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,ย vanilla cupcakes (pictured above), and myย 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.ย If itโs 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!
Letโs bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
Chocolate Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 oz (170 g) semisweet chocolateยฒ 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
- ยฝ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยผ teaspoon saltยณ
- 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 chocolateยฒ
- 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.ยฝ teaspoon vanilla extract, ยผ teaspoon saltยณ
- 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
ยนHow 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%.ยฒChocolate
If you don’t have semisweet chocolate bars you can use 1 cup (170g) of semisweet chocolate chips instead.ยณButter
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.
Sareena
Can I substitute the heavy cream with milk and cornstarch or will it be better to just skip the cream adding part?
Sam
You can substitute milk for the heavy cream, but start with less (like a tablespoon) and add more as needed.
Sareena
Can I leave out the heavy cream??
Sam
You can, but the frosting will be thicker. You could also substitute milk, but start with less and add more if needed to get the right consistency.
Ann
Hi Sam
Iโve made a lot of frostings which include melted chocolate, but I find they harden very quickly. What is the texture of this one like, after finishing it, while frosting, and then while sitting out, either at room temperature or in the fridge?
Thanks
Sam
It is a very silky frosting, after you make it, it will crust a little bit if it chills. While it’s sitting out, it really depends on the temperature. It could be soft of it could crust a little bit.
Katia๐พ Kristich๐ฉ
I love this frosting. I made a cake for my dad happens to be sugar spun run too. My dad LOVES the frosting so much, he says that it isnโt to salty or to sweet. I rate this five stars โญ๏ธ! Awesome ๐๐ป! Just to let people know, I donโt have a microwave, but melting it a little will work. So yummy ๐
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoys the frosting! It’s definitely one of my favorites! โบ๏ธ
Marlene
Can you frost a layer cake
Sam
Yup ๐
Karen H
The best frosting I’ve ever had. Made it without the heavy cream bc I was out of it. This turned out perfect and so good! Great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Sam
I am so glad it turned out for you Karen! ๐
Lauren
What can I replace the cream with? We have a dairy allergy in the family.
Sam
You can leave it out, the frosting will just be a bit thicker, or you can use a milk substitute like almond or coconut milk, just start with just 1 Tablespoon as the substitutes are often thinner than cream and you don’t want to thin out the frosting too much.
Rose
Will the powder sugar completely melt or will it be grainy? Because whenever I try to make butter cream frosting it turns out grainy. I first thought that it may be because I’m using hand mixer but apparently that’s not the case…
Sam
It doesn’t melt, it’s creamed in with the butter and should be smooth. Powdered sugar isn’t grainy to start with so I’m not sure why your frosting would be grainy, I’m wondering if maybe it’s something else? If you’re worried about grain from the salt you can leave that out and use salted butter.
Brigitta Horvath
Hi,
Is it possible to make this in advance and freeze it?
Thank you
Carol
How long can the frosting be in the fridge?
Sam
I think it would be good for up to 5-7 days.
Katie
Can you freeze this frosting, as in freezing a whole frosted cake or cupcakes, and will it thaw correctly?
Sam
It should be ok if it’s already on a cake, but I have not tried it with this particular frosting.
Rachael
What can I sub for the vanilla extract? Iโm out. Thanks
Sam
If you don’t have it I suppose you could leave it out, it just won’t be quite as good. I don’t really recommend any substitute.
KN
You can use Rum.
Chip
My step daughter requested vanilla cake with chocolate frosting for her birthday. I tried your recipe and it was a total hit with her and her friends. Couple minor changes. One by mistake; added an extra half cup of butter to the cake (so I added a little baking time), and one on purpose; added a 1/4 tsp vanilla bean to the cake. Very happy with how it came out.
Sam
Can’t go wrong with vanilla bean!! So glad the cake and frosting were a hit, thank you for commenting, Chip!
Carrie
Delicious!!! So light and fluffy ๐ Thank you
Sam
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for commenting, Carrie!!
Constance
Hi, I made your recipe for the first time and mine came out salty. The salt crystals are even visible in the iced cake. I used iodized table salt. Did I do something wrong? Thanks
Sam
That’s really odd! What brand did you use?
Constance
I used Mortonโs salt. UnSalted landolakes butter, ghiradelli semisweet choc chips and Bordenโs heavy cream.
Sam
Hmm, I use Morton’s as well and have never had that problem… was it beaten into the frosting well enough? I’m assuming so because it’s added before the cream so that should be plenty of time to incorporate it.
I’m really not sure, I am going to have to troubleshoot and make a few batches to see what the issue could be. Thank you for bringing this to my attention!
Constance
Iโll make it again, just to see if I get the same result. Iโll let you know how it turns out. It almost seems like I should have added it to the chocolate when melting so that it dissolves fully, but Iโm not sure what that will do to the final product. Thanks.