Perfect Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe
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Chocolate buttercream frosting is an essential recipe. Rich, soft, creamy, and delicious, my recipe for chocolate buttercream is easy to make and simple to pipe and decorate for cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts. It is the best I’ve ever tasted and pairs perfectly with my favorite chocolate cake recipe.
Why I Love This Recipe
This recipe has a rich chocolate taste and a smooth and creamy texture. Made from just six simple ingredients, this buttercream frosting comes together quickly. This recipe yields enough to frost a three-layer cake or three dozen cupcakes beautifully. It stores well if I need to make it ahead.
Ingredients to Use & Why
You’ll need these ingredients to make this frosting.
- Butter – Use softened butter for the creamiest frosting. If you use butter that has not been properly softened, the butter will not mix appropriately with the other ingredients for the frosting.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder—The chocolate flavor in this frosting comes from the cocoa powder. You can use natural or Dutch-processed. You can also use raw cacao powder if you prefer. Cacao powder is pure cacao bean powder and is less processed than either natural or Dutch-processed. You may choose to use a bit less cacao powder, as it can have a richer taste.
- Confectioner’s sugar (also called powdered sugar and icing sugar) adds sweetness to the finished frosting. Since confectioner’s sugar is a fine-grain sugar, it combines easily with the other ingredients for the creamiest texture.
- Milk—Whole milk, heavy cream, or half-and-half have a higher fat content than reduced-fat milk. This adds creaminess and stability to the frosting. Make sure that the milk used is at room temperature. Cold milk can separate and cause the frosting to have a grainy texture.
- Vanilla extract—Use pure vanilla extract rather than vanilla flavoring for the best flavor. I love to use my homemade vanilla extract (such a simple recipe!).
- Espresso powder – While optional, I highly recommend adding espresso powder to chocolate recipes. Like vanilla extract brings out the flavor in sweet recipes, espresso powder further enhances the chocolate flavor in chocolate recipes. It is easy to make your own and is available in many grocery stores, cooking supply stores, or online.
How to Make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is incredibly easy to make and takes about 10 minutes from start to finish!
- Beat the cocoa powder and butter until creamy. Whisk through the cocoa powder in a large bowl to remove any lumps. Add the softened butter and cream together until well combined and creamy.
- Add the sugar and milk. Alternately mix in the confectioner’s sugar and the milk. After each addition, mix on HIGH speed for about a minute. This is a key step and makes the frosting fluffy and delicious!
- Add vanilla extract and espresso powder. Mix in the vanilla and espresso powder until well combined.
How to Tell When Buttercream Frosting is Done
Swipe a kitchen spoon back and forth through the buttercream frosting. It is ready if it is fluffy, creamy, smooth, and holds shape. If too dry? Add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. If too wet? Add more confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until the frosting holds its form.
Thankfully, this chocolate buttercream comes together quickly and makes plenty to frost a three-layer cake or three dozen cupcakes beautifully.
Storage Tips
Refrigerator: Place frosting in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 5 days. Once ready to use, remove from the refrigerator and allow to reach room temperature, then whisk well to fluff the frosting.
Freeze: Place frosting in an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Once ready to use, place in refrigerator overnight to thaw, then remove from fridge for a short time prior to use as described previously and whisk to fluff the frosting.
Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
More Favorite Frosting Recipes
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Here’s my Perfect Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe. I can’t wait to hear how you love it.
Perfect Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (339 g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (84 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 cups (567.5 g) confectioner’s sugar
- ½ cup (113.5 g) milk, whole, half and half, or heavy cream preferred
- 2 teaspoons (9 g) vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (1 g) espresso powder
Instructions
- Add cocoa powder to a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Whisk through to remove any lumps.
- Cream together butter and cocoa powder until well-combined.
- Add confectioner's sugar to a large bowl. Whisk through to remove any lumps. Alternatively, you may sift the confectioner's sugar into the large bowl. Add the confectioner's sugar and milk to the cocoa mixture by adding 1 cup of confectioner's sugar followed by about a tablespoon of milk. After each addition has been combined, turn the mixer onto a high speed for about a minute. Repeat until all sugar and milk have been added.
- Add vanilla extract and espresso powder and combine well.
- If frosting appears too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency. If it appears to wet and does not hold its form, add more confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Robyn- have loved your recipes, thanks for sharing! I was wondering if you use salted or unsalted butter for frosting and for the cake. Thanks
Hi Carolyn,
I know that professional bakers usually recommend using unsalted butter in their baking. However, I just about always uses salted butter in all of my cooking and baking. It has a longer shelf (refrigerator) shelf life and such a better flavor to me. I hope that helps! xo
Do you use real butter?
Absolutely!
Which brand of cocoa works best for you? Thanks!!
What brand of unsweetend cocoa do you prefer?
Robyn – awesome recipe! Thanks!!!
Question: should this be refrigerated?
I do not normally refrigerate my cakes with buttercream frosting unless it is very hot (Georgia summers!) and humid (did I mention Georgia summers?). 🙂
This is one of the best icing recipes I’ve ever tried! Super easy and everybody who tastes it says it is amazing! Now my go to recipe.
I’m so glad you love it, Aly! xo
I looked up esspresso powder subs bc I don’t have any and it says instant coffee. I read that instant coffee is bitter? Is Maxwell house coffee for the coffee pot considered instant? I don’t want my cake and icing to taste like coffee at all though so should I even use it?
Hi Nicole,
Instant coffee will be in granules that instantly melted in water for coffee. There are a few brands of it. I personally thought that using instant coffee (or coffee at all) gave the cake (and frosting) a bitter aftertaste and made the cake have too much of a coffee flavor for what I wanted in my chocolate cake. Espresso powder, when just the right amount is used, doesn’t give a coffee flavor, but does enhance the chocolate. If you don’t have espresso powder, you can omit it. I hope that helps!
I have used 1 tablespoon of regular black brewed coffee in place of the espresso powder and some of the milk and it turns out amazing . 🙂
I made this frosting without the espresso powder. It was for a GF Birthday cake and I knew my daughter wouldn’t care for the coffee flavor. I was looking for a good Chocolate butter frosting. At first I thought ‘wow’ this recipe has an awful lot of butter, but I was looking for a recipe that was more than just ordinary so I thought that might be the trick. I wasn’t disappointed, the only way to describe the taste was rich and smooth. This recipe is a keeper. How it taste with the espresso powder couldn’t do anything but make it more delicious. P.s. I also used unsweetened almond milk to replace the regular milk. I followed directions exactly as stated alternating powder sugar and milk turning up my mixer to high each time to mix it well. FYI….I froze extra frosted cupcakes, worked just fine.
I love this frosting recipe, thanks for sharing.:)
I’m so glad you enjoy it, Allison.
Delicious flavor and texture. Any suggestions for storing if made in advance? Also if too MCI does it freeze well?