Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Posted: 06/02/2021
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Rich and creamy, this old fashioned chocolate buttercream frosting never goes out of style. With only five ingredients, it’s so easy to make, too!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Smooth and creamy, this frosting is great on so many different things!
How long it takes: 10 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: Large bowl, rubber spatula, and electric mixer
Servings: 10
You’ll love this wonderful chocolate frosting! How can you go wrong with cocoa powder, butter, and powdered sugar? Whipped into fluffy delightfulness, homemade buttercream frosting will turn any cake into a confectioners’ delight. I love to top this homemade banana cake with chocolate buttercream.
My grandma made a 9 x 13 cake every Saturday with homemade chocolate buttercream frosting. After church, my family, all my aunts, uncles, and cousins, stopped by for a cup of coffee, a piece of cake, and loud conversation. It was amazing, no matter how many people stopped in, my grandma always seemed to have enough room and enough cake for everyone. Such a great memory!
Make a cake (no one will know if you used a cake mix!) and top it with easy chocolatey homemade frosting. Brew a pot of coffee, and invite a few people over. Expect lots of admiration, maybe even a hug or two. For sure, you’ll get smiles :) Make some memories!
About this frosting
Once again, homemade wins out! You only need one bowl and five ingredients to create this magic.
The complete printable recipe can be found at the end of this post.
What you need
- Cocoa Powder: A full cup of unsweetened cocoa powder (baking cocoa) adds so much dark chocolate flavor to this buttercream frosting. You won’t have to mess around with melted chocolate. Use natural or Dutch process cocoa powder, such as Hershey’s Cocoa or Ghirardelli’s.
- Butter: Butter is the only option for buttercream frosting. Don’t substitute margarine or shortening. Choose unsalted butter if you have it, but salted butter will do in a pinch.
- Confectioners’ Sugar (Powdered Sugar): Essential to most uncooked frostings, powdered sugar is the backbone of this buttercream. Granulated sugar would make your frosting very gritty.
- Flavoring: A teaspoon of pure vanilla extract rounds out the chocolate flavor. Whether you’re a mocha fan or not, adding a teaspoon of espresso powder will add depth to the flavor.
- Milk: Substitute cream or half-and-half if you like a richer frosting.
How to make it
You’ll need a large bowl and an electric mixer. You can stir this frosting up by hand but be prepared to use a lot of muscle power.
Whisk or sift the cocoa powder to remove any hard lumps. Blend together the cocoa powder and butter until smooth.
Add sugar, flavoring, and milk. Beat on low speed until combined, then beat on high speed for about two minutes or until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Desired consistency of the frosting depends on how you’re going to use it. Keep it on the stiff side if you want to pipe it, using a decorator’s tip. If you’re spreading it on a cake, a little softer consistency is preferable.
Cooking Tip
Here’s all you need to remember: Add confectioners’ sugar to make the frosting stiffer; add more milk (a little at a time!) to make the frosting softer. And always make sure your cake is completely cooled.
Spread or pipe the frosting on a cake or cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles if you like but do it right away or they’ll roll right off! Yup, I know that from experience.
FAQs
Does chocolate buttercream frosting need to be refrigerated?
If your cake is frosted with buttercream frosting, it can be kept safely on the counter for a couple of days if your kitchen is cool and the cake is wrapped well. If your kitchen is warm, or if you want to keep the frosted cake longer, refrigerate or freeze it.
Can you overmix buttercream?
Really, I don’t think you can. I’ve heard that you may get air bubbles but I’ve never experienced that at all. Really, this is a very easy frosting to make!
Why is my buttercream not fluffy?
If your buttercream seems curdled or separated, it could be because not all the ingredients were at room temperature. If the butter is too cold, you won’t have a smooth frosting.
If your frosting seems too thin, add more powdered sugar until it’s the right consistency. On the other hand, if the frosting seems too dry or even powdery, add more milk, a teaspoon at a time.
How To Make This Frosting Your Own
- Instead of vanilla extract, try other flavoring extracts like maple, rum, bourbon, or brandy.
- Stir in 1 teaspoon cinnamon for a Mexican hot chocolate flavor (if you love that flavor combination, check out our Mexican chocolate shortbread cookies or flourless Mexican chocolate cake. Add a pinch of cayenne if you like.
- If you like a lighter chocolate frosting, use less cocoa powder.
- For richer frosting, use two sticks of butter instead of one. You may need more powdered sugar.
Make Ahead And Storage
Frosting can be made ahead and stored one week in the fridge or three months in the freezer. Put it into an airtight container.
To use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator if it’s frozen. If frosting has deflated a bit, use your mixer to whip it again briefly until it has resumed its fluffy lovable state of being.
Leftover Love
Make too much frosting? Don’t want to make another cake? While you can always spread frosting on graham crackers for a quick snack (yum!), leftover buttercream frosting can be made into cookies. Try this easy recipe, Leftover Buttercream Cookies, by Manu’s Menu. The frosting is mixed with flour, an egg, and baking soda to make easy cookies. I can’t wait to try them!
More cake toppers
Dress your cake up with one of these luscious toppers. Try:
- Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Very Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Irish Cream Latte Buttercream Frosting
- Whipped Cream Recipe – How to Make Whipped Cream
- Apple Spice Cake with Bourbon Glaze
- Hot Fudge Sauce Recipe
- 3 Ingredient Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Rich and creamy, this old fashioned chocolate buttercream frosting never goes out of style. With only five ingredients, it's so easy to make, too!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
- Optional: 1 teaspoon espresso powder
Instructions
- Add cocoa to large bowl and whisk to remove lumps (or sift). Add butter and beat until combined.
- Add sugar, vanilla, milk, and espresso powder, if using. Beat on low speed until combined; beat on high speed about 2 minutes until fluffy and smooth.
- If consistency of frosting is too thin, gradually add more sugar. If the frosting is too thick, add milk a teaspoon at a time until frosting is desired consistency.
- Makes enough to frost and fill a 2-layer cake, or to frost 24 cupcakes. Make a half batch for 9 x 13-inch cake unless you like a lot of frosting!
Notes
- Makes about 2 1/2 cups of frosting, enough for a layer cake.
- Frosting can be made ahead and stored one week in the fridge or three months in the freezer. Put it into an airtight container.
- To use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator if it’s frozen. If frosting has deflated a bit, use your mixer to whip it again briefly.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 4tablespoons, Calories: 217kcal, Carbohydrates: 49g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 3mg, Sodium: 12mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 43g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Cathy P says
Absolutely delicious! So easy to make. It is a keeper.
Rachel Gurk says
Thank you so much!
Jaime says
I’ve searched for years to find the perfect chocolate frosting recipe and this is IT! Most are not rich or chocolatey enough, but this recipe is divine. Paired with Beatty’s chocolate cake recipe and you have a bakery-worthy cake that’s sure to delight your family and friends.
Rachel Gurk says
Your comment made my day! I’m so glad you like this frosting – thanks for leaving a review!
Barbara McAuliffe says
I made this frosting & my family just raved about it!! I used 2 sticks of unsalted butter and added 1/4 tsp of almond extract with the 1 tsp of vanilla. I also added a tsp of cinnamon. I spread this on angel food cake & wanted a thinner, fluffier consistency, so I kept adding half-n-half (instead of milk) until it was how I wanted. This recipe makes 2-1/2 to 3 cups of frosting – too much for an angel food cake; I will cut back next time. And there will be many more next times – my husband has asked that he have this cake & frosting for all his birthdays from now on!!
Rachel Gurk says
Yay! So happy you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review, it really means a lot!
Lynn says
Love this Frosting smooth, fluffy and chocolaty.
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!