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Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

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This easy chocolate buttercream frosting is silky chocolate perfection! Made with cocoa powder, this not too sweet frosting is perfect for any cake or cupcake!

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting topped with chocolate sprinkles on a chocolate cupcake

On Friday, I shared a recipe for Hot Chocolate Cake. But what’s a great cake without a great frosting? So, today I give you a delicious Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting spread on a chocolate sheet cake

This chocolate frosting is pretty fuss-free, and if you haven’t tried making homemade frosting, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how easy it is.

It’s a great basic, chocolate buttercream that is about as easy to make and to work with as it gets.

How do you make homemade chocolate buttercream frosting?

The most common chocolate buttercream frostings are a mixture of butter, powdered sugar, and either cocoa powder or melted chocolate. To make this frosting as easy as possible, it uses cocoa powder rather than melted chocolate.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting on a chocolate cupcake on a piece of brown parchment paper

Tips for making this frosting

  • First, beat the butter before adding in the powdered sugar.
  • Second, if your powdered sugar and/or cocoa powder are lumpy, sift them before adding them into the butter. It will help them incorporate more easily into the butter.

And, most importantly, it tastes great! If you’re looking for more great frosting recipes, check out the recipes below!

More frosting recipes!

Tools used to make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (affiliate links):

Silicone Spatula: A great all-purpose spatula is a must-have. I have two of these spatulas, and I use them for mixing, scraping, and stirring. Mine have held up well, and I like that they’re heat-resistant.

If you’ve tried this chocolate buttercream frosting recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes! You can SUBSCRIBE to receive my latest recipe newsletters or FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for even more delicious food.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This easy chocolate buttercream frosting is silky, chocolate perfection! Made with cocoa powder, this not too sweet frosting is perfect for any cake or cupcake!

Author: i heart eating
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: buttercream, chocolate, frosting
Servings: 24
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe
4.58 from 7 votes
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup salted butter at room temperature
  • 3 ½-4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tablespoons whole milk, half-and-half, or cream

Instructions

  1. With an electric mixer (either hand or stand), beat butter until pale, about 3-4 minutes on medium.
  2. Scrape down the bowl.
  3. Add 3½ cups powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of milk.
  4. Mix on low until powdered sugar and cocoa powder are incorporated.
  5. If the frosting is too dry, add another tablespoon of milk. If the frosting is too wet, add powdered sugar 2 tablespoons at a time until it reaches a spreadable consistency.

Recipe Notes

*Nutrition facts have been estimated.

Nutrition facts per serving (1g)

Calories: 141kcal
Fat: 7g
Saturated fat: 5g
Cholesterol: 20mg
Sodium: 68mg
Potassium: 31mg
Carbohydrates: 18g
Sugar: 17g
Vitamin A: 4.7%
Calcium: 0.6%
Iron: 1.4%
This easy chocolate buttercream frosting is silky, chocolate perfection! Made with cocoa powder, this not too sweet frosting is perfect for any cake or cupcake!
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  1. This frosting is sooo good. I’m so glad I found this recipe!! Thank you so much. I’m not a big baker and it was so easy!!!

    Reply

  2. Since the recipe has milk do you have to keep the cake or cupcakes in the fridge once they are frosted? I really don’t like cold cake or cold frosting. I can’t wait to try it…

    Reply

    • Great question! I’m a worrier when it comes to food safety, and I’ve looked this up because I had just that concern. Turns out that the small amount of milk in most buttercream frostings is stabilized by the sugar, which makes it safe to keep the frosting at room temperature for 2-3 days.

      Reply

  3. Wow- this was so delicious and a rest consistency for spreading and piping. I needed a double batch for my three layer 9” round cake, and that includes enough to take plenty of samples! Thanks for this!!❤️❤️❤️

    Reply

  4. Tried this recipe last night to pair with a dark chocolate cake and it was amazing!! This will be my go to chocolate buttercream frosting recipe from now on!!! I used this for the crumb coat and the piped design. Very easy to work with!! Checked on it this morning and it held up well overnight.

    Reply

    • So glad that you liked it! I don’t do much piping, so glad that it worked out well. Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment. =)

      Reply

    • You’ll probably want to make some other adjustments, too. I would add less sugar than the recipe calls for because you won’t have the bitterness of the cocoa powder to offset it, and you can also play with the amount of vanilla. Good luck!

      Reply

    • I’m so glad that you like it! I love to hear that people are enjoying my recipes. =) Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!

      Reply

  9. Two years and counting with this recipe. Never a single complaint! This is such an easy and delicious frosting. Thank you!

    Reply

  11. Made according to the recipe, it tastes like powdered sugar, not chocolate. I ended up adding extra cocoa and 1/2 and 1/2 to cut the overpowering sugar flavor, but never really achieved a rich chocolate taste. However, it was fluffy and had a great texture – perfect for spreading. More than enough to frost a two-layer 8″ cake.

    Reply

    • Yours is only the second negative comment that I’ve received on this recipe, and funny enough, the other person said that it was too chocolaty and wasn’t sweet enough. ;) Wishing you luck in finding a recipe that’s more to your taste!

      Reply

  13. I made this chocolate icing for cupcakes for Thanksgiving and it was so delicious. I had bought a pre-made icing at the store but I tasted it and it was terrible so I looked on Pinterest and found yours. I received so many compliments I will never buy icing again it’s so easy to make and taste much better. Thanks for sharing

    Reply

  17. Hi! This recipe looks great! Have you ever made it in advance and refrigerated it? I would like to make it a few days ahead and keep in a container. I know typically it just needs brought to room temp and then rewhipped. Any experience with this?

    Reply

  18. HELLO I WRITE U FROM lima peru,
    tell me please , the ingredient butter and milk are dried ingredients enough for all the quantities of cocoa and sugar?
    your recepie looks the easiest simple a speedy i saw
    congratulations
    carolina

    Reply

    • Hi! Thank you! The milk and butter aren’t dried. The milk should be fresh, liquid milk, and the butter is the kind that you can buy in sticks or blocks to bake with. I hope that helps!

      Reply

      • thank u for your reply it was my mistake i didnt mean milk and butter dried ingredients sorry lol
        Tell me it can be made the half of the recipe int that case … all the ingredients should be reduced to a half?any recomendatios or details
        carolina

        Reply

  20. How well does it hold up in the heat? I would like to use it for a cake I’m making, but it’s supposed to be really hot outdoors that weekend! Thank you for your post, and thank you in advance for your response.

    Reply

    • I don’t know that it will hold up well. It’s hot (really hot) here in the summer, and I have yet to find a buttercream recipe that won’t melt in the outdoor heat. I think it may just be the nature of buttercream because of the ingredients.

      Reply

    • Do u know thenpowder (dried egg whites sth like thos its called) add a teaspon to it it will hold its shape i promise

      Reply

  21. I just made a chocolate cake for a co workers birthday. I used your frosting recipe and it was awesome. I just wanted to thank you for sharing. It will be my go to chocolate frosting recipe from now on!

    Reply

  22. the frosting came out very nice, I think the secret is to whip that butter, I never did in the past and my frosting always turned hard, I always like learning

    Reply

  23. This frosting is AMAZING! It’s perfectly chocolatey and sweet and way better than what you would buy from the store :)

    Reply

  24. If I want to make some other flavored buttercream (strawberry or coffee or lime), how many tablespoons should I put in?

    I also don’t like too sweet buttercream frosting. I cannot wait to try this recipe.

    Thanks.

    Reply

  26. This was pretty bitter. I think the half cup of cocoa was a bit excessive in taste, and consistency since I needed way more than 3 tbsp of liquid. I was able to salvage it by adding caramel sauce and making it palatable.

    Reply

    • Yours is the first negative comment that I’ve gotten about this recipe. It sounds like you like things sweeter than I do. Glad your were able to make it work to suit your tastes.

      Reply

    • I, too, found the icing to be way to bitter for my taste.
      Kate is right, if you like things on the sweet side (I do)
      than back off the cocoa. The next time I make it I’ll start
      with 1/4 cup cocoa and go from there. I’m certain my husband
      will love it though because he’s not a sugaraholic like me.
      Thanks for sharing!

      Reply

      • I’m sorry that you found it to be too bitter. I know sweetness is definitely a matter of taste (as I find many frostings to be too sweet). I hope you find the 1/4 cup more to your liking! =)

        Reply

      • I just found your recipe and was about to ask the same question. But now I want to ask something more specific about your answer, did you mean you used it for frosting and filling the cake? Because I am making a 3 layer 9 inch cake but I am filling it with something else, I need the buttercream only for the outside of the cake, would this be enough amount?!

        Reply

        • Yes, I use it to frost and fill a 2 layer 9-inch cake. I would think that it would be enough if you’re just using it for the top and sides of the cake.

  28. Getting ready to make cupcakes and going to use this recipe for the icing. I can’t wait to taste it and decorate with it! Planning on adding chocolate covered strawberries to the top as well. Thank you for sharing your recipe!

    Reply

  31. I made some of this recently and will never buy premade frosting again. Also found a recipe for cream cheese frosting that’s just as amazing

    Reply

    • I’ve never tried to substitute coconut oil for some of the butter in a buttercream. Usually, you can substitute about 1/3 of a cup of coconut oil for 1/2 cup butter. I I’ve never tried to whip coconut oil, so I’m not sure how it will work since so much of the structure and volume are provided by the whipped butter. If you do try it, I would love for you to let me know how it works!

      Reply

    • Yes, you can use 2% milk. If you use whole milk or half-and-half, the frosting will be a little creamier. The frosting will still be just fine if you use 2 % instead. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

      Reply

        • The frosting does set up. I’m a novice when it comes to decorating, and I think it’s easy to work with. I don’t really do more than pipe with it, so I’m not sure how well it will work for anything beyond piping, though. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions.