CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING | quick chocolate frosting

So to make my easy chocolate frosting we are going to make what is known as an American style buttercream and that just means that it is a simple mixture of butter and powdered sugar and a little milk and that is beaten together until light and fluffy. Now to make this a chocolate buttercream we are also going to add cocoa powder. So I'm starting with two sticks of unsalted butter that are at room temperature and it's really important that the butter is at room temperature so that it is soft enough to beat into a frosting. We are going to beat the butter by itself with a paddle attachment on my stand mixer or you could use a hand mixer until it is light and creamy. Next I'm adding a half teaspoon of salt to help balance the sweetness along with two teaspoons of vanilla extract. Now I like to start with about a half cup of cocoa powder and adjust it later to add more if I want it to be more chocolatey. Next we are going to add the powdered sugar. Make sure you are lightly spooning the powdered sugar into your measuring cup without packing it down and then level it off. I'm going to start with about one cup and then we will add more as we mix. We will end up adding about three cups of powdered sugar into the mixture but it's important to note that with buttercream you can taste as you go and add more sugar to get to your desired sweetness and consistency. As you mix add a little bit of milk about a tablespoon at a time to help the mixture come together. I usually end up adding about a fourth of a cup of milk. Beat on high speed for about five minutes scraping down the bowl and adding the rest of the sugar gradually. Now at this point I tasted the mixture and decided that I did want it to be more chocolatey so I added in another fourth cup of cocoa powder for a total of three-fourths of a cup and you can add a little more milk here at this point to help get the right consistency. Continue beating on high until your buttercream is fluffy and smooth. This will take about eight to ten minutes of total beating and one of the reasons American buttercream gets such a bad reputation is that it is often not beaten for long enough. That is really the key for a super silky smooth texture. This buttercream works so well for piping on cupcakes or filling a layer cake and it is absolutely the perfect pair for my classic chocolate sheet cake. Now I really hope you enjoyed this recipe tutorial and if you did make sure you give it a thumbs up and I'm always happy to answer your questions so you can leave those down in the comment section and if you aren't already subscribed hit that subscription button and ring the notification bell so you never miss a video. You can follow me at Baker Bettie on Instagram and on Facebook and I'll be back right here next week with another recipe tutorial. I'll see you guys then.