Here we go! This is my favorite chocolate buttercream recipe. I’m tempted to call it a “basic” chocolate buttercream, but it’s anything but basic; it’s incredibly CREAMY, silky, smooth, and rich. Like a decadent brownie in frosting form. Melts in your mouth and tastes unbelievable on chocolate cupcakes.
Even though it’s a wonderfully creamy chocolate buttercream, it holds its shape beautifully—just as Swiss meringue buttercream does. This is simply perfect for piping even the most intricate and fancy designs.
What Tastes Best with Chocolate Buttercream?
I’ve made this chocolate buttercream more times than I can count, but I love it with:
- Yellow Cupcakes
- Coconut Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Chocolate Frosted Cookies
- Banana Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Chocolate Raspberry Cake
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
- If you scale it up, you can use it to frost a layered cake, like I do with my chocolate cake, and yellow cake
Dive into this chocolate decadence!
Help! My Chocolate Buttercream is Really Light in Color
After beating so much air into the mixture, chocolate buttercream can lighten up in color. Of course this doesn’t change the flavor at all, but if you want it a little darker, I have a tried-and-true trick.
Take 1 cup of the prepared buttercream (you can just eyeball it, a little less than half). Place it in a heatproof bowl. Microwave it for 10 seconds. This loosens the mixture up and helps the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder combo absorb more of the liquid. Place that back into the big bowl of frosting and stir it in by hand. The frosting should be smoother, and darker in color.
More Favorite Frostings
- Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
- White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Cream Cheese Frosting & Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Black Chocolate Buttercream Frosting which tops these Black Velvet Cupcakes
Favorite Chocolate Buttercream
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2.5 cups
- Category: Frosting
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is my favorite chocolate buttercream recipe. It’s incredibly rich, creamy, silky, smooth, and easy to work with for decorating cakes and cupcakes!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 and 1/2 cups (420g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup (41g) unsweetened natural or dutch-process cocoa powder
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream or milk, at room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 1 full minute. Add 1/4 cup more confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder if frosting is too thin or another Tablespoon of cream if frosting is too thick. Taste. Beat in another pinch of salt if desired.
- Use immediately or cover tightly and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator then beat the frosting on medium speed for a few seconds so it’s creamy again. After thawing or refrigerating, beating in a splash of heavy cream or milk will help thin the frosting out again, if needed.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand)
- Quantity: This recipe makes enough to frost 12–16 cupcakes or a thin layer on a 9×13-inch quarter sheet cake. For a 2-layer cake, follow the ratios from this chocolate cake. For a 3- or 4-layer cake, follow the ratios from this piñata cake.
And here is my favorite vanilla buttercream recipe!
Reader Comments and Reviews
Just made the buttercream frosting, and my family loved it. Used it to frost a 4 layer marble cake.
Super delicious, and so creamy! Due to dairy intolerance, I substituted 1/2 vegan margarine and 1/2 Crisco shortening, and used coconut milk. Worked perfectly, and I’ll use this recipe as my go-to from now on! Thanks!!!
Thank you Cathy, you gave just the information I was looking for. I’m making chocolate cake for our friends for Valentine’s Day!
Giving credit where credit is due: this is a definite go to recipe. 5 minutes with handy ingredients and you have a silky, delicious, cooperative and freezable buttercream. Thank you!
I would adore this recipe if I could get that silky texture but mine is granulated and I can taste sugar in spite of processing the sugar. I added half a teaspoon of milk but it didn’t get absorbed into it. Do tell me what to do
Hi Sarah! Are you using icing sugar? It sounds like you are processing the granulated sugar itself. It may not be powdery enough. Can you get your hands on icing sugar/confectioners’ sugar?
Delicious frosting! Instead of vanilla extract I added a little oil and chocolate sauce because we ran out of the vanilla extract. So good!
Really rich and decadent, goes amazingly well with the super moist chocolate cupcakes! A keeper!
Sally, I absolutely adore this chocolate frosting, and have made it several times. This time, I need to make ahead and will store in the fridge for 2 days before I need frost my cupcakes. How long should it set out of the fridge before recreating it, I assume it needs to come to room temp.
Thanks,
Michelle V
Depending on the temperature where you live about an hour on the counter should bring it back to room temperature. Give it a mix before you use it!
Just absolutely fantastic. Quite literally the best chocolate frosting I have ever tasted, and everyone that tastes this agrees. Thank you for such a great recipe!!!
Came out so good! Next time I might use a little less confectioners sugar but it’s so yummy, pretty and easy.
Perfect and absolutely delicious. I used dark chocolate cocoa powder. Amazing!! Thanks Sally!
This is the best chocolate buttercream!
This is the only buttercream recipe that I manage to follow successfully and it taste really good. I used it for cupcakes and also for a two layer cake that got rave reviews.
I am gonna try your vanilla buttercream next.
This is some seriously good icing! Mine turned out a few shades lighter than Sally’s but it’s still delicious (I think the lighter color is because I whipped the butter longer than 2 minutes – until it was super fluffy and white) You know it’s tasty when my hubby, who prefers cool whip icing, says “That icing is GOOD.”
Hi Sally,
I’m looking for a white choc frosting recipe to add to your vanilla naked cake – what would you suggest? Hoping to make it for my Grandma’s 80th Birthday!
Hi Holly! Here is my white chocolate frosting recipe. I recommend that you 1.5x the recipe to guarantee you have enough for the vanilla naked cake. What a wonderful celebratory cake!
I just made this frosting a few minutes ago for cupcakes which are currently cooling. Oh my goodness this recipe is PERFECTION!! I’d like to note a couple of things since they were just mentioned recently: I only had half-and-half on hand and it worked out great. I also had Special Dark cocoa powder and that worked great as well. That cocoa powder is a blend of natural and “Dutched” cocoa, and it makes the frosting turn out to be a really really dark, nearly grey-black colour.
I sifted my confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder together before adding it to the butter, and the result is a frosting smoother than a new-born baby’s soft sweet little face!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Do you think I can ice the cupcakes the night before and it will still be good for the next day?
Yes, they should be fine overnight! Enjoy 🙂
Hi Sally. I made this frosting just now to frost cupcakes with, and while it tastes great, it’s not as dark as yours. I want it to be darker because it just looks more decadent. I used natural unsweetened cocoa. Any suggestions?
If it tastes great then you didn’t do anything wrong! It’s possible it’s just the lighting in the pictures! If you want a super dark chocolate frosting you can try using special dark cocoa.
Made a double batch and it’s SO GOOD. Brownie batter in frosting form is a perfect description! Only thing I didn’t double was vanilla because I don’t like overwhelming flavor. I will never need another chocolate buttercream recipe, this is “the one”
Could I use regular cocoa powder or is it better with the unsweetened?
Unsweetened is best.
Perfect as written. 1 1/2 batches (with leftovers) generously frosts 24 cupcakes. A note about pastry bags – for the first time I didn’t use a disposable bag and won’t go back! Frosting no longer melts and I didn’t feel in such a rush. Thank you for a delicious recipe.
This is the first time I’ve made frosting from scratch instead of buying pre-made.
I will never buy store bought again. This is to die for! It’s not even in the same stratosphere. So, so delicious and easy to make! Thanks for the recipe!
This is the best chocolate buttercream in the whole world. Thank you Sally