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Perfect Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe

12/30/2013 By Charlene 183 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.

Perfect Chocolate Buttercream Frosting- so simple to make and you won't believe how good!

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:

 

4.9 from 30 reviews
Print
The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Author: My Frugal Adventures
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time:  5 mins
Cook time:  10 mins
Total time:  15 mins
Serves: 12
 
Fast and easy chocolate buttercream frosting recipe. This is hand's down the best chocolate frosting I have ever had.
Ingredients
  • 2¾ cups Confectioner's Sugar
  • 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 5 tablespoons milk or cream
  • 6 tablespoons butter- softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
  1. Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa together in a bowl and set aside.
  2. Add butter to a mixing bowl and cream until nice and smooth.
  3. Slowly add the powdered sugar, alternating with the milk.
  4. Add in vanilla.
3.2.1255

 

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.

Amazing Chocolate Cupcake Frosting-- this is the best frosting I have ever had. So simple to make!
Here are a few things that will come in handy for this recipe:

Screen Shot 2016-06-26 at 6.57.03 PM

KitchenAid Mixer //  Mesh Strainer // Cupcake Liners 

And if you enjoy this recipe, you might also like:

Amazing Buttercream Frosting Recipe - just 4 ingredients and you have a creamy and delicious go to frosting.Delicious Buttercream frosting 

Salted Caramel Starbucks Cupcakes- so fun and very easy to make! Use any flavor of cupcake you prefer. (1 of 1)Salted Caramel Starbucks Cupcakes- so fun and so easy!

Chai Spice Sugar CookiesChai Spice cookies- these have just a hint of chai spices and are hands down my favorite sugar cookie recipe.

 

Filed Under: Desserts Tagged With: chocolate icing recipe, cupcake frosting recipe, Perfect chocolate buttercream frosting recipe

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Comments

  1. Heather says

    04/11/2015 at 7:43 PM

    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.

  2. Anasthasia says

    04/12/2015 at 10:08 AM

    This is a great recipe! I love that you don’t need to use Crisco, like the other recipes that I have used.

  3. Charlene says

    04/12/2015 at 11:07 AM

    I agree Anasthasia- I don’t buy Crisco so I prefer the flavor of real butter too 🙂

  4. Amanda says

    04/14/2015 at 8:44 PM

    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!

  5. Yvonne says

    04/17/2015 at 9:59 PM

    This recipe is awesome! One mistake i made was not reading recipe first. After figured out what i did wrong frosting was perfect!

  6. ivel leal says

    04/27/2015 at 11:03 AM

    It is the “Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting” ever!

    It is soft, creamy…it´s perfect for my “Marquesa de Chocolate”.

    Thank You 🙂
    ♥

  7. Charlene says

    04/27/2015 at 11:06 AM

    So glad to hear it 🙂

  8. Sandy says

    05/17/2015 at 12:16 PM

    I make this from the Hershey’s Cocoa label but instead of milk, I use coffee. It’s a great mocha frosting.

  9. Rebekah Brooks says

    05/19/2015 at 10:23 AM

    If you made a really large batch how long would it be good for?

  10. Charlene says

    05/19/2015 at 11:09 AM

    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.

  11. Caitlin says

    05/30/2015 at 9:39 AM

    Love this!! It has a perfect chocolate taste. I tasted it before adding the vanilla, and the vanilla makes all the difference. Thank you!

  12. Betty says

    05/30/2015 at 9:58 AM

    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.

  13. Charlene says

    05/30/2015 at 10:03 AM

    So glad to hear it 🙂

  14. Bella says

    06/20/2015 at 7:47 PM

    This recipe was amazing! I substituted almond extract for the vanilla extract and it was sooooo good 🙂

  15. Charlene says

    06/20/2015 at 10:05 PM

    Oh that does sound good. Almond like Nutella 🙂

  16. Cindie says

    07/11/2015 at 3:02 PM

    Easy! Yummy! Added a dash of orange extract…super good. 🙂

  17. Andrea says

    07/28/2015 at 7:04 PM

    On the milk or cream can you use evaporated milk

  18. Charlene says

    07/28/2015 at 9:34 PM

    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.

  19. Becky Nelson says

    09/07/2015 at 5:02 PM

    Just made this for my daughters cake. YUM! Very good! Will be using it again.

  20. Charlene says

    09/08/2015 at 10:45 AM

    So glad Becky!

  21. Nicole says

    09/09/2015 at 6:47 PM

    WOW! This frosting is AMAZING! I will be using this recipe over and over again. Thank you!

  22. Charlene says

    09/10/2015 at 11:31 AM

    Yeah! So glad you liked it!

  23. Tina says

    09/25/2015 at 12:53 PM

    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!

  24. Charlene says

    09/25/2015 at 1:05 PM

    Yeah! So glad to hear it Tina 🙂

  25. Gigi says

    10/07/2015 at 5:27 PM

    This frosting was so easy even a non Baker such as myself did an amazing job. My card club loved it.

  26. Charlene says

    10/07/2015 at 10:03 PM

    So glad to hear it Gigi 🙂

  27. Michelle says

    10/10/2015 at 9:31 AM

    Hands down, the best recipe ever!!! thank you, it is so delicious!!!

  28. Charlene says

    10/10/2015 at 12:46 PM

    yeah so thrilled to hear that! Thank you Michelle 🙂

  29. sandra says

    10/18/2015 at 1:40 PM

    Amazing! Qyick, easy, and oh so so so good! Totally worth it!

  30. Charlene says

    10/18/2015 at 6:58 PM

    Yeah! Glad you liked it Sandra 🙂

  31. Yvonne says

    11/07/2015 at 1:45 PM

    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!

  32. Charlene says

    11/07/2015 at 1:57 PM

    Yeah so glad! I totally want a piece 🙂

  33. Mandy says

    11/18/2015 at 12:24 PM

    Omg I can eat this right out of the bowl! Amazing

  34. Charlene says

    11/18/2015 at 12:28 PM

    LOl- yeah! I can totally eat it from the bowl. Heck with the cupcake 🙂

  35. Cherie says

    12/01/2015 at 2:01 PM

    did you use salted or unsalted butter?

  36. Cherie says

    12/01/2015 at 2:04 PM

    Do you use salted or unsalted butter?

  37. Charlene says

    12/01/2015 at 2:33 PM

    Hi Cherie,

    I usually use salted and then just adjust the amount of salt I add to the mix 🙂

  38. ida kaybee says

    12/20/2015 at 1:07 PM

    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!

  39. V Liao says

    12/24/2015 at 7:07 AM

    Thank you for the recipe! I made it for cupcakes for a company party and it was a huge success!!

  40. Charlene says

    12/24/2015 at 8:39 AM

    Whoo hoo! So glad 🙂

  41. Ana says

    02/15/2016 at 2:00 PM

    Very easy. Followed directions to a “T.” It was the perfect amount for a 9×13 cake. Tastes great too.

  42. Martha says

    04/07/2016 at 6:28 PM

    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.

  43. Charlene says

    04/07/2016 at 9:24 PM

    Yeah! So glad you liked it Martha 🙂

  44. Maria Alonge says

    07/14/2016 at 8:17 PM

    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!!!!

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I'm Charlene- thank you for stopping by MY FRUGAL ADVENTURES! I am a Mom to two little girls living in gorgeous Northern California. This is a fun place to find simple & affordable inspiration for everything from gifts to home improvement to travel to children's crafts to what's for dinner tonight! READ MORE >>>

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