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.
Have you ever tried heating it until it is just pourable? I am trying to find a recipie that could do that without being ganache.
This is a great recipe! I love that you don’t need to use Crisco, like the other recipes that I have used.
I agree Anasthasia- I don’t buy Crisco so I prefer the flavor of real butter too 🙂
LOVE!
I first want to say- THANK YOU for putting this up. It was perfect. Not too sweet or gritty, smooth and delicious! I also got the ‘tastes like a wends frosting’ reaction.
I will say… you can be your own worst enemy when baking. I saw all too often people commenting on blogs and recipes complaining that the recipe itself was terrible and it was too sweet or stingy or whatever… I really do think that practice makes perfect and before people trash a recipe or X- off a recipe they should do a little research and try it more than once. In my first round I ended up with a gritty dark frosting.. I’m thinking I might have added too much sugar/ cocoa. On the second try it was perfect and I fell in love.
First- I do think the recipe creates too little frosting. I think in the end I x3 this recipe.
Second- take your time, sift the sugar and cocoa!
Third- Do your research on softening butter and creaming it.. it can make all the difference in the recipe. Make sure the butter has had enough time to soften and you don’t add super cold milk to butter that didn’t have enough time to soften. You will get chunky frosting! Seriously… ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
Fourth- I added a little extra milk because I like it more creamy and I didn’t add as much sugar
All this being said.. that was MY experience! Practice with recipes. I personally didn’t want as much sugar and I wanted more milk. Consider it a little experiment and play with the ingredients until you get exactly what you want. Also- for me this recipe was easy to follow. If you’re new to baking or not that experienced, do some research about other BC and icings and finds some techniques before diving straight into the kitchen.
And lastly- THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
I loved the recipe and it was delicious! I’m sorry for the rant. I’ve been experimenting with new recipes lately and I love your site. You put so much work into it and you have created some great recipes. I wish people appreciated the work that went into these blogs and recipe more!
Keep on baking!
This recipe is awesome! One mistake i made was not reading recipe first. After figured out what i did wrong frosting was perfect!
It is the “Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting” ever!
It is soft, creamy…it´s perfect for my “Marquesa de Chocolate”.
Thank You 🙂
♥
So glad to hear it 🙂
I make this from the Hershey’s Cocoa label but instead of milk, I use coffee. It’s a great mocha frosting.
If you made a really large batch how long would it be good for?
Rebekah, I have had this frosting up to 3 days after making it and it was just fine. You might need to whip it up a bit in the mixer. I haven’t tried it beyond that though so I can’t say how long it will stay creamy. I usually try to make cupcakes or cakes at the last minute so they are light and fresh.
Love this!! It has a perfect chocolate taste. I tasted it before adding the vanilla, and the vanilla makes all the difference. Thank you!
You can freeze this recipe up to 3 months. Just thaw it and bring it to room tempture and rewhip when ready to use.I
I did this went I did cake decorating as a business years ago.
So glad to hear it 🙂
This recipe was amazing! I substituted almond extract for the vanilla extract and it was sooooo good 🙂
Oh that does sound good. Almond like Nutella 🙂
Easy! Yummy! Added a dash of orange extract…super good. 🙂
On the milk or cream can you use evaporated milk
Hi Andrea- I haven’t tried that but I have tried nonfat milk and it was fine. I looked it up and here is a recipe that is similar to mine that calls for it so I guess you can.
https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/141447/creamy-carnation-frosting/
This frosting is my favorite of all time so I hope it turns out well for you.
Just made this for my daughters cake. YUM! Very good! Will be using it again.
So glad Becky!
WOW! This frosting is AMAZING! I will be using this recipe over and over again. Thank you!
Yeah! So glad you liked it!
I LOVE this recipe! Great taste, smooth and creamy look, quick and easy. This will be my go to chocolate butter cream frosting from now on!
Yeah! So glad to hear it Tina 🙂
This frosting was so easy even a non Baker such as myself did an amazing job. My card club loved it.
So glad to hear it Gigi 🙂
Hands down, the best recipe ever!!! thank you, it is so delicious!!!
yeah so thrilled to hear that! Thank you Michelle 🙂
Amazing! Qyick, easy, and oh so so so good! Totally worth it!
Yeah! Glad you liked it Sandra 🙂
I was just scrambling for a frosting recipe for my son’s birthday cake and am so glad I found yours! It tastes amazing! Thank you for sharing it!
Yeah so glad! I totally want a piece 🙂
Omg I can eat this right out of the bowl! Amazing
LOl- yeah! I can totally eat it from the bowl. Heck with the cupcake 🙂
did you use salted or unsalted butter?
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
Hi Cherie,
I usually use salted and then just adjust the amount of salt I add to the mix 🙂
i just made this frosting today. i doubled the recipe, but cut out about 1 cup of the powdered sugar. it was still very sweet but the consistency is perfect! next time i will cut the sugar a little more. the butter is just right!
Thank you for the recipe! I made it for cupcakes for a company party and it was a huge success!!
Whoo hoo! So glad 🙂
Very easy. Followed directions to a “T.” It was the perfect amount for a 9×13 cake. Tastes great too.
So I made this for an 8×8 pan of brownies. Knowing that I cannot be trusted with any extra frosting “just going to waste and all”, I made a half recipe. (I hate math) Absolutely perfect!!! Thanks for this really nice, simple, treat.
Now, I have a bowl to lick.
Yeah! So glad you liked it Martha 🙂
I just made this on the fly tonight. I am not a fan of buttercream frosting. THIS IS AMAZING!! I doubled the recipe but used about 2 cups less of the sugar and a bit more milk. It tastes so good. It’s smooth and fluffy. It’s so so great! I am using this all the time! ALL THE TIME!!!!