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 its 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
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
- 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.
- 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.
- While the chocolate is cooling, place butter in a separate bowl and use a stand mixer or electric mixer to beat until creamy.
- Add melted, cooled chocolate and stir well.
- Gradually add sugar, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl occasionally so that ingredients are well combined.
- Sprinkle in salt and vanilla extract, stir well.
- With mixer on low, gradually add heavy cream to frosting. Gradually increase speed to high and beat for 30 seconds.
- Pipe or spread frosting onto prepared, cooled baked good.
Notes
Nutrition
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tehilla says
can i use magarine instead of butter?
Sam says
I am not sure, I have not tried it with margarine, but I think it should work.
Yvonne Tan says
can I leave the icing out since the chocolate is already sweet?
Sam says
Do you mean the icing sugar? I don’t recommend leaving the sugar out if thats what you are referring to.
Amy says
Does this need to be refrigerated or can I leave the frosted cake at room temp until tomorrow?
Sam says
It should be fine at room temperature until the next day. ☺️
RNmom5 says
I made this today and this frosting is amazing! I don’t even particularly like chocolate and I couldn’t stop eating it! It’s like chocolate pudding and chocolate mousse had a delicious baby! So light and fluffy!
I used half confectioner’s sugar and half Swerve (erithritol) confectioner’s sugar as we are trying to lower sugar intake. I also used 6 oz. large semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of the baker’s chocolate bar.
I made the sugar spun run vanilla cake with apricot preserves in between the layers and topped it with this frosting. It was a huge hit at the bithday party for my mom. Thank you, Sam!
Sam says
😂I love your description! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Barbara says
I could not find the list & quantity of ingredients in this article & would love to try the recipe.
Sam says
I’m not sure I know what you mean. If you scroll down to the actual recipe it gives you weights and measurements
Heike says
Hi Sam,
how long can I keep this frosting in the fridge for?
Thanks!
Heike
Sam says
Hi, Heike! It will be good for up to a week in the refrigerator. 😊
Donna says
I don’t have any heavy cream. Can I use whole milk instead?
Sam says
Yes you can! Since whole milk is thinner than cream you may need to use less than the 2 Tbsp called for, so start with just 1 Tbsp and then add more as needed.
Oona says
Hi!
Can I use a bit less of sugar or will it change the frosting’s consistency too much?
Thank you,
Oona
Sam says
Hi Oona! Reducing the sugar would make the frosting a little more soft, and it already is a pretty soft frosting. You could cut the sugar and add a little bit of corn starch (likely under a table spoon, but it depends how much sugar you are cutting.) ☺️