The fluffiest and tastiest chocolate buttercream macaron filling is just 6 ingredients away. You'll be shocked by how in just 8 minutes, you will make a simple, yet delicious, chocolate filling.
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If you have been looking for an easy macaron filling, you have come to the right place. This is a classic American-style buttercream with a beautiful chocolate flavor.
This buttercream is great for pairing with other flavors, such as raspberry compote or strawberry jam, and it only requires 6 simple ingredients to make. In only 8 minutes, you will have produced a decadent chocolate buttercream filling that you’ll want to put between all of your macaron shells.
Looking for the perfect macaron shell to pair this with? Check out my chocolate macaron shell recipe, or go for a regular French-style macaron shell.
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What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- A step-by-step guide to making American-style buttercream.
- How to achieve a light and airy buttercream texture.
- The types of cacao powder that will work for this recipe.
Looking for more macaron filling ideas? Grab this free set of 15 easy and delicious macaron fillings.
Ingredients You Need
This chocolate buttercream filling only requires a handful of ingredients. Be sure to get the proper ingredients, or use adequate substitutes to keep your buttercream tasting as good as possible.
Unsalted butter: It is not buttercream without butter. You will want the butter at room temperature before using it. A simple way to test if the butter is at the proper temperature is to gently press on it. If the butter gives without resistance but still holds its overall form, you have the proper consistency and are ready to go. If you substitute for salted butter instead of unsalted butter, be sure to adjust the amount of fine sea salt added later on. First, taste the mixture, and then add a bit of salt as needed.
Confectioners’ sugar: Confectioners’ (powdered) sugar helps to sweeten the buttercream. To make sure there aren’t any clumps of sugar in your buttercream, sift the confectioners’ sugar after you've measured it.
Unsweetened cocoa powder: Personally, I love Ghirardelli cocoa powder, but any brand will work just fine. You can substitute unsweetened cocoa powder for a Dutch-processed cocoa powder if you prefer a stronger and richer-tasting chocolate buttercream filling. Just like the confectioners' sugar, I highly recommend sifting this when adding to the buttercream to avoid any clumps.
Heavy cream: Heavy cream is used to thin the buttercream mixture. If you don’t have heavy cream on hand, you can substitute for half and half or whole milk.
Vanilla extract: A little flavor bomb, a high-quality vanilla extract makes for a great-tasting chocolate buttercream. If you want an even stronger vanilla bean taste, substitute the vanilla extract for equal parts of vanilla bean paste.
Fine sea salt: Sea salt is needed to balance out the sweetness and enhance the other flavors in the buttercream. Be sure to use fine sea salt and not kosher salt for this recipe, as you do not want to get a bite of coarse salt in your macaron filling.
Check out the recipe card below for the full details on ingredient quantities.
How To Make This Recipe
All American-style buttercream recipes are made through near-identical steps. Once you have mastered one recipe, the others should be a breeze.
1. To begin making this chocolate macaron filling, grab your stand mixer, and fit it with a paddle attachment. Add the butter into the bowl, and turn the mixer on to medium-high speed. Let this beat for about 2 - 3 minutes until it is super fluffy and light.
Have a silicone spatula on hand to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl. Oftentimes, the butter will stick to the sides of the mixing bowl. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure all the butter is evenly beaten.
2. After the butter is fluffy, sift in the confectioners' sugar and the cocoa powder. Turn the mixer down to medium-low speed, and mix until everything is combined.
3. With a thick chocolate paste formed, it is time to thin out the mixture. Sprinkle in the sea salt, and then pour in the vanilla extract and heavy cream. Let this mix until everything is combined.
4. Now, it's time for arguably the most important step in the buttercream-making process. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed, and let the whole buttercream mixture beat for an additional 5 minutes. During these 5 minutes, the buttercream will get its fluffy and airy consistency as the mixture is whipping and more air is being incorporated throughout the filling.
After 5 minutes, your buttercream is ready. Shut off the mixer, and either transfer the buttercream to a piping back or an airtight container for storage.
Next, it's time to pipe the filling. For the best-looking macarons, you want to match up two shells that are similar in size and roundness. Then, pipe the filling on one shell using a ½ inch (12.7 mm) piping tip. Gently, place the other shell on top of the filling.
If you are pairing this chocolate buttercream filling with another flavor such as a berry compote or jam, first pipe a ring shape on the macaron shell. This should leave a little divot or hole for you to fill with the other filling.
Expert Tips
- Short-term storage: This chocolate buttercream macaron filling can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month as long as the heavy cream is fresh.
- Long-term storage: If you want longer-term storage, the chocolate buttercream filling can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. The day before using it, place it in the refrigerator overnight to allow it to thaw.
- If you make the buttercream ahead of time and it has been sitting in the fridge, re-whip the buttercream on medium-high speed for 1 - 2 minutes (until pliable) before piping your macarons.
- If the buttercream is too warm when serving the macarons, the filling will come out the sides of the shell when you bite into it. Serve the macarons once they reach room temperature, shortly after pulling them out of the refrigerator.
- If you live in a warm environment, the buttercream may become thin during the whipping process. Toss the buttercream back in the refrigerator to chill for a couple of minutes before piping.
Recipe FAQs
No. Because of the heavy cream in the recipe, this filling must stay refrigerated until you are ready to serve or pipe the macarons. You can check out my shelf-stable macaron filling recipe if you need a filling that's safe to stay at room temperature.
Buttercream-filled macarons will last up to 1 week when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
If you prefer a stronger, richer-tasting chocolate buttercream filling, substitute the unsweetened cocoa powder for a Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Any brand of cocoa powder will work.
Yes. I love adding red wine pear compote, raspberry compote, or strawberry jam to the center. You can find all of these fillings in my Flavorful Fillings digital cookbook which includes 100 super tasty macaron filling recipes.
More Macaron Filling Recipes
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Chocolate Buttercream Macaron Filling (6 Ingredients)
Equipment
- electric mixer with paddle attachment
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar measured then sifted
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder measured then sifted
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Beat butter in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 - 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the mixer as needed.
- Add confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder; mix on medium-low speed until combined.
- Add heavy cream, vanilla extract, and fine sea salt; mix until fully combined.
- Set the mixer to medium-high speed, and allow the buttercream to beat for an additional 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Match up macaron shells, so they are paired with a similar size/shaped shell. Pipe chocolate filling on one side of the macaron shell using a ½ inch round piping tip. Gently, place the matching macaron on top of the filling.
- Mature the macarons with the filling in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight. This will allow the macarons to slightly soften and develop a deeper flavor.
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