This classic Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe is the only chocolate buttercream recipe that you will ever need. It tastes amazing, pipes beautifully, and has been our go-to chocolate buttercream for years!
You are going to LOVE how easy this chocolate frosting is to make. Throw that canned chocolate frosting in the trash, it won’t taste good to you anymore!
What Cakes Taste Great with Chocolate Frosting?
This Classic Chocolate Buttercream is silky smooth, has a fantastic chocolate flavor, and it is the perfect complement to SO many flavors of cakes and cupcakes!
We love it as a filling or frosting for so many of our cake recipes, including:
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cake
Classic Chocolate Cupcakes, and many more.
What I’m realizing in making this list of cakes that pair well with chocolate frosting is that I want to put every cake on the list! Haha.. that’s when you know you have a good frosting (or maybe I just like chocolate a little too much).
This Chocolate Frosting is Perfectly Pipeable
This Chocolate Frosting recipe should give you a nice medium consistency, making it perfect for piping. Whether you’re making buttercream ruffles, buttercream roses, or piping pretty scrolls or borders, this frosting couldn’t be simpler to work with.
You’ll have a bit of wiggle room when it comes to the amount of sugar and liquid. For a thicker frosting, mix in more confectioners sugar. For a softer frosting, add a bit more milk. I also prefer to use whole milk rather than skim or 1% as it gives a richer flavor and a lighter crust when it sets.
Other Chocolate Frostings to Try…
We have a couple of other delicious chocolate frostings in our recipes section! Our Fluffy Chocolate Buttercream recipe is similar to this classic chocolate buttercream, as it is a crusting recipe which is great for piping. The difference is that it contains shortening, which makes it more heat resistant.
It’s always nice to have a heat friendly option for those hot summer days. Just remember that no frosting is 100 percent heat-proof. Shortening based frostings will hang in there for a bit longer though! You can find the recipe here: Fluffy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.
Next, if you are looking for something even more rich, you will also love our Chocolate Ganache Frosting in the Recipes section! If you’ve never tried ganache, it is a decadent mixture of chocolate and cream. Hop on over for the details!
Click Here to Save this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe to Pinterest!
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
The most delicious and simple Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe! This chocolate frosting pipes great also.
Ingredients
- 3 sticks (339g) unsalted butter, softened (do not soften butter in the microwave)
- 9 cups powdered sugar (icing sugar in UK) (1034g) more if needed. ** For cupcakes, I like to use 8 c. (920g) for a softer frosting
- 1 1/2 cups unsweeteded cocoa (124 grams) (not Dutch processed, measure then sift
- 1/2 cup milk (121 grams) more if needed to reach the spreading consistency you like
- 2 teaspoons vanilla (12 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt (6g) we like the finer grain of plain popcorn salt
Instructions
Add butter and mix on low to medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla and blend into the butter. Add powdered sugar, salt, and cocoa powder.
Add most of the milk. Begin mixing at low speed so you won't have a cloud of powdered sugar in your kitchen. Continue to mix adding remaining milk as needed. It may take 5 to 6 minutes to reach the smoothness and consistency you like. It will take longer if using a hand mixer. As you mix the frosting will become very smooth. You can add additional milk (1 Tablespoon at a time) if the frosting is too thick or additional powdered sugar if too soft.
This is my favorite chocolate frosting! Recipe can easily be doubled or halved.
This recipe makes approximately 6 cups of frosting.
That’s all for now! Don’t you just want to dive into a bowl of chocolate buttercream? Ahhhhh….so good. We think that you’ll love this Classic Chocolate Frosting!
Make sure to check out our full collection of favorite tried and true cake and frosting recipes in our Recipes Section!
If you are interested in learning more about cake decorating, don’t miss our Free Cake Tutorials section, which also includes a Free Cake Video Tutorial Section.
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Hi I made this recipe twice, both times, the frosting looked dry not glossy. What can I do to make it moist
Hi Regina, If your buttercream is too stiff, add additional milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it reaches the smoothness you like. Also, when making you could reduce the powdered sugar from 6 cups to 5 for a softer buttercream. If it becomes too soft, add more powdered sugar.
Hello! I’ve been trying to make buttercream that looks and tastes as smooth as yours and I keep failing… although it tastes ok, you can feel the powdered sugar between your teeth… if that makes sense…
What am I doing wrong? Could it be the mixer tool I’m using? I always use the whisk… should I be using the k tool or something…
Hey Mihaelia! I always sift my powdered sugar before mixing, this helps my icing with the lumps and grit. Hope this works for you!
Hi Mihaelia, I’m sorry I missed your question when you posted in April. If your powdered sugar is feeling gritty, the problem is with the brand you are using. It should be 100% pure cane sugar. If your package just says powdered sugar, then it is powdered sugar made from beets. If you are near a Costco, their brand is pure cane sugar. We also have success with Dominoes brand. We were once able to use Dixie Crystals and their label did state pure cane sugar but something has now changed in their formulation. We think they increased the anti-caking agent in the product and this resulted in giving it a gritty taste. I do not know what brands are available to you, but experiment with another brand and I hope it will give you a good result. Let us know.
Hi
What brand of cocoa did you use in this recipe.
Hi Jackie, We used Ghirardelli 100% unsweetened cocoa, but your favorite unsweetened cocoa will be fine also.
Can you use heavy cream instead of milk ?
Hi Kristen, Yes, you can
Thank you ! Is this enough for a ? 3 layer cake or do I need to double it
Thank you ! Is this enough for a ? 3 layer cake or do I need to double it
Hi Kristen, To be sure you have enough for filling and frosting and piping borders I would increase the recipe by 1/2. That would be :
3 sticks butter
9 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups cocoa, measure then sift
1/3 cup plus 3 Tablespoons milk or cream, more if needed to have the spreading consistency you like
3 teaspoons vanilla
You say in comments to decrease powdered sugar from 6 to 5 cups if too stiff. The recipe says 9 cups??? Is that correct
Hi Sheila, Thanks for pointing that out. This recipe originally used 6 cups powdered sugar. After comments that it was not quite enough for the piping that some bakers wanted on their cake, we increased the recipe by half. We overlooked changing the working in the info that preceded the recipe. I have removed that. The recipe is correct as written.
Can I use confectioners sugar instead of icing sugar
Hi – what type of milk do you recommend? Can I use 2% milk, or do I need to use whole milk?
Hi Emily, We usually use whole milk but you also can use 2% .