Coffee Buttercream

If you’re a coffee lover, you’ll love this buttercream. I originally made it to pair with my Coffee Date Cake, but it would taste great with chocolate or vanilla cake as well.

The buttercream is rich and custardy, made with plenty of egg yolks and vanilla. The egg yolks and sugar are cooked over a hot water bath, then whipped until pale and creamy. Softened butter is then whipped into the mixture, followed by your desired flavorings. In this case, the flavors are instant espresso and vanilla.

If you’ve never made a french style buttercream before, this is an easy way to do it. Traditionally the egg yolks are whipped while a hot sugar syrup is streamed into the mixer (similar to Italian Meringue Buttercream style). However, I find it easier to just cook the egg yolks over a hot water bath. You will need to stir the mixture constantly to prevent cooked bits of egg from forming.

Once the yolk-sugar mixture reaches 155 F, strain it into your mixing bowl, just in case any lumps formed. Then whip the mixture with the whisk attachment until it becomes super pale, thick, and creamy, like the picture below.

Finally, whip in softened butter, vanilla, and instant espresso to taste. The buttercream will be super thick, smooth, and creamy.

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Coffee Buttercream

(19 votes, average: 3.68 out of 5)

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Ingredients

• 150 grams egg yolks
• 150 grams sugar
• .5 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 454 grams butter, room temperature
• 1 to 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

Instructions

1

Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt together in a medium stainless steel bowl.

2

Place bowl over a pot of gently steaming water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't actually touch the water. Cook while continuously stirring, until the mixture reaches a temperature of 155 F.

3

Strain the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on medium speed until very light in color and tripled in volume. The mixture should look pale, thick, and creamy.

4

With the mixer still running, add the butter a tablespoon at a time.

5

Dissolve instant espresso into the tablespoon of vanilla and add to the buttercream.

Notes

This style of buttercream is great because of its rich flavor, but note that it's too soft to use for piping intricate details like flowers.