This is my all-time favorite chocolate frosting recipe, and I think that once you try it it’ll be yours, too! Just 6 ingredients needed and it will easily frost a 2 layer 8″ or 9″ cake or generously ice a dozen cupcakes!
The Best Chocolate Frosting
Maybe you’ve seen this chocolate frosting recipe around here before. It’s made quite a few appearances, on my chocolate cake, vanilla cupcakes (pictured above), and my vanilla cake (just to name a few), and finally it’s getting its own place on the blog.
Use it to top off your favorite cake or cupcake recipe, or just enjoy by the spoonful (you’ll get no judgement from me!).
What makes this the best chocolate frosting:
Well, you’re going to love it because it:
- Is richly chocolatey, without being too rich. The chocolate flavor complements whatever you put it on without being overwhelming!
- Is soft, smooth, and creamy.
- Uses less sugar than classic buttercream frosting or chocolate buttercream, perfect if you think most frosting recipes are too sugary or sweet!
- Absolutely melts in your mouth.
- Pipes beautifully, or frosts a cake smoothly.
What You Need
Here’s what you need:
- Chocolate. Real melted chocolate gives my chocolate frosting its incredible flavor and firm but fudgy consistency once it’s cooled. Chocolate bars (my preference) or chocolate chips will work fine.
- Powdered Sugar. This thickens and sweetens the frosting. One thing I love about this frosting is that it uses less sugar than your average frosting recipe.
- Butter. I use unsalted then add a pinch of salt for best flavor. Your butter should be at room temperature. If it’s too cold, small bits of the chocolate may harden as your ingredients are being combined and you will have chocolate bits in the mix rather than a smooth chocolate frosting.
- Vanilla Extract. Added for flavor! Any good chocolate is enhanced with a splash of vanilla to add depth of flavor.
- Heavy Cream. The small amount of heavy cream is the other part of what gives this chocolate frosting its smooth texture and rich flavor.
SAM’S TIP: You can use dark chocolate, semisweet, or milk chocolate for this frosting. If you want to use white chocolate, see my white chocolate buttercream recipe instead
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe and all details, please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Frosting
- Chop chocolate into small pieces (only if you’re using a bar, no need to chop if you’re using chips) and melt in 15-30 second increments, stirring in-between, until completely melted. semi-sweet chocolate into same-sized pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat the chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Let the chocolate cool until it’s no longer warm to the touch (but not re-solidifying) before continuing.
- Beat butter until creamy, then drizzle in melted (cooled) chocolate. Make sure the chocolate’s cooled, or the butter will melt and you’ll have a greasy chocolate frosting!
- Add the sugar in small amounts, stirring after each addition. Thoroughly stir in salt and vanilla.
- Drizzle in heavy cream and gradually turn up your mixer speed to high. Beat for 30 seconds for a light, silky smooth frosting!
Frequently Asked Questions
Make sure that your chocolate hasn’t begun to re-solidify before you add it to the butter. If this happens, small pieces may harden and you’ll have flecks of chocolate throughout the frosting. This will make piping the icing especially difficult.
If you heat the chocolate too quickly in the microwave, it could seize, giving it a grainy, rather than smooth, appearance. If this happens, toss out the chocolate and start over or your frosting will be pebbly.
While heat can make a frosting soft, melt-y, and even runny, with this recipe the culprit is usually that your chocolate was too hot. Stir it occasionally as it cools and make sure if you touch the melted chocolate or the bottom of the bowl it doesn’t feel warm to the touch.
Unfortunately I don’t recommend using cocoa powder for this recipe. If you’d like to use cocoa powder, see my chocolate buttercream instead.
More Recipes You Might Like
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
Chocolate Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 oz (170 g) semisweet chocolate² chopped into small pieces of roughly the same size
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt³
- 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) heavy cream
Recommended Equipment
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.6 oz (170 g) semisweet chocolate²
- 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.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- 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.2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- Sprinkle in salt and vanilla extract, stir well.½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt³
- With mixer on low, gradually add heavy cream to frosting. Gradually increase speed to high and beat for 30 seconds.2 Tablespoons (30 ml) heavy cream
- Pipe or spread frosting onto prepared, cooled baked good.
Notes
¹How many cupcakes/how much cake will this frost?
This recipe will modestly cover 24 cupcakes or generously (as seen in the photos above) cover 12 cupcakes. You can also cover an 8″ or 9″ cake or a 9×13″ sheet cake. If you want to use the frosting for decorative borders around the cake, increase the recipe by 50%.²Chocolate
If you don’t have semisweet chocolate bars you can use 1 cup (170g) of semisweet chocolate chips instead.³Butter
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.Making in Advance
This frosting may be made in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator with a piece of plastic wrap pressed firmly against the surface. When ready to use, let it come to room temperature then remove the plastic wrap and stir again to regain that smooth consistency before using.Piping Tip
I used an Ateco 848 piping tip to pipe the cupcakes seen in the photos above.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This recipe was originally published January 8th, 2018. While the recipe remains unchanged, I’ve updated the text of the post photos and added a how-to video.
Alexis
I made this frosting and paired it with your vanilla cake , oh my goodness! so delicious! I wanted to eat another slice but it gets a bit too sugary but for one slice it was amazing.! amazing texture also, I love it! thank you! maybe I could add a bit more salt to balance out the sweetness? just by a tad. or maybe I could even add extra pieces of chocolate that aren’t melted to give it more depth flavor? hmmm..
the vanilla cake , was amazing I’m so happy it came out great and I didn’t over bake or over mix! Thank you!
Carolyn
I followed this recipe to a “T” I made cupcakes took the out 18 minutes as suggested. Unfortunately they came out a little raw and fell apart quickly. What went wrong?
Sam
Hi Carolyn! I’m not sure what cupcake recipe you are referring to, but either way it sounds like they likely needed more time to bake.
Jessica
Can the icing be left out on the counter? I’m wanting to use it to frost my brownies!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Jessica! If you are going to keep them longer than 2 days they would need to be refrigerated, but they will be ok for a couple of days at room temperature in an airtight container 🙂
NA
Can I add black gel food colouring to this to make black icing? and is this firm enough to use on a tiered cake?
Sam
Dying the frosting will work just fine. It should hold up just fine on a tiered cake. 🙂
Chasy
can I use a substitute for heavy cream?
Sam
Hi Chasy! You could use milk instead, but you’d likely need less. 🙂
Leanne
Best icing ever!!!
Sam
I’m so happy you enjoyed, Leanne! Thank you for commenting!
Ysabel
Perfecto! I love it. Easy to make and delicious!!
Sara
Hi,
Can this frosting be used for a flat-top cupcake?
Sam
Hi Sara! I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work.
Karen
Hi, will this make a sufficient quantity to generously frost a 2- layer 9” cake or should I double it? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Karen! It will frost a 2 layer 9 inch cake, but if you want to pipe any decorations on top you will need to make extra. 🙂
Karen
Oh my, this is the best chocolate buttercream ever! I LOVE that it is made with real chocolate instead of cocoa powder. What a difference that made; It was creamy and had the absolutely perfect chocolate flavor! THANK YOU!
David
Once I frost it can I wrap it with saran wrap or will the frosting stick?
Sam
Hi David! I probably wouldn’t press it right on the frosting as it could stick. You can strategically place some toothpicks in the top to prevent the plastic wrap from sticking to the frosting. 🙂
Dre
Easy to make and easy to pipe! I generously frosted the middle and sides of an 8″ cake, and had plenty to do a tall piped border around the top (I poured ganache inside the border) as well as a decorative border around the base. My only comment is I could taste the salt, which I don’t personally like in frosting. Even with unsalted butter, I’d cut this to 1/8 tsp or even a bit less. I thought I’d post a comment in case others also don’t want to taste the salt.
Carlisia Hoskins
Thank you Dre! I also don’t like salt flavor in frosting so I’ll make a note of that!! Much appreciated!
Lollie
Yum! I had the chocolate bars bit I used chocolate chips. This recipe is delicious. Thank you for sharing
Amanda
Wow! I hate making frosting but also hate paying a lot of money for premade frosting with lots of artificial ingredients and corn syrup.
I made this today and it was easy and turned out great. I used it to frost brownies and cupcakes. Everyone loved it! Thanks for posting my new go-to frosting recipe!
Sandy Gore
Made this frosting it was easy and taste great
Bee
Hi Sam, this frosting looks so decadent. I wanted to ask you if this buttercream is grainy like normal buttercream
Sam
Hi Bee! Buttercream is not supposed to be grainy. That being said, this one is not grainy. 🙂
Sherry
Easy and delicious. Thank you! Made white cake recipe too. S
Tam
I didn’t see this comment, so maybe it’s just me… but if I cool my chocolate at room temp, it ended up with hard pieces in it. This is not for me. I think the idea is great but if you cool the chocolate that was once hard, it’s going to harden… so no. I wasted 2 sticks of butter and 6 ounces of chocolate… threw it all in the trash.
Sam
Hi Tam! It’s important that the chocolate not be warm to the touch but that it still be fluid, it sounds like you are just cooling the chocolate a bit too long. I hope that helps!
Bev
can the frosting be at room temperature once the cake is frosted, or will it ‘melt’?
Sam
Hi Bev! It will be fine at room temperature, unless of course that room is really warm. 🙂
Alexis
I had a similar situation, it was nice and melty and as soon as I mixed it in the creamed butter it made some of the chocolate hard I guess you could say , but I just whipped out the electric mixer again mixed it pretty good then kept using the mixer till the very end and there was just tiny tiny specs of chocolate pieces in there after that