Chocolate Fudge Frosting
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My chocolate fudge frosting is simple to make and tastes better than any store-bought or canned frosting! It’s thick and rich and dries firm with an oh-so-fudgy consistency. No candy thermometer or special equipment needed! Recipe includes a how-to video!
A Chocolate Lover’s Perfect Frosting
I gave you a sneak peek at this frosting earlier this week. It’s that deep, dark, thick, and fudgy chocolate fudge frosting I teased over my insanely decadent devil’s food cake.
This is the perfect frosting to take a dessert to the next level of decadence, and it joins the ranks of some of my favorite frosting recipes. Not too sweet, there’s no candy thermometer needed, it sets up fudgy and firm, and it’s quite simple to make (though you do need some patience!).
Let’s get to it!
Fudge Frosting Ingredients
Fudge frosting requires only 6 basic ingredients. Here’s what you need:
- Chocolate. I highly recommend using an unsweetened chocolate bar (100% cacao) for this recipe. In a pinch, a dark chocolate (60% cacao or higher) could be used, but the lower your percentage the sweeter your frosting will be. I found that using an unsweetened chocolate gives you the best flavor and keeps the icing from being too sweet.
- Milk. I recommend whole milk for this recipe, it helps the frosting to set properly and lends itself to the rich, creamy consistency.
- Salt. A pinch of salt balances the sweetness from the sugar. I found 1/4 teaspoon was not quite enough while 1/2 teaspoon was too much, so I recommend using 1/4 teaspoon but over-filling it.
- Butter. A little butter goes a long way. It helps create the glossy shine of the chocolate fudge frosting and adds to the full-bodied fudgy mouthfeel. Use unsalted and add a pinch of salt for maximum control over the flavor. However, if you only have salted butter simply leave out the salt in the recipe.
- Powdered sugar. This makes the frosting sweet and smooth without making it grainy. The sugar is also critical to help the frosting set up properly.
- Vanilla extract. Chocolate is always enhanced by a splash of vanilla, so we use it here for best flavor.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
Making The Frosting
While today’s recipe has a truly fudgy taste and consistency, it’s much simpler to make than my chocolate fudge, and there’s no candy thermometer needed!
- Chop (or break) chocolate into small pieces that are similar in size (this helps it to melt evenly and reduces the chance of the chocolate seizing), and place in a saucepan (alternatively you could use a double boiler!).
- Add milk, butter, and salt and stir until the ingredients are melted together and smooth.
- Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. In the video and photos above, I added the sugar directly to the saucepan, but if you don’t mind dirtying another dish I recommend pouring the chocolate into a separate heatproof bowl and then adding the sugar. The frosting will cool faster this way.
- Allow the frosting to cool until it is thickened to a consistency that is easy to spread or pipe (depending on what you’re doing with it!). Stir occasionally, otherwise the surface can begin to crust over.
SAM’S TIP: When making this frosting, it can be tempting to turn up the heat to encourage the chocolate and butter to quickly melt. Don’t do it! Heat that’s too high will cause your chocolate to seize and turn grainy and you’ll have to start over.
Fudge Frosting Consistency
- Chocolate fudge frosting is ready when it is cooled and the consistency is thick enough to spread or pipe onto cake or cupcakes. This waiting part takes time and patience and is the most annoying part of the whole process, but it’s very worth it!
- Pipe or spread the frosting onto your favorite cake or cupcakes (I’m piping it on my vanilla cupcakes in the image above). If it seems to be drooping or falling off the baked good, just give it a bit more time to cool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most likely you just need to have a bit more patience and let it cool a bit longer! This frosting can take time to set up properly and exactly how long it takes depends on a number of factors including precisely how hot you heated it on the stovetop, how warm your kitchen is, and even how often you stir it as it cools (stirring it more often will help it cool faster).
If your frosting is grainy it is likely the heat was too high when you were melting your chocolate. High heat will “seize” the chocolate, causing it to be thick, lumpy and grainy (it can also cause the oils to separate from the chocolate!). Unfortunately, if this happens I recommend starting over (and keep the heat on low!).
Fudge frosting works with just about anything! Try it on marble cake, vanilla cake, or keep things rich and decadent by serving on chocolate cake or chocolate cupcakes! How about making a chocolate-covered strawberry cake?
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Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
- ⅓ cup (75 g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (118 ml) whole milk
- ¼ heaping teaspoon salt
- 4 ½ cups (565 g) powdered sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine chopped chocolate, butter, milk, and salt in a saucepan over low-heat.4 oz unsweetened chocolate, ⅓ cup (75 g) unsalted butter, ½ cup (118 ml) whole milk, ¼ heaping teaspoon salt
- Stir frequently until chocolate and butter are completely melted and mixture is smooth.
- Remove chocolate mixture from the heat and pour into a large bowl. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until icing is glossy and smooth.4 ½ cups (565 g) powdered sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Allow the frosting to cool, stirring occasionally, until it is thick enough to spread or pipe over cake/cupcakes (how long this takes will vary greatly depending on many factors including how hot the chocolate mixture became, the temperature of your kitchen, etc.). The more you whisk the mixture the faster it will cool.
Notes
Making in Advance
I do not recommend making this frosting far in advance of making your cake or cupcakes as it will become quite firm as it cools. Once it is too cool to spread or pipe, it’s hard to return to that consistency (re-warming the frosting will yield mixed results and I don’t recommend it).Storing
Once applied to your cake or cupcakes this frosting will keep at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerated for at least a week. It also freezes well.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I’ve made this twice now, and it’s my goto for chocolate icing. I had some cupcakes in the freezer that kinda fell and didn’t look pretty. I dunked them in the warm mix, and turned them over. They became pretty and shiny like a donut. Also, you can reheat in microwave 15 sec and stir until smooth
Love that idea, Kits! Thanks for sharing 🩷
Hi! If I wanted to make this a dark chocolate version, can I just double the chocolate? Your recipes are all so amazing by the way, I’ve made a few and everyone always raves about them!
Hi Allison! I haven’t personally tried it. I think your best best would be to make my chocolate buttercream with a dark cocoa. 🙂
I really like this recipe! I have made it twice so far and it had worked out perfectly each time. I did notice some separation when I took the pot off the stove, but went ahead with the sugar and vanilla anyway and it still turned out great.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Wendy! 🙂
I made this twice and both times the chocolate split. I used low heat – the literal lowest setting possibly on my stove top. Any suggestion?
Hi Elizabeth! Did you try adding the sugar? It’s odd that there were issues if it wasn’t over-heated. 🙁
I didn’t try adding the powdered sugar because the mixture had split completely and was slopping around in the pan from all the butter. :/ so sad, I made this literally days ago and it was so wonderful!
I’m so sorry to hear that! Did the butter not incorporate with the chocolate? I’m really struggling to understand what happpened? Did you pull it off the heat right after everything was melted?
Everything would never completely melt. It was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen. The only thing I can think of is to bring everything to room temp before trying it again. I even tried two different pots, so I’m really baffled. Haha!
Hi I tried to make this tonight and my chocolate didn’t get smooth, don’t know what I did wrong?
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Lisa! I wonder if it was heated too much and seized?
This is the best fudge frosting I have ever tasted. Just made it for the second time today, and I could just eat the whole bowl. We will see if I get any comments at the Christmas Party tonight!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Linda! I hope everyone else loves it too! 🙂
Verdict is in! Everyone, especially brother, loved the brownies. My brother said it was the best he ever had. I am sharing the frosting recipe with my co-worker now !!
We are so happy they were a hit, Linda! 🥰
This frosting turned out very nice and was perfect for the brownie cookies I made. Very versatile as well. I made a second batch to play around with the recipe and see what I could do with different consistencies. I added less sugar and dipped the face of the cookies in so it gave the cookie a nice shiny glazed like appearance and equally as tasty. I added a little more sugar and put it between graham crackers which turned out nice as well. Thank you for the recipe. It was delicious and I had some fun 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jason. 🙂
Kind of a silly question, but will sprinkles adhere to this frosting as well as they do to freshly-piped buttercream? For over a week, my 3-year-old has been planning which sprinkles we’re going to use to decorate Daddy’s birthday cupcakes, so maximum sprinkle adhesion is a must. 😄
Hi Erica! If you add them right away it will work just fine, otherwise the frosting will crust just a little bit making adhesion difficult. 🙂
Thank you for the response! I ended up making a slightly altered version of your favorite chocolate frosting, and your peanut butter frosting for good measure. We enjoyed both recipes, and they accommodated PLENTY of sprinkles. 😆 Thank you so much!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
ran out of butter, can I use margarine? this is to frost á small cake today.
Hi Kari! I haven’t personally tried it, but I think it could work. 🙂
This was so so good!
We’re so happy you like it, Riv! Enjoy 🩷
AMAZING!! This recipe is a keeper! Delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Kathy! 🙂
The frosting tasted good but set up too quickly to frost a 3-layer cake. It wouldn’t adhere to the sides at all, so I couldn’t even do a crumb coat. It was much like a chocolate icing or glaze on a donut.
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Cate! I have never actually run into this issue, I actually end up having to wait a while for it to set up. Did you make any substitutions or any alterations to the recipe?
For the frosting, can I use heavy cream instead of milk?
It could be pretty stiff and rich, but we think it could work 🙂
We served this to our 5 grandchildren who had never had Devils Food cake. The frosting was a unanimous hands down all time favorite. It’s delicious~ not too sweet, very chocolatey!
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Ann! 🙂
Only once I’ve been able to make this frosting properly. Either the chocolate seizes before getting to add the sugar, even with a double boiler method, or it cools to quickly and I can’t spread it. I think there is something about the adding milk and butter at the beginning that adds too much liquid and causes the seizing. There must be a better way.
That sounds so frustrating Kachina! Are you using any substitutes? If not my first guess would be that the heat is too high. If it helps, I do have a step-by-step video where you can see me make it on camera.
Hi again. Yes Sam, I use a double boiler to maintain proper temperature to guard from getting to hot. I think I’ll go back to keeping the milk out of the recipe until I pour into a bowl, before adding sugar.
Easy, delicious, and fudgy. Absolutely weigh the sugar, rather than using cups, because mine became too thick to spread even before I got all the sugar (measured with cups) mixed in. I was able to pat it on, to make a naked cake, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I’ll definitely use the scale in the future.
I’m so glad you were still able to enjoy it, Bruce! 🙂