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
I made a gluten-free chocolate cake for my granddaughter’s birthday as per her request. This is the frosting I decided on because it looked like it would make enough to decorate a cake with maybe some left over. I have to tell you that we thought this was absolutely delicious! It went so well with the King Arthur Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake mix (I know—-a box cake, but it was really good!). This will be added to my recipe box! Thank you so much!!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed the frosting, Marianne!
I hope your granddaughter had a great birthday! Sometime when you feel like baking, I hope you try my Best Chocolate Cake Ever – I have instructions with it to make it gluten-free if you want. 😉
Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the frosting! xo
Can this frosting be made a couple days ahead of time? If so, how would I store it? Thanks!
Hi Jackilyn,
You can refrigerate or freeze this frosting. If you refrigerate it, it’s good in the fridge for about 3 – 5 days. Just make sure you store it in an airtight container. If you want to freeze it, put in a freezer safe, airtight food storage container and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use after freezing, remove from freezer and place it in the fridge overnight to thaw. Right before you get ready to frost your cake, allow the frosting to come to room temperature and mix it well again to make it fluffy before using.
Hope this helps! Thanks so much
Hi, I want the icing to be less sweeter! 5 cups icing sugar feels too sweet for me. Any tips to make it less sweeter and still have a perfect consistency?
Just don’t add as much sugar! It sounds simple and it really is, the consistency is perfect as long as you add one cup of sugar and one tablespoon milk at a time.
Is the butter unsalted or salted? Thank you
I like to use salted butter, Amie. Hope you enjoy it! xo
I made this with 3 cups of sugar and used kefir instead of milk, it turned out perfectly!
This frosting is delicious! I am a newbie at baking and this was my second attempt at making buttercream frosting (different recipes). I will admit I omitted the 5th cup of sugar after tasting the frosting after the 4th cup of sugar and liked the level of sweetness. I also used Orange extract in place of the Vanilla because I really wanted a chocolate orange frosting, and guess what…. it was the best frosting I have ever tasted! This will be my go to recipe from now on. I do think the espresso really does give the chocolate a little umph. So good!
Ohhh my goodness! I’m SO glad I tried out this recipe; I paired it with your chocolate cake! It was chocolate heaven, and was so good, it felt almost sinful. I recommend you follow the directions, otherwise, the frosting will be a bit dense, and you will end up with small clusters of cocoa powder. Instead of regular vanilla, I used a pricier bourbon-vanilla, and it was on point! I agree with what the author said, this recipe is not for the faint of chocolate heart. This is a decadent, dense, rich, well-rounded (not too sweet), chocolat cake. Thank you, very much, for these two (chocolat cake and chocolate buttercream) recipes.
Wow, I hope you replace all the ingredients I destroyed following your recipe, Ms. Robyn! (Lol. Just kidding folks! Please read on. We got us a winner here!)
Sorry. My opening line is usually what I scream out when I try a new recipe and it fails miserably! Now. E-U-R-E-K-A!!! The culinary arts inclined recipe web surfer has to look no further as an impossible to fail winner can be found preceding the comment section!
I am so happy I went with your suggestion and not the others I previously perused in my online quest.
I am a recently divorced guy and had a layer of Hershey’s Secret chocolate cake wrapped up in my freezer and decided to pull it out and frost it for a simple dessert for when I entertain myself tonight.
For the sake of limited stock in my cupboards, I reduced your recipe by 2/3rds and used 3/4 stick of margarine and 1/4 stick of butter in place of the butter requirement.
As my divorce was so cordial and I escaped with barely the clothes on my back, I no longer have a stand-up mixer or a hand mixer, nor whisk, so I creamed the butter with the cocoa powder (after powder was first mixed to reduce any lumps) with a tablespoon and old plastic pitcher!
When I got to the point of close to total mixing of the butter, oleo, and cocoa, I used a rubber spatula to scrape the pitcher’s sides and fold the base mix into a smooth, creamy, uniform color. (Do not be tricked by appearances! Butter and cocoa absolutely do not have anything close to the taste of the final product and my mouth was shocked by my mistake, so please resist the urge to impulsively sample production at this initial combining stage!) This same folding technique worked like a charm for the balance of the recipe.
I’m sorry for all the twists and turns in my tale, but I am sure people will know my honesty in assessing your recipe as the best chocolate butter cream frosting, not only in flavor and texture, but also in ease of actual execution. (My most primitive kitchen was no hindrance to successful completion of a heavenly confectionary creation.)
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your submission, as without your recipe, I may not have had the confidence or ambition to tackle one of the other recipes I found online.
Tonight I stand proudly reassured that not everything I attempt will fail.
Wow, Bernie, I am so impressed with how you made this frosting! I am thrilled that you enjoyed it as well! Thanks for the fun comment! 🙂
Can I use instant coffee instead, since I can’t find powdered espresso?
Hi, do you think this would make enough for 24 cupcakes?
It will depend on how much frosting you like, but it may be enough. If not, just make another batch of the frosting. Hope you enjoy it, Jemma! xo
Okay. I will be 69 next month, and I have been baking cakes since I was a teenager. A sweet-a-holic, I am always looking for a better cake recipe, and over the years I have found a few favorites. As a skeptic, I usually trend with recipes from the well-known cooks on the television programs, but their recipes generally entail hard to find ingredients, and they are labor intensive. Now that I have reached my “senior” years, I still want more of the best in recipes, but without all the effort. Valentine’s Day is day after tomorrow, and I wanted to prepare a cake for my wife. She loves chocolate! I quickly found your “best ever chocolate cake” while browsing the internet, and I baked one this afternoon while my wife was out doing her “Meals On Wheels.” She was so happy to see the cake when she came home. We just had a slice after dinner, and WE have to agree, IT IS THE BEST! Thank you for the work you put into making this recipe available through your “add a pinch.”
Ken,
You have no idea how much your kind comment means to me! I love that you baked the cake for your sweet wife and that you both enjoyed it! I hope that you and your wife have a special Valentine’s Day. I am so happy to have you here! Thanks again! 🙂
Wow!! Soooooo good! I am vegan so I used earth balance and almond milk and this is the best tasting buttercream I’ve ever had – vegan or nonvegan. Everyone was amazed by both the flavor and consistency.
I made your strawberry syrup and strawberry buttercream and was equally impressed.
I can’t thank you enough! My son (who has a severe dairy allergy) would also thank you but he is too busy licking the mixing bowl clean 🙂
Looking forward to trying other veganizable recipes you have on your site!!
I am so happy this and the other recipes worked so well for your son and your family, Lisa! Thank you so much for sharing this with me! So glad to have you here! xo
Hi! Can I substitute the milk for heavy cream?