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
Robin – I cannot find espresso powder. Can I substitute instant coffee grains instead?
Hi Paul,
You can simply omit it or others have substituted with the Starbuck’s instant espresso packets (measured to equal the espresso powder) with good results. You could also use an instant coffee, but I would recommend reducing to about half of the amount of the espresso powder as I think it can leave a bit of a bitter aftertaste to the buttercream. Hope that helps! ~Robyn
Hi Robin,
Your frosting recipe looks great. i need to make a 12 x12 2 layer cake for a party. I will be filling it with some thing else how much do you think I will need. Will I be able to to smooth it and is it pipeable? if I make it on a Friday will it hold till sunday? lots of questions I know! thank you.
Hi Robyn, I can’t find espresso powder in Sri Lanka. What can use instead? Plz advise. Thank you. Can’t wait to try this recipe 🙂
Thushari.
Hello,
I LOVE the taste of this frosting. I used it to generously frost a 3 layer chocolate cake I made this week. One problem I did have was there was a bit of separation that left a whitish hue on the frosting. I probably wouldn’t make it again bc of this. Any thoughts on what might happened? I’m guessing the milk separated?
Thanks!
Hi Lisa,
I’ve not had that happen before or heard of anyone else having that issue. I’m a bit perplexed. Did you add all of your milk at once? I’m not sure why it would separate since I incorporate mine so slowly in the recipe.
I made this cake, and it was truly awesome and I can’t wait to make it again! I live in South Africa and I used Woolworth’s Hazelnut Ground Coffee and it worked great!
Mmmkay I followed this recipe to the letter and twice it has turned grainy and pale during the adding of icing sugar one cup at a time with one tablespoon of milk… Am I reading/understanding correctly that I am to beat on high between each sugar and milk addition? So at the end there will have been about 5 minutes of beating this frosting on high speed plus time beating it on low to incorporate dry and wet? Feels like it needs way less beating especially on high… why are we supposed to do it like that, is there a food science reason?
Also I assume that we only use 1 cup cocoa to 5 cups icing sugar because of the cost but if a gal wanted truly decadent chocolatey goodness with less sweet she could change that ratio to more cocoa and subtract that from the icing sugar… without consequence.
I have tried to bake a few cakes for friends few times but it never would really turn out good…always a disaster, either the cake was hard or the sugar was less.. or I got them burnt 🙁 One day I chanced upon this recipe and I said lets give it a shot!! The moment I took it from the oven it was so moist and nice…I did the ganache icing and took it to office next day to share it with my colleagues.. Trust me – everyone started asking me the recipe and even said I should get into full time baking and start taking orders…:) They thought I had ordered the cake from a shop 🙂 I havent tried the frosting tho…beacuse I used the ganache frosting on this and it was still amazing..
Gonna try the buttercream soon…Keep it up!!
Loving it!!
I made this as cupcakes this weekend. The batter seemed too thin, but I baked it and they turned out perfect! I received so many compliment on how moist the cupcakes were. Thank you!
This frosting is delicious. I used it for a chocolate cake I made. As someone else stated, this recipe makes a lot of frosting. I had 2 single layer cakes that I planned on keeping separate and just frosting one of them. So I halved the frost recipe, but I ended up with so much frosting that I just frosted both of the layers. Great recipe!
Hi.
I hope you can help, I need the recipe in metric, both this and the chocolat cake. Need it ASAP
Hi.
Have a big problem with the 3 stick of butter, what is the weight? Please help?
This should help you with conversions for butter – https://addapinch.com/cooking/cooking-conversion-charts/
You might find this conversion chart helpful — https://addapinch.com/cooking/cooking-conversion-charts/