Oh goodness do we love cupcakes in this house! Our favorite (ok my favorite- the girls love any kind of cupcake) is yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting.
I prefer to make my own frosting because the flavor is just so much better than what you normally get at the store. Buttercream frosting can be a little tricky though because it can sometimes taste a little too buttery which is not ideal.
I really hope you give this one a shot because it is so delicious- rich and chocolaty and just fantastic. Here is a quick video to show you how easy this is to make.
This is really fast to whip up- here is the recipe:
- 2¾ cups Confectioner's Sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 tablespoons milk or cream
- 6 tablespoons butter- softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa together in a bowl and set aside.
- Add butter to a mixing bowl and cream until nice and smooth.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar, alternating with the milk.
- Add in vanilla.
You might need to adjust this slightly by adding a bit more milk or a bit more sugar to get a perfect consistency.
This recipe is enough for 12 generous cupcakes or one large cake. If you intend to make a cake with multiple layers I would double the recipe.
If you decide to make this recipe please come back and let me know what you think! I absolutely love this frosting and use it as often as I can.
Here are a few things that will come in handy for this recipe:
KitchenAid Mixer // Mesh Strainer // Cupcake Liners
And if you enjoy this recipe, you might also like:
Delicious Buttercream frosting
Salted Caramel Starbucks Cupcakes- so fun and so easy!
Chai Spice cookies- these have just a hint of chai spices and are hands down my favorite sugar cookie recipe.
Andrew G. says
Hey I just tried this on Betty Crocker Yellow mix for cupcakes and they tasted great! Thanks for the new recipe 🙂
Lisa P says
How long can you leave these frosted cupcakes out at room temperature before you should put them in the refrigerator for food safety?
Aisha says
Hi! How long do I beat the frosting for in the stand mixer? Thanks!
Charlene says
Aisha- just a minute or two. Just watch it and you will see when the texture is right. 🙂
Katie says
I made this today for my DH birthday cupcakes and the frosting was delicious! It is the first chocolate frosting that I have made from scratch and actually liked! Thank you!
Charlene says
Yeah so glad! I dream about this frosting- it is so delicious 🙂
Sara says
Maybe this is a silly question, salted or unsalted butter? I’m going to try this in a few weeks for my little gals birthday!
Charlene says
Sara- I have never tasted the difference in unsalted v. salted butter so I usually use what I have :P. Apparently I have an unsophisticated palette ;). I would go with unsalted.
I hope you like this recipe. I absolutely LOVE this frosting.
Katie says
Used this today for my girlie’s birthday cake. it was delicious! I know have a go to chocolate recipe. If only I had a vanilla recipe…. I have such issues with frosting, and store bought is just plain gross!
Charlene says
So glad you liked it Katie!! I have a hard time with vanilla frosting too. Sometimes it is just so buttery or the cream cheese frostings can be so cream cheesy :P. If I find a good one I will for sure post it 🙂
Courtney says
Looks delicious. Whts the recipe for the cake u made with the frosting?
Charlene says
Courtney– I am a box mix cupcake person :P. Usually I am all for homemade but I have found a huge difference in the taste of frosting and not a huge difference in the taste of cupcake mix. If you decide to roll with a box mix this recipe comes together in about 30 minutes total.
Here is a basic yellow cupcake recipe from Food Network that loks really easy:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/classic-yellow-cupcakes-with-milk-chocolate-frosting-recipe.html
Dina says
I’m trying this tomorrow. I’ve been trying to find a good chocolate one. I have a great vanilla buttercream. Store bought frosting a taste so disgusting. I also use box cakes but I always put in a box of pudding into my cake. Wether it says it has pudding inside or not. Everyone raves about my cupcakes! With good frosting there is no need to make the cake from scratch.
Charlene says
I have heard that pudding tip but I haven’t tried it. Be sure to come back and let me know what you thought 🙂
Nicole says
Sounds great- I’m going to try it w/my s’mores cupcakes! This is a recipe I came by a while back for vanilla buttercream:
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 dashes salt (I use sea salt)
1 stick softened butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 Tbsp Vanilla (I use vanilla paste- plus the specks make it look yummy)
1/4-1/3 cup heavy cream
It turns out pretty good. I sometimes add a Tbsp or two of cream cheese for extra creaminess. It’s one of my go-to frostings!
Dakota says
I’m trying this for easter! I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Mandy Rappe says
My buttercream icing recipe is always a fan favorite at my bakery. I make it in larger batches so you may need to decrease the ingredients based on how much frosting you need. Cream 1 cup room temp margarine, 1 cup crisco, and 3-4 tsp vanilla flavoring together. Then add 2 lbs of powdered sugar a little at a time (I usually do it 1/4 bag at a time). It will be extra thick and I do this portion on level 2 of my Kitchenaid mixer. Add a little milk 2 Tbsp at a time until you get the desired consistency mixing on medium speed. It is usually about 1/4 cup for me but I eye ball it.
Dakota says
So I made it last night. It was a bit runny so I added a little more powdered sugar. Then chilled it while I slept for a couple hours. (I was up til 3 baking) Taste isnt bad at all. But the consistency wasn’t what I was looking for. But it tastes like the long john donut icing. Honestly could eat the icing by itself ha ha. It spreads on easy by not easy to pipe as it just kind of smooshes out on itself and goes flat.
Charlene says
Dakota– I have not had that experience. Not runny for sure. Did you use a stand mixer? What was your butter like? It needs to be soft- the butter temperature I have learned the hard way is the key to successful baking. Did you set your butter out for like an hour or so to get it soft? If you microwaved it to get it soft that might have been the problem.
The last time I made these, I did the recipe exactly as it is in the post and then scooped it into a pastry bag and piped it out. You can see from the photos it was nice and stiff for the piping. Not runny.
Sorry yours didn’t turn out but I could eat the frosting on its own too 🙂
Laura says
Very good and easy. Barely enough to cover my layered cake though so I would suggest doubling it if you are making a layered cake with 2-( inch rounds. Yummy!
Charlene says
Great tip Laura! I usually make cupcakes myself but I will note that in the post.
Marilyn Scroggins says
My Mother started making this frosting or icing when I was a very little girl and now I’m almost 60! She called it her 123 chocolate icing. 1- for powdered sugar, 2- for butter or margarine and 3- for cocoa. To get the amt. she wanted she would multiply each number,1-2-3 by the same number. It usually took 1x 3 cups of p. sugar, 2x 3 T. of butter and 3x 3 T. of cocoa to frost a two layer cake. She would also add 1tsp. vanilla and some milk until it was the right spreading consistency. If it was a smaller amt. needed she would usually multiply the 1-2-3 by 2. For a larger amount of frosting multiply the 1-2-3 by a larger no.
Shelly says
Fantastic recipe… made with a little sour cream mixed into milk. I normally use cream, so it worked! Thank you, the creaminess is exquisite, I piped large rosettes on cupcakes. Yum!
Chris says
Easy. Awesome. My go to chocolate frosting recipe now. I’ve made it 4x and everyone loves it. Thanks for this excellent recipe!
Charlene says
Yeah! So glad to hear it Chris 🙂
Megan says
Awesome recipe 🙂 didn’t have cocoa powder, so I used baker’s unsweetened chocolate squares and melted about 8 of them. I also added a little more powdered sugar. Both the consistency and the taste came out great 🙂
Charlene says
Oh so glad Megan!
Karen says
This is awesome frosting…my teenage son says he thinks it tastes like a Wendy’s Frosty….I definitely will have this as my go to chocolate frosting.
Thanks for the recipe!
Charlene says
So glad Karen! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Judy says
I’m looking for a chocolate frosting that would pair well with a coconut pecan filling for a German Chocolate cake that I made for my husband’s birthday. Would this be good for that?
Laura says
My son & I just frosted a vanilla cake with this recipe. Delicious and super easy! Thanks for sharing.
Charlene says
So glad you liked the frosting Laura! Enjoy your cake 🙂
Whitney says
This might be a dumb question, but I’m not much of a cook or baker so I follow word for word lol when you say “softened”butter should it be melted or room temperature?
Charlene says
Hi Whitney– I have learned that butter temperature can make a huge difference so that is not dumb at all :).
You can see what happens to cookies when they have butter at different temps here:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/the-great-cookie-experiment-butter-temperature/
So softened butter to me is room temp and still firm. You can poke it and it does give but it is not soft – like about to melt all over the counter.
A trick I learned to get cold butter softened a little faster is to put warm water in a bowl and add your stick of butter for just a few minutes. Not hot water- slightly warm water. And don’t leave it too long or it will be soft and yucky. Keep it in the wrapper when you do this and hopefully it peels right off the wrapper when you take it out of the water.
Cathy says
These cupcakes look amazing – of course yellow cake and chocolate icing can’t be beat in my book either. Thank you for sharing the recipe at Share It One More Time. Cathy
Mandee Thomas says
This sure looks perfect! I’ll definitely try this recipe next time I need buttercream frosting 😀 I would love for you to share this post at my Create & Share Link Party tonight (7:00 PM MST)! Hope to see you there 🙂 http://designsbymissmandee.blogspot.com/
eLLe says
First time I made this chocolate buttercream recipe and it turned out SO yummy! I got tons of compliments. I like the way it turns shiny at room temp after being in the refrigerator. Thanks!
Charlene says
Elle- it is hard to resist! I am so glad you liked it 🙂
Kristy says
This sounds perfect! Pinning to try next time I need chocolate butter cream. Thanks for sharing!
Jennifer Dawn says
This sounds amazing! I’d love for you to share this at my weekly link party http://www.thelifeofjenniferdawn.com/2014/09/a-little-bird-told-me-link-party-107.html Hope to see you there!
Ginger says
It looks bakery perfect! My girls would be all over these cupcakes (and probably just eat the frosting).
I found you via Lines Across. If you’re interested in new link parties, I have one at Gingerly Made and would love to have you join us. Have a great weekend!
Cheri M says
Butter cream icing is my favorite! Thanks for the recipe.
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says
I love buttercream frosting but haven’t ever made a good batch myself.
Thanks for sharing (stopping by from the Say G’Day party) and pinning.
Wishing you a lovely weekend.
xoxo
Easy Life Meal & Party Planning says
Sounds wonderful and looks so pretty – the texture looks perfect. Like you I love homemade frosting. In fact, I am known to get out the graham crackers and spread frosting on them while the cake is baking!
Beverly says
Your frosting looks great. I have been looking for a good chocolate frosting. Can’t wait to try this. G’Day
Bev
Amber L. says
Looks yummy! I just pinned 🙂
Paulette says
This frosting looks so good. I am pinning this so I can try this on the next cupcakes I make when I need chocolate frosting. Thanks for sharing!
tricia says
I’ve been making this recipe for years!!!