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May 11, 2020 3 Comments

The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

a kitchenaid whisk attachment with thick, creamy, chocolate buttermilk frosting

 Everybody needs a go-to recipe for The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. Whether it’s on your favorite cupcakes, chocolate cake, or smashed in between two graham crackers, you’re going to love this simple and delicious chocolate buttercream frosting.

This incredibly rich and silky frosting recipe makes enough chocolate frosting to generously cover a two-layer cake. It’s smooth and easy to work with whether you’re piping or spreading.

chocolate cake with thick, creamy, chocolate buttercream frostingMaking your own chocolate buttercream frosting is easier than you think. In fact, most homemade frostings are just a few simple ingredients mixed together until smooth. Some of my favorite cakes and homemade frostings are:

Yummy Cakes with Homemade Frosting
  • Banana Bundt Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate Ganache
  • Best Ever Banana Bundt Cake Recipe
  • Lemon Blueberry Sheet Cake With Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Out of This World Carrot Cake Recipe With Callie’s Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Dream Toasted Coconut Bundt Cake

Making yummy homemade cakes is fun but I still like a good fast and easy cake mix too. This frosting tastes amazing on a yellow cake mix or your favorite chocolate cake mix. I recently made it with a chocolate cake mix for a friend’s birthday and it was delicious. The homemade frosting makes the finished product taste more like a professional cake.

How to Make The Best Homemade Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

  1. Use the whisk attachment on your stand mixer or a hand mixer to beat the room-temperature butter for 1-2 minutes.
  2. Add the confectioner’s sugar, cocoa powder, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla.
  3. Mix on low for 30 seconds to combine and then increase to medium speed.
  4. Beat until nice and smooth.
  5. If frosting is too thick, add another tablespoon of cream. If it’s too thin, add up to 1/4 cup more confectioners sugar.
  6. Use immediately to frost cake or you can store it in the fridge with a tight lid for up to a week. Make sure to let it come to room temperature before frosting a cake.

Rich chocolately frosting on a chocolate cake on a stack of white platesFrequently Asked Questions

If i don’t have heavy cream, what else can I use for the liquid in this frosting?

Heavy cream is best but if you don’t have any, evaporated milk or regular milk can work. If you use regular milk, try and use whole milk or at least 2%. Also, if using regular milk do not use the full 3 tablespoons to start with. Start with 2 and check the consistency before adding the third tablespoon.

how many cupcakes can i frost with this recipe?

That depends on if you want to frost them with a raised frosting swirl or more of a flat, smooth design. You should be able to do about 12-15 cupcakes with the raised frosting swirl. With a more traditional, smooth design, you should be able to do between 24 and 30 cupcakes.

if i leave out the cocoa, will this make a regular buttercream frosting?

Yes it will. You will need to replace the amount of cocoa with confectioners sugar but it will definitely make a regular vanilla buttercream frosting.

do i need to REFRIGERATE cake after frosting with chocolate buttercream?

No. It is not necessary to refrigerate the cake especially if serving that day or the next day. You will want to keep it in a covered cake stand or cake container if not refrigerating. However, it is fine to refrigerate and if you do not anticipate serving it within 24-36 hours, refrigerating it will help it stay fresh.

Thickly frosted cake on a white plate next to a fork on a white plate

Other Delicious Desserts

No-Bake-Cherry-Cheesecake-2No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake {9×13 size}Best ever banana bundt cake with peanut butter frosting and chocoalte ganache on a plate being served with a forkBanana Bundt Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate GanacheNo-Bake-Peanut-Butter-Corn-Flake-Treats-recipeNo-bake Peanut Butter Corn Flake Treats

5.0 from 1 reviews
The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
 
Print
Prep time
5 mins
Total time
5 mins
 
Rich chocolate buttercream, perfect for your favorite cake or cupcakes or smashed in between two graham crackers. A go-to recipe you'll use again and again!
Recipe type: Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
  • 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
  • 3½ cups confectioners sugar
  • ½ cup cocoa powder
  • 3 tbs heavy cream
  • ¼ tsp salt (if using salted butter, only add a pinch of salt)
  • 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
  1. Use the whisk attachment on your stand mixer or a hand mixer to beat the room-temperature butter for 1-2 minutes.
  2. Add the confectioners sugar, cocoa powder, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla.
  3. Mix on low for 30 seconds to combine and then increase to medium speed.
  4. Beat until nice and smooth, scraping sides down occasionally with a spatulaif needed.
  5. If frosting is too thick, add another tablespoon of cream. If frosting is too thin, add up to ¼ cup more confectioners sugar.
  6. Use frosting immediately to frost cake or you can store it in the fridge with a tight lid or in a Ziploc bag for up to a week. Make sure to let it come to room temperature before frosting a cake.
3.4.3177

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Chocolate, Desserts, Frosting, Gluten Free, Heavy Cream, Ingredients, Recipes
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3 Comments

  1. Alicia Maya

    November 29, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    I tried adding the espresso and oh my goodness what in the world have I been missing? This is absolutely scrumptious! Kudos to you for sharing! This is life changing! I have not been living!!!!! There aren’t enough stars to rate this properly. This right here is everything!!! I guess you can tell I really enjoyed this delightful recipe 😋

    reply to this comment
    • Maria

      November 30, 2020 at 3:57 pm

      Wow Alicia! Thank you so much! I am so glad you feel as strongly about it as I do. 🙂

      reply to this comment
    • harriett schulte

      January 14, 2021 at 9:14 pm

      How much espresso did you add with cocoa?

      reply to this comment

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Welcome friends!

Hi, I'm Maria. A mom of five and a total foodie. My superpower is taking ordinary recipes and making them DELICIOUS. Your family will LOVE these meals! Come cook with me, I promise it will be amazing! Get started here or search my archives below.


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