White chocolate buttercream – easy to make and perfect for piping onto cupcakes, layer cakes, macarons or special celebration cakes, including my white chocolate cake.
My buttercream recipes seem to be very popular on here. I’ve had a few requests for a white chocolate version so not wanting to leave you without the recipes you need, here it is! If there’s a flavour of cake or buttercream that’s not on here but you’d like to see, then let me know and I’ll do my best to add it.
This white chocolate buttercream is based on my yummy milk chocolate buttercream, where equal quantities of butter and icing sugar are beaten together and then lots of melted white chocolate is added. It gives you beautiful smooth buttercream that is the perfect consistency for piping.
- Melt your chocolate over a bain marie (in a bowl over a pan of simmering water). When I use milk or dark chocolate I’m happy to melt my chocolate in a pan on the hob, but I find that white chocolate is a bit temperamental and can easily go a bit grainy. The heat over a bain marie is gentler. You could also use the microwave using short bursts (20 seconds at first and then 10 seconds, stirring in between each one).
- Use chocolate from the baking aisle in the supermarket (it’s less temperamental than the chocolate from the sweet aisle).
- Make sure you let your chocolate cool to room temperature before adding it to the butter and sugar, otherwise it’ll melt the butter and you’ll end up with runny buttercream.
- You should find that your buttercream is the perfect consistency for piping. If it’s a little stiff then beat in a little milk (no more than 1 tsp at a time). If it’s a little too soft then pop it into the fridge for a few minutes to firm up slightly.
What You’ll Need
Before you start, make sure you have all of the equipment needed.
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Weighing Scales- Measuring Spoons
- Knife – to cut the butter
- Something to melt the chocolate in – either a bowl in the microwave, small saucepan, or bowl over a small saucepan.
- 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 you’ll need a JEM 1B nozzle.
White Chocolate Buttercream
INGREDIENTS
- 250 g unsalted butter - soft at room temperature
- 250 g icing sugar
- 200 g white chocolate
- A little milk - to get the buttercream to the right consistency, this may not be needed
INSTRUCTIONS
- Break the white chocolate (200g) and melt it over a bain marie (in a bowl over a pan of simmering water).
- Once the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl from the pan and leave the chocolate to cool.
- Beat the butter (250g) on a low speed until soft and then add the icing sugar (250g), 1 tbsp at a time and beat until fully combined.
- Once the white chocolate has cooled to room temperature pour it into the butter and sugar mixture and beat on a low speed until fully combined. You should find that the buttercream has a soft, spreadable consistency, if not add a little milk a tsp at a time until it is soft.
- Your buttercream is now ready to use.
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
- Egg-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Nut-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Brooke says
This recipe looks great. I am wanting to ice my cake then paint some details on it with water activated food paint, do you think this will work or will it be too soft for this?…
Charlotte Oates says
They’re not something I’ve used before so I don’t know. Sorry.
Kady phipps says
Hi Charlotte
I want to make this buttercream but make it whiter would adding a drop of violet food colouring help or would that not be a good idea as it has chocolate in it?
Charlotte Oates says
That should theoretically work just fine.
Joanna says
I generally find white chocolate fiddly and difficult to work with but this white chocolate buttercream worked perfectly and tasted delicious. Thank you so much for sharing.
Ruijia Sun says
Is it possible to store the buttercream for about one day? And if so should I store it in the freezer or the fridge?
Charlotte Oates says
Thats’s absolutely fine. Allow it to come up to room temperature before using it.
You may find that after allowing it to come up to room temperature it’s still a little stiff. If it is, the beat in a little more milk to soften it.
Charlotte Behan says
Hoya! Great recipe, but quite soft! If i put in the fridge will it be better to pipe?
Charlotte Oates says
That should work.
Becki says
I love this recipe but just wondering how much to increase by to fill a 6 inch 3 layer cake and to cover and add piping on top. I’m thinking maybe x3?
Would love to know as I really hate it when you have to go and make another small batch as you’ve not got enough!
Charlotte Oates says
It really depends on how thick you like your icing and what style of piping you’re planning on doing. Theoretically the amount given in the recipe is enough to fill and coat a cake of that size (a decent thickness layer in the middle and on top and a thin layer on the sides). Without knowing more about the design you’re planning, it’s difficult to say.
Stella says
Superb! Thank you
Dolly Mai Hall says
Very good works perfectly for piping a sponge cake or cupcakes used multiple times!!!
howlertigerCJH says
Wow this recipe is amazing I tried making it for cupcakes for at school (first practical of the year). It is so easy to make and so delicious. I am NOT very good at cooking but I am working on it.
Thanks so much Charlotte the recipe is amazing. I am not a fan of icing but I love white choclate the mix is just brilliant. Once again thanks.
Eugenija Skerstoniene says
Very tasty and fluffy
Debbie howe says
Hi. Can i make the chocolate butter cream with soft cake margarine or is it best with a block of unsalted butter
Charlotte Oates says
I always use unsalted butter. Buttercream made with marg is too soft and doesn’t have the same flavour.
Alarna says
How long could I keep this in the fridge for before use?
Charlotte Oates says
The buttercream should last in the fridge for the same amount of time as the dates on the base ingredients, so check the date on your butter. Personally if I wanted to keep it more than a few days I’d freeze it.
Tina Lamey says
Can this be refrigerated for a before use? I’d like to use this for a crumb coat and for piping rosettes (unicorn cake). Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
Yes
Tracy Serajian says
Your cakes look so light. I’m in the UK. We don’t have ‘cake flour’, well not the finer mulled and bleached type. We have plain flour (AP), and Self Raising which has a raising agent added (Baking Powder). What would you suggest I use, SR or make a substitute using plain (with corn starch added)? Thank you
Charlotte Oates says
Which recipe are you trying to make? I’m also in the UK and none of my recipes use cake flour. Always self-raising or plain.
Tracy Serajian says
Hi there, this sounds yummy, but can you add lemon extract to make it lemon flavour? Thank you
Charlotte Oates says
I’ve not tried it, but I would expect it to work well.
Samantha says
Recipe works great! I coloured it using freshly squeezed blackberry juice. Made it a lovely pastel pink colour.
Jill says
Could I use salted butter if that all I have in fridge at the time pls
Charlotte Oates says
You can, but you will taste the salt in the buttercream. If you like salted caramel then this may be a change you enjoy, if you don’t then I wouldn’t go for it.
Karen Johnston says
Can you use stork for buttercream? Or lurpak spreadable? Thank you x
Charlotte Oates says
You can, but I wouldn’t. Stork or Lurpak (or anything spreadable) are much softer than butter and so you’ll end up with a softer buttercream that’s harder to work with. Also, white chocolate is quite a subtle flavour which can easily be overpowered. I find both Stork and Lurpak have a stronger flavour that butter and so may become the dominant flavour in your buttercream.
Paige says
Can you colour this frosting? I use sugar flair. Thanks
Charlotte Oates says
Yes
Rhonda Bundy says
Can I use this to make flowers
Charlotte Oates says
It does pipe well into flowers, but it doesn’t crust like some buttercream so isn’t ideal for flowers.
Lyndsey says
Hi
I’m looking to use this recipe to cover a birthday cake and see a lot of cakes are crumb-coated first. Would it be ok to use this to crumb-coat and then fully coated?
Thank you!
Charlotte Oates says
It should be fine, just made sure you chill the cake after the crumb-coat to ensure that it is form before you add the second layer.