This mocha buttercream may be the most delicious buttercream I’ve ever made. I wish I could take all of the credit for it, but it is from Carol Bloom’s The Essential Baker
I made the Devil’s Food Cake from The Essential Baker
It is made with whole eggs instead of just egg whites which gives it a lusciously smooth and creamy feel. The coffee and bittersweet chocolate are a perfect match for all of the sugar in the whipped Italian meringue that is the base. This recipe is decidedly more work than a simple Swiss meringue buttercream, but it is so worth it. I think this is my favorite recipe in the book so far. Over all I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a great cookbook and an essential addition to any bakers shelf!
How to Make Mocha Buttercream
See me make this buttercream step by step here and you’ll find the full recipe at the bottom of this post!
In a small sauce pan fitted with a Candy Thermometer,
Place the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and whip on medium speed until they are thick, pale in color and hold a ribbon when the beater is lifted. Once the sugar syrup has reached its temperature of 242° F,
then slowly pour it into the bowl of whipped egg yolks while the beater is going on slow. Be sure to pour it along the bowl so that the hot syrup doesn’t hit the beater and splatter! Allow the eggs and sugar mixture to beat on medium high speed until the eggs have cooled, about 8 minutes.
Add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time.
The buttercream will go through a stage that looks soupy and curdled, but continue to add all of the butter and it will come together.
The finished buttercream will be smooth and silky.
For Mocha Buttercream
Add a tablespoon of water to the espresso powder and dissolve.
Add the melted and cooled chocolate to the buttercream.
Mix to combine and decorate your cake. The buttercream will freeze if you have any left, wrapped really well in plastic. Just allow it to come bake to room temperature and whisk it on low speed to smooth it out.
For Peanut Butter Buttercream
Instead of using the coffee and melted chocolate, use 1 cup smooth peanut butter. It should be a commercial brand like Skippy or Jif, because they are emulsified and have the consistency that you want. Natural fresh ground peanut butter is awesome, but it is heavy and will make the buttercream too greasy and may even separate if you use too much.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
- 2 extra-large egg yolks at room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 lb (2 cups, 4 sticks) unsalted butter softened
To Make it Mocha Buttercream
- 6 oz bittersweet chocolate very finely chopped, melted over a double boiler and cooled to room temperature
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1 tbsp water
To Make it Peanut Butter Buttercream
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter. It should be a commercial brand like Skippy or Jif. NOT natural/fresh ground
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan fitted with a Candy Thermometer, bring the 1 1/4 cups sugar, water and cream of tartar to a boil over medium-high heat. If any of the sugar crystals get onto the side of the pan, be sure to wipe them down with a wet clean pastry brush. The sugar needs to cook until it hits 242° F on the thermometer. This takes several minutes.
- While that is boiling, place the eggs, egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and whip on medium speed until they are thick, pale in color and hold a ribbon when the beater is lifted.
- Once the sugar syrup has reached its temperature of 242° F, slowly pour it into the bowl of whipped egg yolks while the beater is going on slow. Be sure to pour it along the bowl so that the hot syrup doesn't hit the beater and splatter! Allow the eggs and sugar mixture to beat on medium high speed until the eggs have cooled, about 8 minutes.
- Add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time. The buttercream will go through a stage that looks soupy and curdled, but continue to add all of the butter and it will come together. The finished buttercream will be smooth and silky.
Mocha Buttercream
- Add a tablespoon of water to the espresso powder and dissolve. Add the melted and cooled chocolate to the buttercream.
- Mix to combine and decorate your cake. The buttercream will freeze if you have any left, wrapped really well in plastic. Just allow it to come bake to room temperature and whisk it on low speed to smooth it out.
Peanut Butter Buttercream
- Instead of using the coffee and melted chocolate, use 1 cup smooth peanut butter. It should be a commercial brand like Skippy or Jif, because they are emulsified and have the consistency that you want. Natural fresh ground peanut butter is awesome, but it is heavy and will make the buttercream too greasy and may even separate if you use too much.
Zoe,
A few months back you popped into my mind and the next day, there you were on the front page of the food section of the Philadelphia Inquirer. I was tickled to see you and your amazing accomplishment! I immediately ordered the book and started baking. Since then we’ve enjoyed dozens of loaves of your delicious bread…and each time I think of you and hope that you and all your boyz are doing well in Minneapolis.
xo
Denise
ps: Awesome site, I’ve been a regular lurker…and as soon as our heatwave breaks I’m making this cake!
Hey Jen,
You are a baking diva! I’ll have to try the caramelized sugar to see if it isn’t even better. I bet the flavor added a bit of character!?
Bake on my friend! Zoë
Hi Zoe!
I made this tonight for some friends, with the devils food recipe in cupcake form…it was unbelievable! I even goofed up the water/sugar/cream of tartar portion…it cooked just a minute or so too long – and became slightly carmelized. It didn’t seem to harm the taste overall, although I am hoping to catch it in time next time I make it!
It was delicious – and the pictures and explanations were extremely helpful in my first buttercream venture! You are helping me break out of my “freaked out by baking” mold! 🙂
Thanks lady!!
Ooh, that’s pretty! Looks like a great recipe.
Wow! I’m not even the biggest buttercream fan but that sure does look great. The cake is really beautiful, so simple but elegant. Nice pictures as well!
Hi Leah,
What a fantastic idea! Enjoy the making and the eating of it.
Congratulations!
Zoë
mmmm… This frosting looks like it would be perfect for my “renewal” cake. My husband and I are planning a nice renewal of vows at the end of the year, and we wanted to make our own cake together, part of the ceremonial thing you know? And of course, we both adore chocolate on chocolate cake!
Thanks for the recipe and the great illustrations!
That does look outrageous! Wish I could like the spoon!
Hi Dawn,
This stuff is really smooth. Sometimes adding chocolate to buttercream makes it harder to get a clean finish and this one is almost better with the chocolate. Great to work with!
Thanks, Zoë
Amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smoother frosting. You spread that frosting with such a smooth & perfect coating. Nice job.
I agree with you re: the salt; it truly brings out the flavor in just about everything.
Hi Katie,
It will be wonderful without the coffee as well. My preference would be to make it with a very bittersweet chocolate, just so it won’t be overly sweet. You could also add a dash of vanilla and a pinch of salt to the buttercream to perk up the flavor.
Let me know how it comes out!
Zoë
Hi Amanda, you are so welcome. Look for a full post on Meringue. I probably won’t get to it until after our crazy book tour in June.
Thanks! Zoë
Hi Elizabeth,
What a great idea, I’ll work on a list of my favorite tools and equipment. Until then I’ve added a link to my post that shows you exactly the thermometer that I used. I must say I bought mine locally for about twice what amazon is charging. Oh well, it is still worth it!
Thanks, Zoë
This looks fantastic! Any idea how it would taste sans coffee? While I adore the taste of mocha in just about everything, I am quite alone in that love within my family.
Thanks for the clarification Zoe! I really appreciate the explanation.
Can you tell me about your candy thermometer, Zoe? The metal casing looks very sturdy.
A post on your favorite and/or essential tools would be really helpful. The off-set spatula you used for the crepes is beautiful.
This is such an informative and helpful website for those of us who are visual learners!
Hi Recipegirl and Rebecca,
Thanks and I hope you enjoy her book!
Zoë
Hi Amanda,
Great question about the different types of meringue. Here is the basics:
French refers to a meringue made from raw egg whites whipped with sugar until it is stiff and glossy. These days this is only used for things that will be baked.
Swiss Meringue is when the egg whites and sugar are cooked together over a double boiler into a syrup and then whipped until stiff and glossy.
Italian Meringue, like the one in this recipe has you add a boiling sugar syrup to the eggs in order to cook them, then you continue to whip this until it is smooth, stiff and glossy.
I’ll do a post on this and show you the difference.
Thanks, Zoë
Thanks Carmen,
I’m so glad you like that Devil’s food cake, it is my all time favorite. It took me years of combining every recipe I’d ever tried to come up with one that I loved.
Zoë
Thank you so much for that recipe, Zoe! That looks SO yummy!! I am always looking for new things to frost cakes with, other than my old Wilton buttercream recipe standby (which everyone still raves over and I can hardly stand anymore.) This looks fabulous! Can’t wait to try it!!
I really love all the pictures you put with your instructions! It helps so much to see what things are supposed to look like!
Oh, and I will definitely have to look into getting Carol’s cookbook! Thank you!
Rebecca
tHAT LOOKS INSANELY GOOD! To be honest, anythign that adds coffee and bittersweet chocolate is bound to please me. You keep baking from this book and it makes me want to swoop it up and buy it as well.Plus, it was nominated for a James Beard award, which gives it a nice push. can you tell me the difference between italian, swiss, and reulgar meringue buttercream? I made a recipe like this one and it was called a french buttercream but I don’t get the difference
It does look like it turned out quite perfect! You decorated that cake so wonderfully too. It’s beautiful!
This frosting sounds like it would be fabulous. I’ve never made Carol Bloom’s Devil’s Food Cake but I have made yours, Zoe.
Hey, everybody, I will vouch for how fantastic it tastes! It is now my “go to” chocolate cake/cupcake recipe.
And, Zoe, thanks too, for the pics!
Agree 1000%! Zoe’s Devil’s Food recipe has elicited raves from everyone, EVERY time I’ve brought it to potlucks, bake sales, etc.
Hi Sam,
Thanks, it is important to see what the steps should look like, especially the first time you venture into a recipe.
Enjoy! Zoë
Great pics. The frosting looks great, but I especially appreciate the illustrated recipe; much more entertaining than just copying the text from the cookbook.
Thanks!