How to make perfect coffee buttercream icing. Ideal for cupcakes, macarons and layer cakes – especially coffee & walnut cake.
One of my all-time favourite cakes is coffee and walnut. If I spot it in the cake cabinet in a cafe it takes a serious amount of willpower not to sneak it onto my tray. In my opinion, the key to a great coffee and walnut cake is a really good coffee buttercream, so I’ve been busy in the kitchen getting mine just right.
To get the coffee flavour into my buttercream I prefer to use instant coffee rather than stuff made in a proper coffee machine. The simple reason for this is that it’s the easiest way to get a really intense flavour into your buttercream. You dissolve it in the minimum amount of water possible to get as much coffee in as you can without making your buttercream too runny.
- Make sure you leave your butter out of the fridge to soften before attempting to make buttercream, otherwise it’ll be tricky to get it really smooth. I usually take mine out a couple of hours before I’m planning on using it.
- Make sure you let your coffee cool completely before adding it to the buttercream (otherwise it’ll melt the butter).
- Add the coffee very gradually and beat each addition in before adding more. This will help ensure that you get a nice smooth buttercream.
- Beat your buttercream on a low-medium speed. It’s tempting to turn the speed up high to get it made quicker but you’ll end up with lots of air bubbles. If you can, try and mix it by hand for a really smooth consistency.
- If your buttercream is still a little too thick once you’ve added all your coffee, add a little milk to get it to the right consistency.
What You’ll Need
Before you start, make sure you have all of the equipment needed.
NOTE – These are affiliate links which means that if you purchase from Amazon after clicking on one the product links below I may earn a small commission. All of the products linked are ones I use in my kitchen.
Weighing Scales- Measuring Spoons
- Knife – to cut the butter
- A small bowl or cup – to mix the coffee and water in
- Electric Mixer (or a bowl and hand mixer or wooden spoon)
- Sieve
- Piping Bags – if you’re planning on piping the cupcakes
- Piping Nozzle – To pipe the cupcakes as shown in the pictures and video you’ll need a JEM 1B nozzle.
FREE GRAMS TO CUPS CONVERSION CHARTS
Subscribe to the Charlotte's Lively Kitchen mailing list to get your FREE printable grams to cups and cups to grams conversion charts for twelve popular baking ingredients
Coffee Buttercream
INGREDIENTS
- 250 g softened butter
- 500 g icing sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp instant coffee granules
- 1½ tbsp boiling water
RECIPE VIDEO
INSTRUCTIONS
- Mix the instant coffee granules (3 tbsp) with the boiling water (1½ tbsp) and then set aside to cool.
- Cut the butter (250g) into cubes and then beat on a low-medium speed until soft. Gradually add the icing sugar (you add it gradually to stop it flying everywhere) and beat until fully combined.
- Add the vanilla extract (¼tsp) and add the coffee a teaspoon at a time, beating in each addition before adding more.
- Check the consistency of your buttercream. It should be soft and perfect for piping at this point. If it’s still a little stiff then beat in a little milk.
- Decorate your cakes (or just eat if off the spoon because it’s yummy!).
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Gluten-Free
- Egg-Free
- Nut-Free
- Soya-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are commonly available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Clive K. Swonnell says
I have a problem when I mix the boiling water with the coffee granules as the coffee congeals into a blob. Can you suggest how to avoid this please.
Charlotte Oates says
This may be due to the type of coffee granules and you may need to add slightly more boiling water. You could also try adding the granules to boiling water rather than the other way around to see if this helps.
Su says
Hi. I want to try your recipe. I live in a warm country (30 degrees). Do i have to keep this cake refrigerated??
Charlotte Oates says
It sounds like this might be the best approach for you. Cakes do go staler quicker in the fridge however so please bear that in mind.
Sibby says
If your family is anything like it doesn’t get time to go in the because it’s gone. All eaten very quickly
Rafah says
Thank you chef
Please answer my question 🙂 Is coffee butter cream suitable for use under fondant? Thank you very much
Charlotte Oates says
Yes buttercream is suitable for use under fondant.
Cecilia says
This recipe it’s amazing! First time doing it. I did the coffee cake and now the buttercream to decorate and OMG! It’s real that you can eat it from the spoon!
Thanks a lot! Taste awesome!
Sampiruthi says
Hi…. I am going to prepare this frosting for my mom’s bday and I don’t have electric beater. I need to know whether I can use a whisk to beat the butter
Charlotte Oates says
I wouldn’t use a whisk as they’re not that strong and the butter will get caught in the middle and be difficult to fully combine with the sugar. Instead I’d use a wooden spoon.
Suha says
Hii! This recipe was amazing and the icing was delicious too. My only problem was that my sugar didn’t dissolve in the butter and there were still a lot of crystals even after beating it with my hand mixer. I followed your recipe perfectly and used sugar that I grinded in a mixer. Can you tell me where I went wrong please? I would really appreciate it! Cheers!
Charlotte Oates says
I’d say grinding sugar in a mixer is where you went wrong. What type is sugar did you use? The recipe calls for icing sugar (also called powdered sugar in some places). If you use a coarser sugar then you will get crystals in the buttercream.
Dee says
How far in advance can I make this recipe (and keep in the fridge) before assembling a layer cake?
Charlotte Oates says
You should be fine to make it a few days in advance and store it in the fridge. You may find that it’s gone a little stiff after chilling. If it has, firstly make sure you leave time to allow it to come up to room temperature before you use it. If it’s still a little stiff then beat in a little more milk until it is your desired consistency.
If you want to make it further in advance then it can be frozen.
Sophie says
My favorite and go-to coffee buttercream recipe! I’d definitely suggest trying it out 🙂
Eleanore says
It is my first making buttercream. It came out amazing and tasted great. ❤️❤️❤️
Aminah Brown says
Hii! I wanted to make this for a cake my mom wanted, but I don’t have instant coffee or espresso powder. Do you think there is any other way that I could get the coffee flavor?
best wishes,
Aminah
Charlotte Oates says
I really would recommend getting hold of some if you can. I found that using granules was the best was to get a decent coffee flavour into both the cake and buttercream, sadly an espresso/filter coffee isn’t strong enough.
Karen says
Is there a way I can cut the recipe in half?
Charlotte Oates says
Yep, just divide everything by two and make it as per the instructions.
meg says
will this be enough for a 2 layer 8″ round cake?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes
Viana says
How much of this buttercream do you think I would need to cover 2 9inch cakes?
Charlotte Oates says
Is that as a filling and topping, or also around the edges. If around the edges is it a thin coating (where you can still see a bit of sponge in places, or a thicker covering?
Viana says
I was going to use this buttercream to practice my frosting skills, so I would probably be using it in between the cakes as a filling, and a topping.
Elaine says
I used Nescafé instant espresso powdered coffee instead of granules. The flavour is delicious. This is the best buttercream I’ve ever made. Thank you Charlotte.
Louise says
Absolutely delicious, I halved all ingredients and added Camp liquid coffee as that is all I had. I made this to go on my spiced pumpkin cake. Your right I could eat it right off the spoon . Delicious
Lily says
Hi,
The only coffee I have beside grounds is 3 in 1. It’s instant, but there is some creamer and sugar in it (it’s not sweet, though.) Can I use this for the buttercream?
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it. but I would imagine it should work OK.