Creamy Chocolate Frosting is a staple chocolate frosting recipe that you need to have in your recipe box. This frosting recipe is buttery, chocolatey, and it pipes a beautiful swirl. This is a fantastic chocolate buttercream frosting recipe!
This is the BEST Homemade Chocolate Frosting Recipe
I use this chocolate frosting recipe ALL the time. It’s fantastic on chocolate cake, chocolate cupcakes, or even sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies! Just like a buttercream frosting recipe, you need a classic chocolate frosting in your back pocket. NO more canned frosting for you, this recipe is so easy, and always turns out perfect!
How Do You Make Chocolate Frosting From Scratch?
- Make sure your butter is room temperature
- I always use salted butter, but this is a personal preference, you can use unsalted butter, but you might want to add a pinch of salt while you’re mixing to enhance the chocolate flavor!
- You can use regular or dark unsweetened cocoa powder in this frosting recipe. It depends on the flavor (and look) you’re going for!
- You can sub in warm coffee in place of the water in this recipe to really amp up the chocolate flavor!
How To Pipe Frosting Onto Cupcakes
The great thing about this frosting recipe, is that it spreads onto cakes so smoothly, but also pipes beautiful swirls! Here are some piping tips:
- Since this makes a large batch of frosting, only use a few cups of frosting in a frosting bag fitted with a piping tip. Don’t try and fit all the frosting into the bag at once.
- You can pipe the frosting using a zip-top bag with the corner snipped off for a make-shift piping bag!
- I like using the Piping tips: Wilton 1M, Wilton 2A, Ateco 828
Delicious ways to use Chocolate Buttercream Frosting!
- On My Insane Peanut Butter Cup Cake…
- You can use this on my favorite chocolate cupcakes, which is an amazingly easy and soft chocolate cupcake recipe.
- Or if you’re feeling adventurous, this Bacon Pecan Crumble Chocolate Cake, is an INCREDIBLE chocolate cake, with the most delicious salty/sweet crumble on top!
This frosting recipe is my go-to recipe and it has never let me down. It’s a simple, and quick frosting recipe that is so versatile.
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Creamy Chocolate Frosting
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 3 1/2 cups 1x
- Category: Frosting
- Method: Mixer
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
This creamy chocolate frosting makes enough to frost and fill a 9″ layer cake or pipe swirls onto 24 cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 8 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup very warm water
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, vanilla, and warm water and mix on low speed, until the mixture just comes together.
- Slowly increase the speed to medium and beat the frosting for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Let the frosting cool for 15 minutes before using.
- You can spread this frosting or pipe it into swirls!
Notes
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days, or store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, OR store airtight in the freezer for up to a month.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 334
- Sugar: 66.6 g
- Sodium: 62.4 mg
- Fat: 8.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 68.8 g
- Protein: 0.7 g
- Cholesterol: 20.3 mg
Very good recipe and it’s been added to my recipe arsenal. I was very suspect about the hot water but it works! Thank you!
This IS the best chocolate frosting! It tastes like milk chocolate fudge, and it’s THE antidote to a chocolate craving! I’m keeping some on hand for just those moments. No cage needed here.
While making the frosting, can I use heavy cream instead of water?
You can yes! You might need to add a bit more cream than water, but it will be delicious!
Why do you use very warm water instead of heavy cream for the frosting?
Also, I think that if you use water for the frosting, the frosting might dry up after some time.
I struggled finding the best fudgy frosting…. Until I found this one! Now this is the only chocolate frosting I’ll make! Pipes nicely and I highly recommend the coffee use instead of the water
Did anyone ever cut this in half for an 8×8? It seems like a lot for a small cake.
Thanks!
I don’t know if I did something wrong or what but mines not creamy its just like cake batter I had six cups of powdered sugar and didn’t have eight so I used granulated sugar as a sub but it’s still like cake batter I hand mixed at first but then used an electric mixer