This is my all-time favorite chocolate frosting recipe, and I think that once you try it it’ll be yours, too! This is a simple chocolate frosting that needs just 6 ingredients — it will easily frost a 2 layer 8″ or 9″ cake or generously ice a dozen cupcakes!
I’ve been using this chocolate frosting recipe for a while, but I’ve never shared it on it’s own yet. You may have spied it on my favorite chocolate cake, vanilla cupcakes, or my marble cake, and in the picture above it’s covering a cake that I’ll be sharing with you on Wednesday (can you guess the flavor!?).
This is my favorite chocolate frosting because it’s so incredibly smooth and silky thanks to the use of real melted chocolate (rather than cocoa powder) and two tablespoons of heavy cream.
Whipping the heavy cream into the frosting gives it an incredibly light texture that keeps this luxuriously rich chocolate frosting from feeling too heavy. Instead, it’s silky smooth and melts in your mouth, and the hardest part about making it is mustering up the willpower to keep from eating it all with a spoon before it makes it onto your cake or cupcakes!
Because we’re using melted chocolate in this recipe you will have to pay careful attention to the temperature of the chocolate (don’t worry, no actual thermometer is required), and I offer some tips below on how to make chocolate frosting using melted chocolate.
While I’ve written this recipe using semisweet chocolate bars, I also include tips on how to make the frosting using chocolate chips, instead. I’ve made this frosting both ways plenty of times and the frosting always tastes great regardless of which I use.
Tips on How to Make Chocolate Frosting:
- Be sure to coarsely cut the chocolate into pieces that are roughly the same size. When microwaving (regardless of whether you are using chocolate bars or chocolate chips), pause to stir your chocolate frequently (every 15 seconds), otherwise the chocolate can become too hot and seize.
- Allow your chocolate to cool at least 10 or 15 minutes before adding it to your butter. If it’s too hot, it will melt the butter and the sugar and you’ll just have a runny mess on your hands!
- Your butter should be at room temperature. If it’s too cold, some of your chocolate will harden as your ingredients are being combined and you will have chocolate pieces in your frosting rather than a smooth chocolate frosting.
- This recipe calls for unsalted butter (and you can read my post on salted vs unsalted butter to better understand why), but if you only have salted butter on hand you can still make this chocolate frosting, just leave out the salt that the recipe calls for.
This chocolate frosting recipe will frost one 8″ or 9″ 2-layer cake or will generously frost 12 cupcakes (see above photo of my vanilla cupcakes). If you’re more sparing with your frosting you could frost 2 dozen cupcakes.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Frosting Recipe
A simple chocolate frosting recipe that will easily frost a 2 layer 8" or 9" cake or generously ice a dozen cupcakes!
By Sam -- SugarSpunRun.com
Ingredients
- 6 oz semisweet chocolate** chopped into small pieces of roughly the same size (170g)
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature (226g)
- 2 cups powdered sugar (320g)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt***
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream (30ml)
Instructions
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Place your chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well. Return chocolate to microwave and heat for another 15 seconds and stir again. Continue heating chocolate for 15 seconds, stirring after each, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
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Allow chocolate to cool for at least 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want chocolate to cool so that it is not hot to the touch, otherwise it will melt your butter and sugar and the frosting will not turn out.
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While the chocolate is cooling, place butter in a separate bowl and use a stand mixer or electric mixer to beat until creamy.
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Add melted, cooled chocolate and stir well.
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Gradually add sugar, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl occasionally so that ingredients are well combined.
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Sprinkle in salt and vanilla extract, stir well.
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With mixer on low, gradually add heavy cream to frosting. Gradually increase speed to high and beat for 30 seconds.
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Pipe or spread frosting onto prepared, cooled baked good.
Recipe Notes
*This recipe will generously frost 12 cupcakes, I used it to frost my vanilla cupcakes (see pictures in link). If you don't frost your cupcakes as heavily you can definitely frost 2 dozen.
**If you don't have semisweet chocolate bars you can use 1 cup (170g) of semisweet chocolate chips instead.
***I recommend using unsalted butter, but if you only have salted on hand you can use that, just leave out the salt in this recipe.
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Lisa Huff says
Oh wow, this looks so good!
Sam says
Thanks so much, Lisa!! 🙂
Shannon says
I made this when I made your chocolate cake and never went back to regular buttercream since. Thnx for the great recipe
judi says
if using chocolate chips how many do i use
Sam says
Hi Judi! 1 cup of chocolate chips. I hope you love the frosting 🙂
Debbie says
Can I use regular milk instead of heavy cream?
Sam says
I think it would be OK, but start with just 1 Tbsp and check the consistency with that before adding the second.
Paige says
This was probably the most delicious chocolate frosting I’ve ever had! Just curious as to how it should be stored. I stuck my cake in the fridge but the frosting got quite hard (presumably from the chocolate) even though I let it sit out for 30 min. before serving. I’m going to make this for my nephew’s birthday cake in a few weeks and just wanted to see what I should do!
Sam says
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it so much!!
Honestly, I don’t usually refrigerate this cake/frosting, now it’s always eaten within a few days, so if you were trying to store it for longer than that I’d probably recommend refrigerating, as for the frosting hardening if you let it sit at room temperature for a few hours before serving it should help with that. Enjoy!
Cassandra Hale says
Can I ditch the salt altogether? I have a kiddo with Lupus who can’t have any added salt, so I use unsalted butter as well.
Sam says
You can leave it out.
renee roy says
The most delightfull frosting I’ve tasted. Thanks for this recipe ! My colleagues loved it.
Sam says
I’m so glad to hear it was a hit! Thanks for commenting, Renee! 🙂
Jayma Vaughn says
DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for a frosting without cocoa powder since I don’t usually have that. My family loves this frosting, and I will no longer buy the tub! We just finished a piece of cake with the frosting, and I’m trying to keep from going back into the kitchen for another piece…
Jane M Rousseau says
I haven’t made this yet due to the fact you have an ad in the middle of the ingredients list. I specifically looked at this recipe in the morning to make sure I would have everything ready but missed seeing the butter needing to be at room temperature because I was only seeing the list of ingredients under the ad. Not a good place for an ad!!
Sam says
I’m sorry about that, Jane, I’m going to talk with the company and see if I can do something about that, thank you for bringing it to my attention.
Sam says
It really is distracting and interrupts the recipe way too much, It’s not coming up on all my recipes and I didn’t even know this was happening at all until you commented so I really do appreciate you pointing it out to me, and I’m sorry about that.
Lauren says
Can you use milk chocolate instead of semi sweet and cut the amount confectioners sugar?
Sam says
You can use milk chocolate but if you want to use less sugar you may have to cut the cream down a bit too to keep the consistency right.
Julia Zook says
Hi Sam my name is Julia Zook I am making your vanilla cake & chocolate frosting recipe for 2 birthday parties at my son’s school my ,just recently turned 13 year old Solomon. said he wants vanilla call + I know he lived chocolate frosting my other son Josish turned 8 today I am excited God Bless you !!! Love Julia
Sam says
Thank you for your kind comment, Julia!! I hope you and your sons enjoy the cake, and happy birthday to your son!! <3