February 20, 2011

Chocolate + Butter + Sugar = Buttercream


I whipped up this decadent buttercream for my nieces' 16th birthday! Her favorite cake combination this year is lemon & chocolate. So I made cupcakes using one of Martha Stewart's lemon cake recipes. I scooped out the center of each cupcake and filled with lemon curd then frosted with my Dark Chocolate Buttercream.

For the Dark Chocolate Buttercream, of course I happened to have two 3-ounce Rich 70% Theo Chocolate Bars lying around therefore I broke them into bits and melted in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. After the chocolate was melted I cooled to room temperature. Then creamed together 2 sticks of unsalted butter with a scant 2 cups of powdered sugar and a pinch of sea salt until light and fluffy. Finally, the addition of the cooled melted chocolate for flavoring. This recipe can be adapted to suit your frosting fancy. Leave out the chocolate and cut back on the powdered sugar a smidgen then add a tablespoon of vanilla extract and half of a pod of vanilla bean seeds for a basic Vanilla Buttercream or add a touch of pure maple syrup for a Maple Buttercream, lemon zest or orange zest for a hint of Citrus. This recipe creates enough buttercream to frost at least 18 cupcakes!

Buon Compleanno Miss N!
xoxo Auntie