Chocolate Whipped Buttercream Frosting that tastes like light chocolate whipped cream frosting. This whipped chocolate frosting is the best!
Published 8/23/13. Updated with new photos and tips 6/18/18.
I’m not much of a frosting person. So many times frostings are heavy and overly sweet. Not this Chocolate Whipped Buttercream Frosting, though.
It’s super light and fluffy – like an ultralight chocolate mousse in frosting form. And since this frosting falls in the semisweet to bittersweet chocolate range, it isn’t too sweet either.
Tips to make chocolate whipped buttercream frosting
A couple notes about this frosting – first, the cooked milk/flour mixture needs to be completely cool before continuing on. If it’s still warm, it will melt the butter, and the frosting will be too loose.
Second, don’t cut the whipping steps short. The frosting needs to be whipped on high for several minutes in order to have its ultralight texture.
Also, a reader (thanks again!) left a comment saying that chilling the frosting helped it come together for her. So, please check out the comments below the recipe.
*Note – I had several comments saying that the frosting was separating. I worked on the recipe and changed it to make it whip up easier.
More chocolate frosting recipes!
More whipped buttercream frosting recipes!
- Whipped Buttercream Frosting
- Whipped Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting
- Vanilla Bean Whipped Buttercream Frosting
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Chocolate Whipped Buttercream Frosting
Recipe for light and fluffy chocolate whipped buttercream frosting.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups salted butter at cool room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder I use Dutch-processed
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
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In a small saucepan, whisk flour and milk together until well-combined.
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Heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens.
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Remove from heat, and let it cool to room temperature.*
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Stir in vanilla.
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While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together until light and fluffy on medium high, about 5 minutes.
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Add the completely cooled milk mixture.
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Beat it for about 5 minutes on high until it looks like whipped cream. It may look separated at first, so keep beating it until it comes together and looks like a whipped cream.
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If it looks separated after about 7 minutes of whipping, cover, and chill for about 30 minutes. Then, continue whipping for about 5 minutes, or until it looks like whipped cream.
Recipe Notes
*This is key. The mixture can't be warm or it will melt the butter.
**Nutrition facts are estimates.
Vicki says
Can I use a mix of milk and heavy whipping cream?
Kate says
I haven’t tried using heavy whipping cream. However, I have heard from people who have tried using part heavy cream, and they’ve said that it worked out well for them. Hope that helps!
Isabelle Devigon-thevenot says
This butter cream is the most delicious ever,I put orange blossom instead of vanilla and it’s eventually.
Would just like to know if I could managed with even less sugar?
How icy do you think I could cut down?
Many thanks
Isabelle Devigon-thevenot says
I meant heavenly not eventually😋
Kate says
Thank you so much! I’m not sure! I would probably try cutting 1/4 of a cup and then go from there. Hope that helps! =)
Emma says
IS this recipe good on a cake
Kate says
It is! It works well on cupcakes or on cakes. =)
Mark says
I felt 1/4 c of cocoa powder didn’t five the icing a true chocolate flavor. I had increased the cocoa powder to a full cup, mixed in in incraments, to release a sock it to ya out of the world chocolate taste.
Kate says
I’m glad that you were able to make it to your liking! If you like a rich chocolate flavor in your frosting, you might like my chocolate buttercream frosting too.
Stephanie says
My daughter was baking this weekend and I asked her to try this recipe for the frosting. We loved the frosting, even though it was a touch runny (she said she probably did not let the flour-milk paste cool sufficiently). We’ll be trying it again!
Would adding powderized dry fruit (like strawberries) to make a fruit flavored frosting work instead of the cocoa powder?
Kate says
That would certainly make a difference! I’m glad that you still enjoyed it though. =) I would suggest starting with my vanilla version of this frosting, and then you can add a powdered dry fruit to it to create a fruity frosting. Please let me know if you have any questions!
Karen says
This was EXACTLY what I was looking for- a light and fluffy DELICIOUS frosting. Worth the time and worked beautifully. Thank you.
Kate says
Yay!! I’m so glad! Thank you for coming back to comment! =)
Ilka Volkmann says
I’ve been making this icing for decades and I love it. If you add the vanilla to the butter mixture and combine the cooled flour mixture one heaping tablespoon at a time, beating well between additions, it will become fluffier and won’t separate.
For those who find most icings too sweet, the texture and fluffiness of this icing won’t suffer with a modest reduction of the sugar.
Kate says
Thank you for the tip! =)
Saniyah says
I am just learning the new tips and tricks, so i wanted to know if you could use unsalted butter
Kate says
You can. If you use unsalted butter, you will want to add a pinch or two of salt to the frosting. Hope that helps! =)
Elisha says
I was skeptical of this frosting recipe because it seemed very time intensive, and I’d never heard of making the flour/milk mixture to beat into a buttercream. But man, was it worth it! As someone else mentioned, the mixture was gritty after beating the butter, sugar and cocoa, but as soon as I added in the cooled flour/milk mixture it really came together. I didn’t have any trouble with separation, and it got light and fluffy almost immediately. For good measure I still beat it for a few minutes. Thanks for sharing – this will be a new favorite when I have time for the steps!
Kate says
I’m glad that it was worth the effort! =) It definitely takes longer than a regular buttercream. Thank you for coming back to comment!
Niki S says
I followed this step by step and my icing came out liquid. Not whipped cream like at all 😞.
Kate says
Hey! Sorry to hear that! There are two things that could have gone wrong. First, either your butter or your milk/flour mixture was too warm. Second, the milk/flour mixture was too thin. It needs to be the consistency of a thick paste. If it’s too wet or watery, you’ll end up with liquid frosting. Hope that helps!