Step 1

Cream butter - Add your softened butter, salt and vanilla extract to a large bowl. If using a stand mixer fit it with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium high speed for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. You will want to scrape down the bowl halfway through with a spatula to ensure everything beats together evenly!

Step 2

Add sugar - Scrape the bowl down using a spatula and add all of the sifted powdered sugar. Begin beating on low speed at first. When no dry ingredients are showing, turn the speed up to medium high speed again and beat for 5 minutes.

Step 3

Add chocolate and cream - Scrape down the bowl again and add the melted chocolate and heavy cream. Beat in on medium high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl at least once to ensure the chocolate mixes in evenly.

Step 4

American buttercream frosting has a slight grit and is stiffer than most frostings. It’s great for layering cakes or frosting cupcakes or even making frosting decorations on your cakes. Here are some ways to smoothen out your frosting!

Step 5

Microwave half the frosting - ONLY If it’s a cold day or your frosting stiffened up, you can smoothen it out by adding half of the frosting into a heatproof bowl and popping it into the microwave for 10 seconds or until jiggly in the center, not melted. Add to the rest of the frosting and beat on medium speed for a couple minutes to combine. This will help freshen it up!

Step 6

Beat air out - Right before using or adding to a piping bag, use a spatula to beat the air out of the frosting until smooth. This works great if your frosting has just been made. Alternatively, you can beat the frosting on the lowest speed on your mixer for about 5-10 minutes. This will make your frosting ultra-smooth but also softens it. Don’t do this on warm days as it can over soften the frosting or even cause it to split. Just use the spatula to beat out the air.