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.
PrintCreamy 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
I can’t wait to try this! Going to make tomorrow for my hubby’s birthday cake. I am making 2 layer, 9in cakes. I was thinking I need to double this then. Do you think that would be right or one batch should be good?
Pure magic!! I had my own cake decorating and “confectionery arts” business for many years and I have to say, in more than 55 years baking and icing cakes, I have never tried an easier, faster, better textured or better flavored fudgy chocolate icing. Absolute perfection.
Thank you so much!! So glad you enjoyed this!
Can’t I use heavy cream in this recipe rather than water? I was hoping for a chocolate version of your Perfect Buttercream Frosting and I think the cream instead of milk was what made it really good.
You could use warm heavy cream instead, but you will need to add more, as the cream is much thicker than water. It will work, but I promise the water works perfect!
This is the best icing I have ever tasted!! I ate more of the icing than I would like to say!! It was incredible!! Thanks for making this recipe!!
Can I leave vanilla extract and can I not use mixer I can mix by hand.
Please tell
I mixed by hand and it was delicious!!
Can I leave vanilla extract.
Can I do hand mixing
Will this recipe come out nicely
If using Vanilla Almond unsweetened milk do you warm the milk?
I’m making the Creamy Chocolate Frosting at this time for my daughter birthday cake.
yes
would this work with vanilla almond milk instead of water?
Yes, should be fine 🙂
How many cupcakes does this frost… and with a cake does it frost a two layer cake and 13 x 9 cake or more…
It will frost a layer cake 🙂 And it will frost 24 cupcakes with a piped swirl 🙂 More if you spread it!
best chocolate frosting recipe I’ve tried!
Awesome!!