This easy chocolate frosting is a fluffy cocoa buttercream made with 1 cup of butter, 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, 3/4 cup of cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and a few spoonfuls of cream or milk. It takes 10 minutes and makes about 3 cups, enough for 24 cupcakes or to fill and frost a 2 layer 8 inch cake.
Beat the butter pale before anything else goes in. Then add the cream one tablespoon at a time, so you stop at exactly the texture you need: soft for spreading, a little looser for piping.
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Amounts, Time and Coverage
- Makes: about 3 cups
- Covers: 24 cupcakes with a spread or low swirl, 12 to 16 with tall piped swirls, or the filling and outside of a 2 layer 8 inch cake
- Time: 10 minutes with a hand or stand mixer, no cooking
- Liquid: 4 tablespoons cream or milk for spreading, up to 6 for piping
- Keeps: 1 week in the fridge, 1 month in the freezer
Cocoa, Butter and Cream: Choosing Each One
Cocoa decides the color and the taste. Dutch-process cocoa gives a darker frosting with a mellow, rounded chocolate flavor. Natural unsweetened cocoa is lighter brown and sharper. Both work in this recipe, so use what you have. Sift it with the powdered sugar, because cocoa lumps do not beat out and leave dry pockets in the frosting.
The butter should give when you press it but still hold its shape, about cool room temperature. Cold butter makes a stiff, streaky frosting. Butter that is soft and shiny makes it greasy and droopy, and I learned that the hard way as a new baker who melted it by accident.
Heavy cream gives a richer taste and a firmer body. Whole milk works fine, especially for a simple sheet cake, and makes the frosting a little lighter. Let either one sit out for a few minutes, since very cold liquid can make the butter look curdled.
Beating It Smooth, Step by Step
Beat the butter on medium high for 2 to 3 minutes, until it is pale and fluffy. Turn the mixer to low and add the sifted cocoa. Mixing it into the butter first coats the cocoa in fat, which keeps it from clumping later.
Add half the powdered sugar on low so it does not fly out of the bowl, then raise the speed to medium until smooth. Repeat with the rest. Mix in the vanilla and salt. The salt is small but it matters: it cuts the sweetness and makes the chocolate taste deeper.
Pour in 2 tablespoons of cream and beat until creamy. Add more a tablespoon at a time, then whip on high for 1 to 2 minutes until the frosting lightens in color and looks airy. For a stronger chocolate taste, beat in 1 tablespoon of melted dark chocolate during this last whip, cooled until barely warm so it does not melt the butter.
How Thick Should Chocolate Frosting Be for Spreading or Piping?
For spreading on a cake, 4 tablespoons of cream is usually right. The frosting should glide over the top without tearing the crumb and hold soft swirls from the back of a spoon.
For piping, keep going up to 6 tablespoons. Cocoa soaks up liquid, and a cocoa frosting that is too stiff cracks along the ridges and is hard to squeeze through a star tip. Stop when a test swirl on a plate holds sharp ridges and does not slump after a minute. If your kitchen is warm, chill the frosting for 10 to 15 minutes before you fill the bag.
Cocoa Buttercream, Ganache or Fudge Frosting?
This recipe is a cocoa buttercream: butter beaten with sugar and cocoa. It is fluffy, holds piped shapes, and uses pantry staples. Here is how it compares with the other chocolate toppings people ask about.
- Chocolate ganache: chopped chocolate melted into hot cream. Glossier, richer and less sweet; it pours as a glaze and firms up as it cools. See this chocolate ganache frosting.
- Fudge frosting: usually built on melted chocolate and sometimes cooked, so it is denser and sets with a soft, shiny crust. The optional tablespoon of melted dark chocolate moves this recipe a small step that way.
- Whipped chocolate frosting: lighter and mousse-like, with cream whipped in. Try the whipped chocolate frosting for a less sweet, airy finish.
- Dark chocolate buttercream: butter plus a good amount of melted chocolate for a deeper, less sugary flavor. Here is my dark chocolate buttercream.
For a pourable topping over ice cream or cake slices, a hot fudge sauce is the better tool.
Frosting a Layer Cake, Cupcakes or Brownies
On a layer cake, spread a thin crumb coat first, chill it for 15 minutes, then add the thick outer coat. Against a vanilla cake the dark frosting stands out, and on a sour cream chocolate cake it makes a double chocolate cake. For a very smooth finish, run the mixer on low for a minute at the end or press the frosting against the side of the bowl with a spatula to push out air bubbles.
Cupcakes need no piping skills. A spoon and the back of a knife give a pretty swirl at the spreading consistency. Try it on these chocolate cupcakes or the ultimate chocolate cupcakes, and finish with sprinkles or shaved chocolate.
For brownies, wait until they are completely cool, or the frosting melts into a greasy layer. A half batch spreads thinly over a 9×13 pan of fudgy brownies; a full batch gives a thick layer. It also works as a filling for sandwich cookies or layered bars.
Grainy, Greasy or Too Soft: Rescuing Chocolate Frosting
- Grainy or gritty: the sugar was not sifted or not beaten long enough. Beat 2 minutes more and add 1 tablespoon of cream to help the sugar dissolve.
- Greasy and shiny: the butter was too warm. Chill the bowl for 15 minutes, then whip again.
- Too stiff, cracking when piped: beat in more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, up to 6 in total.
- Too soft to hold a swirl: chill it for 10 to 15 minutes, or beat in 2 tablespoons more sifted powdered sugar.
- Curdled look after the fridge: it was whipped while still cold. Let it soften on the counter for 30 minutes and beat again.
A Week in the Fridge, a Month in the Freezer
Store the frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or freeze it for up to 1 month and thaw it overnight in the fridge. Either way, let it soften on the counter until a spoon goes in easily, then re-whip it for a minute to bring back the fluffy texture.
A cake covered in this frosting is fine at cool room temperature for a day. After that, or in a warm kitchen, keep it in the fridge and take it out about 30 minutes before serving so the frosting softens.
Short Answers Before You Frost
Is chocolate frosting the same as chocolate icing?
Not quite. Frosting is thick and fluffy, like this cocoa buttercream. Icing is usually thinner and glossier, often poured or drizzled. Many people use the words for the same thing.
Can I make it without heavy cream?
Yes. Whole milk works in the same amounts. The frosting comes out slightly softer and lighter in body.
Can I halve the recipe?
Yes. Use 1/2 cup butter, 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, 6 tablespoons cocoa, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 to 3 tablespoons cream. That makes about 1 1/2 cups, enough for 12 cupcakes.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
This easy chocolate frosting is a fluffy cocoa buttercream made with softened butter, powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and a little heavy cream or whole milk. It takes 10 minutes with a mixer and makes about 3 cups, enough for 24 cupcakes or a 2 layer 8 inch cake. The butter is beaten pale before the sifted cocoa and sugar go in, and the cream is added a spoonful at a time: about 4 tablespoons for spreading and up to 6 for piping. Use this chocolate buttercream frosting on vanilla or chocolate cake, cupcakes and brownies, or as a filling for sandwich cookies. Dutch-process cocoa gives a darker color. It keeps 1 week in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-process or natural)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4–6 tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk, as needed
Instructions
- BEAT THE BUTTER: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until it becomes pale and fluffy.
- ADD COCOA POWDER: Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add the sifted cocoa powder. Continue mixing until it is fully incorporated into the butter.
- SWEETEN IT UP: Add half of the sifted powdered sugar and mix on low speed to avoid splattering. Once mostly combined, increase the speed to medium and mix until smooth. Repeat with the remaining powdered sugar.
- ADD VANILLA AND SALT: Mix in the vanilla extract and salt until well blended. These ingredients help balance the sweetness and enhance the chocolate flavor.
- ADJUST CONSISTENCY: Add 2 tablespoons of cream or milk and beat until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Add more liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached—4 tablespoons for spreading and up to 6 tablespoons for piping.
- FINAL WHIP: Turn the mixer to high speed and whip the frosting for 1 to 2 minutes until it becomes light, airy, and easy to spread.
- OPTIONAL ADD-IN: For deeper chocolate flavor, mix in 1 tablespoon of melted dark chocolate during the final whip.
Notes
Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder so the frosting stays smooth. The butter should give when pressed but still hold its shape; very soft or melted butter makes the frosting greasy and unstable. Add the cream or milk 1 tablespoon at a time: about 4 tablespoons for spreading on a cake, up to 6 for piping. Dutch-process cocoa gives a darker, mellower frosting and natural cocoa a sharper chocolate taste. If you add the optional melted dark chocolate, cool it until barely warm first. In a warm kitchen, chill the frosting for 10 to 15 minutes before decorating. Make ahead: refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge, soften at room temperature, then re-whip briefly.
