to make spreading consistency - that is a consistency that you can easily spread it across the top of a cake without tearing the cake - you can use a butter knife for this.

Good luck and Happy Birthday to Lily.

Brenda V.

p.s. that one dish frosting is a good one too and one we have used in the past but I wouldn’t use it to decorate with, just totally the wrong consistency. As for a crumb coat, I rarely do that and don’t have too much trouble with it especially if Malia is going to make it and serve it in the pan - really depends on what she is doing with it and wheat free are really a lot more crumbly than regular wheat cakes as a first attempt/new baker I wouldn’t recommend trying to dump it until you are comfortable with it ;).
 
Malia,

How did the cake come out??? I am really curious. Let us know okay?

Brenda V.
 
Brenda_V said:
Malia,

How did the cake come out??? I am really curious. Let us know okay?

Brenda V.
Click to expand...
**The sample cake came out fine and I just picked up another cake mix (same kind) and the ingredients for the frosting the other day… we will be celebrating her b-day on Saturday so I’ll let you know how it all goes!!!

After the water incident we had today and the AC guy coming tomorrow it looks like I won’t be making anything until probably thursday or even friday:shrug:**
 
Feanaro_s_Wife said:
The sample cake came out fine and I just picked up another cake mix (same kind) and the ingredients for the frosting the other day… we will be celebrating her b-day on Saturday so I’ll let you know how it all goes!!!
Click to expand...
**
Thank you for that update. Okay, so, did you “dump” it, as in make it a layer cake? I have never used the brand cake mix you have - don’t have any available down here but I tend to do “from scratch” anyway :D.

**
Feanaro_s_Wife said:
** After the water incident we had today and the AC guy coming tomorrow it looks like I won’t be making anything until probably thursday or even friday:shrug:**
Click to expand...
:bigyikes: Did you talk about it “the water incident” here somewhere? If you did I missed it.

Brenda V.
 
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