Chocolate Butter Cream Icing Recipe

By James Maddock

Updated 15/08/2011

This is a nostalgic recipe which reminds me of impatiently waiting for the butter cream icing to be put on the cake so that I could lick the spoon and scrape out the mixing bowl. It almost tasted better than it did on the cake itself! If you are looking to take a trip down memory lane then this simple recipe will really do the trick.
Use butter cream icing as a filling or topping for sponge cakes and as a topping for cup cakes. Flavour and colour however you wish - let your imagination run riot! There are some very good ranges of natural flavourings and colourings which include flavours such as vanilla, coffee, orange, lemon - the list goes on. It's great fun to use red colouring on Valentine's Day or green on St. Patrick's Day or deep orange for Hallowe'en. A few drops of food colouring will transform your cupcakes stand into a grotto of fairy colours.

Ingredients

• 6oz butter
• 6oz icing sugar
• a really good chocolate or cocoa powder to taste (we used 1oz for this recipe)

Method

• Find a nice big bowl and a wooden spoon (or an electric whisk/mixer if you prefer). Too small a bowl may likely lead to icing sugar going everywhere!
• Put the icing sugar and butter into your chosen bowl (see picture 1). You may want to chop the butter up into smaller pieces to make mixing easier. The softer the butter the better.
• Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (see picture 2).
• Next you can add the cocoa (or any other flavouring or colouring that you choose) (see picture 3).
• Being careful again not to get cocoa everywhere, slowly mix in the cocoa.
• Once the cocoa is mixed in the butter cream icing is ready to be used (see picture 4).
• So, give yourself a pat on the back, enjoy licking out the bowl and prepare for the next stage of the process which is spreading it on your chosen cake. If you are looking for some inspiration here, have a look at our recipes for Yule Log or sponge cake. Happy eating!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Yield: enough for a medium cake