Signature Chocolate Buttercream - Wont let you down!

    This buttercream is definitely my favorite option for Vanilla-Chocolate Cupcakes. I've been looking for a perfectly soft and easy chocolate frosting for years, a recipe that would take me out of any difficult situation, but also full of flavor and that "I don’t know what" that makes you keep eating from it like it would be your last meal, like a certain sparkle that makes you dream about it and find any excuse to make it over and over. After so many experiments and testing every recipe in front of me, I finally came out with this, my own Signature Buttercream Recipe. Like I said before, it's perfect for Vanilla-Chocolate cupcakes, but I had a very good experience by using it on buttercream decorated cakes or even on fondant decorated cakes. 

    At the beginning of my research everything looked very dark for me, but you know, we are now on internet times and soon I confronted my self with a big variety of recipes to try. There's a world of possibilities when we are talking about chocolate frosting. As some recipes that use bar chocolate, others get their chocoliciousnes from the powder cocoa. But the discovering of the meaning of the egg yolks in a frosting, totally changed my life. Really, since then I am a different baker. 

    An other important factor about buttercream is simply the technique, or better said, the whip. Yes, the word buttercream mostly sounds like a crazy amount of butter and icing sugar mixed in certain conspiration to make your belly rounder without any other sense, but it's not as evil as it sounds. Once you give it a good whip and add on it the secret ingredients I'm going to tell you, the butter cream wont have anything to envy to a melting ball of ice cream in a cone. A good texture is important when talking about a preparation with only two main ingredients, it has to be done right. 

     This frosting has the fluffiness, the sweetness and the taste, perfect to be combined with vanilla cakes or chocolate cakes. The intensity of it match perfectly with red fruits, reason why it can be topped with Raspberries or Marrasquino Cherries or, for a more 'elegant' dessert, assemble it with a biscuit dipped in a decadent red berries syrup. I normally make a double batch of it and storage a part of in the freezer to be used when needed. 

    So, let's get started! 

Signature Chocolate Buttercream 

For 500 g of Chocolate Buttercream (20 cupcakes approx.) 

Ingredients: 

275 g Butter 

325 g Icing Sugar 

50 g Cocoa Powder 

2 Large Egg Yolks 

1 tbsp. Granulated Sugar 

1tbsp. Milk 

1 tbsp. Vanilla extract 

Preparation: 

Sift the sugar with the cocoa powder in a bowl. 

Make sure your butter is nice and soft before you start mixing, if you storage your butter in the fridge, put in on the microwave to 'defrost' for one minute or until you touch it and your finger leaves a mark on it. 

In a Bain Marie mix the two egg yolks with the granulated sugar and whisk vigorously until the grains of sugar have dissolved on the yolks and the mix has changed color into a pallid yellow. Once you reached a foamy texture add the vanilla extract and transfer to another recipient immediately, set aside. 

Once your butter is soft your sabayon is ready and you powders are sifted, you can start whisking. 

Whisk the butter with a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for around 6 minutes on a medium speed, until the butter is fluffy and changed to a lighter color. 

In this moment, stop the mixer and add half of the sugar and cocoa mix with a spatula and combine as you go, once it's combined, add the other half. When all the sugar is combined, whisk again with the mixer for another 6 minutes. 

Now, add the sabayon and the milk to the butter mix and whisk again on medium speed for 1 minute. To finish turn your mixer on the lowest speed and whisk for about 3 more minutes to avoid air bubbles on the cream. 

Voilà! Use your buttercream right away or store it in the freezer for another occasion, it's not going to let you down. 

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