Julie Clark
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Best Chocolate Frosting Recipe
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Hints for the creamiest, best chocolate frosting recipe around. There’s just 6 ingredients in this fudgy whipped frosting that pairs with any cake.
We’ve featured this mouthwatering buttercream, known as “the best chocolate frosting around”, several times on Tastes of Lizzy T in the past. You’ve seen it on mint cake, peanut butter cake and chocolate shortbread.
The time has come, however, to showcase this smooth, creamy, easy chocolate buttercream frosting with an article all of its own. Because it’s that good. And we use this recipe all the time.
Our favorite chocolate frosting with rich chocolate flavor.
There was a day when I didn’t think making my own buttercream frosting was worth the trouble. I’d just buy a tub of ready-to-spread frosting and call it good. After perfecting this easy chocolate frosting recipe, I realized there was no going back.
This is a milk chocolate frosting that gets its flavor from cocoa powder. It’s the perfect amount of chocolate and perfect for a birthday layer cake, chocolate cupcakes, fudgy brownies or sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies.
Homemade buttercream is easiest when you have a stand mixer. The paddle attachment makes a silky smooth frosting that is easy to spread smoothly. The whisk attachment will whip more air into the frosting, making it lighter.
Love homemade frosting recipes? Try our vanilla buttercream, cream cheese frosting and swiss meringue buttercream.
Try it in our chocolate sandwich cookies or on our fudgy brownie cookies.
Enjoy! -Julie
Ingredients
This homemade chocolate frosting recipe has simple ingredients: butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla and heavy cream. The butter makes the fudge frosting literally melt in your mouth.
Many use unsalted butter in baking, but I always keep salted butter on hand. The salt always adds such a great flavor!
The salt? It balances the sweetness just perfectly. It’s our secret ingredient.
And the heavy cream makes this chocolate frosting recipe whip up into a beautifully creamy, easy-to-spread chocolate frosting.
Best Chocolate Frosting Recipe
Hints for the creamiest, best chocolate frosting recipe around. There’s just 6 ingredients in this fudgy frosting that pairs with any cake.
Servings 10 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- In a stand mixer with the beater blade, beat the butter for 1-2 minutes on high speed until it is smooth, creamy and nearly white in appearance. 1 cup salted butter
- Add in the salt and vanilla. Mix until incorporated. ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. 3 ½ cups powdered sugar, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- Add the heavy cream, a tablespoon at a time, mixing slowly until it is the consistency that you'd like. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed until smooth and creamy in texture. 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Video
Notes
We like to use the beater blade attachment. If you’d like an airier frosting, you can use the whisk and beat the frosting for an additional 1-2 minutes. This will whip more air into the frosting, which makes it delicious, but it will also not spread on as smoothly.
We used regular cocoa powder, but if you’d like deeper, darker flavor, use special dark cocoa powder.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Nutrition
Serving: 76g | Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 266mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 655IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg
How many cupcakes does this ice … if I’m piping ?
Hi Julie! I was just curious, would this buttercream hold up well if I put fondant over it? Thanks!
Did you use this recipe with dark chocolate on your turtle cupcakes?
This buttercream is so darn good! I made it to put on peanut butter cupcakes, and it was better than the cake! The best thing about this frosting is that it is not super sweet. Most of the buttercreams that I have tried have been far too sweet, and this was a refreshing change. The salt definitely helps with the sweet factor! The next thing I’m going to try with this is a chocolate cake with raspberry mousse as the filling and this buttercream on the top!
It was so easy to make and very delicious. I had to substitute low-fat milk for the heavy cream, but I used only three tablespoons instead. I too thought a half of a teaspoon of salt was too much, but the flavor definitely compliments this recipe. I’ll definitely keep this as my new favorite. Thanks!
Hi Julie, I’m trying to determine how much frosting I need to make. I’m making a piano cake. It is a 13×9 base, with frosting on top, then topped with a 9×9. I will carve a corner in a curved fashion to make the look of a grand piano. I wanted to do a crumb coat the day before, and then a full coat the day of. Being that I’m doing 2 separate coats, rather than making seperate batches I wanted to make one and refrigerate the remainder until needed. Do you think I should double or triple the recipe?… Read more »
Would it be possible to make this a day ahead and pipe on cupcakes the next day? I’m on a time crunch tomorrow, but want them to be as fresh and delicious as possible!
What could you change in this recipe to make plain vanilla frosting?
What are your thoughts on this sitting at room temperature?
Is this a sweet frosting? I normally make cream cheese frosting, could i add cream cheese to this??
Wendi
Thanks, Julie– This is my new favorite frosting! I made it today to go on golden Valentine’s cake donuts… I know, kinda weird, but I was given donut pans for Christmas and wanted to use them. 🙂 I frosted and stacked three donuts on top of each other to make a mini ‘cake’ for my Valentine! Had some extra batter so made some cupcakes, too… DE-licious! My husband loves chocolate peanut-butter cups, so instead of 1 C butter, I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup peanut butter. OMG… I don’t know why I never made this sooner. Soooo good.… Read more »
I love butter cream so much! xo Loren
Can this piped? For cupcakes? Beater blade or whisk.
When do you add in the salt. I put a pinch of salt in my icing. I wonder is 1/2 a teaspoon would be too much.
Thank You!!!!