The Best Chocolate Frosting
This easy chocolate frosting recipe is the BEST! Made with melted chocolate, it’s silky smooth, buttery, and not at all too sugary. It’s perfect for cakes, cupcakes, brownies… anything!
Where do you fall in the frosting camp? Chocolate or vanilla?
I am squarely chocolate, all day, every day. No question.
At least 10 years ago, I saw vanilla frosting made on a local morning TV segment and I’ve been adapting it ever since. Not long after seeing it, I tried my hand at this homemade chocolate frosting version using melted chocolate; I fell head over heels in love with the insanely creamy frosting with a deep chocolate flavor. Prior to that, I had only made chocolate frosting with cocoa powder and this version blew it out of the water. It’s incredibly easy to make and you’ll never look for another frosting recipe again!
How Do You Make Homemade Chocolate Frosting with Melted Chocolate?
It’s so easy!
I took my favorite vanilla frosting recipe and adapted it to make the most amazing chocolate frosting recipe you’ll ever taste. These are the simple steps:
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address, and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
- Melt your chocolate and let it cool to room temperature. I like using semisweet chocolate since it’s sort of “all-purpose”, but you can totally use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or even white chocolate, if you’d like.
- Get your butter to room temperature, then whip it with a whisk attachment for a full 5 minutes. This is crucial! It makes the frosting satiny smooth and you don’t get any of that gritty/stiff sugary texture.
- Then mix in your vanilla and powdered sugar until completely incorporated.
- Finally, pour in that melted chocolate and whip on medium-high speed for a couple of minutes, scraping as necessary, until totally combined. Try to resist eating it all with a spoon ;-)
Other Chocolate Frosting Alternatives
This is, without a doubt, my favorite chocolate frosting recipe, but there are some other variations you may want to try:
- Chocolate frosting with cocoa powder – It’s a stiffer frosting than one with melted chocolate, but my favorite version is Hershey’s perfectly chocolate frosting, which can be found alongside the Hershey’s perfectly chocolate cake recipe.
- Chocolate frosting with instant coffee – You’re in luck! My mocha cupcakes are topped with an espresso buttercream frosting, which you can easily adapt to make with this base chocolate frosting recipe if you’re looking for a mocha frosting, as well.
- Chocolate frosting with cream cheese – My chocolate dump-it cake is topped with an absolutely sublime chocolate cream cheese frosting, which I highly recommend if you like a little tang to cut the sweetness of chocolate frosting!
Whether you need a chocolate frosting for cake, cupcakes, brownies, cake pops, literally ANYTHING, this is the recipe you want to use, it will never disappoint. It frosts a cake perfectly and pipes beautifully, as well. It’s absolutely the best.
If you’re looking for a fabulous brownie recipe to put underneath this frosting, these better-than-box-mix brownies are my go-to and all-time favorite!
And that cake that’s peaking out? That’s my all-time favorite epic chocolate cake recipe, and I’ll be sharing it later this week, so stay tuned!
If You Like This Chocolate Frosting, Try These:
- 7 Minute Frosting
- Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Mocha Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting
Four years ago: Overnight Chilled Plum-Oatmeal Pudding
Six years ago: Peach Coffee Cake
Ten years ago: Panzanella
Eleven years ago: Samoas Brownie
The Best Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups (454 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 5 cups (600 g) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Instructions
- Place the chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments on 50% power, stirring after each, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, using the whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice.
- Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated. Add the melted chocolate and whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed to incorporate all of the chocolate.
- Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 4 hours before using. The frosting can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 4 days. Bring to room temperature and re-whip before using. The frosting can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before using.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on October 22, 2010.
OK, I am a little confused. You have Butter at 1 cup (8 oz.). Isn’t 1 cup of butter 16 oz.? Which amount do you use — 1 cup or 1/2 cup (8oz.)??
Barb, 1 cup of butter is 8 ounces (you can double check the measurements on the butter packaging if you’d like).
A very good frosting. I was searching for a frosting that used melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder and found this one to be easy and tasty. However, I found that a half batch was more than enough to frost 12 standard cupcakes, if I had made an ordinary batch I would’ve had at least half left over.
i have to try these!!!!!!!!!1
I never thought you could whip this type, am always beating… I will now whip instead of beating… Alas… thanks Michelle and also thanks for your response on colouring for Red Velvet. Very helpful. All i need now is someone to get me a bottle of McCormicks.
Also, if you use unsalted butter, make sure to add a pinch of salt.
This is a lovely frosting, but if you are making cupcakes from a box you will want to double it. It doesn’t make much.
This is the most amazing chocolate frosting Ive ever had! I made it for a cake and its the perfect amount for a cake…it holds up amazing and the taste is out of the world! Awesome recipe. Thank you for sharing!~Kim
Made this icing with vanilla cupcakes last night: it is amazing!!!
I’ve made numerous buttercreams, but this one takes the cake! All that whipping of the butter made is so lusciously light and creamy. I will never use another recipe for frosting again! Ty.
A tip for melted chocolate: preheat oven to 350. Turn oven OFF. Put chocolate in an oven proof bowl then into the oven for 10 min. It will be perfectly melted.
Oh my goodness! This is the best ever. Thank you!!! I used it to fill a cake and to pipe swirls onto cupcakes. I’m usually not a frosting person (I leave it on my plate) but this one is amazing!!
This was so good!! May I share the recipe on my blog for a cupcake post?
Hi Victoria, Sure, I just ask that you provide a link back to this post. Thanks!
This was soooo decadent! I didn’t even use the full amount of chocolate or butter and it was beyond delicious! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
I want to marry this frosting.
OMG awesome icing recipe! Just topped some chocolate cuppies off with it and you inspired me to use a fancy piping bag- so yummy, thanks for sharing :-)
I am about to attempt this recipe this weekend. Do I need to sift the powdered sugar first? Thanks!!!
Hi Heather, I usually don’t because it typically gets smoothed out, but if yours is particularly clumpy, it’s not a bad idea – you’ll get a smoother frosting.
I was excited to try this recipe because it looked super easy for a buttercream. The consistency was very velvety and light, but it was just not chocolatey enough for my taste. I added 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, a few tablespoons of half-and-half, and a pinch of kosher salt and it was perfect! My friends and family couldn’t stop raving about it :)
I don’t have a stand mixer, I only have a hand electric beater with just a beating attachment, no whisk attachment =(
Should I whisk the butter by hand using a normal hand whisk instead? Will it come out the same?
Hi Rida, I would go ahead and beat the butter with your handheld mixer and proceed with the rest of the recipe as indicated. It should come out just fine.
Thank you for posting this recipe. I made a chocolate cake yesterday and was looking for a great icing, so I searched Pinterest and found your recipe. The icing turned out fabulous. I have not been very successful in making buttercream icing prior to this, but it turned out great. When I incorporated the cooled melted chocolate into the icing, I forgot to turn the mixer off so my whisk hit some of the chocolate as I was pouring it into the bowl and caused it to instantley harden, which then made tiny little bitty chocolate chips to be incorporated throughout the icing; talk about serendipity. It turned out wonderful. Thanks again for such a great recipe.
This was a complete flop for me. It didn’t have much of a buttery texture nor didn’t have a chocolate taste. Just sugary. My kids liked it, but my husband and I really ddin’t like that at all. I must have done something wrong?! Should we use confectionar sugar, right?
confectioners sugar is powdered suger
Will this hold up if left at room temperature for 3-ish hours? Thanks!
Yes. Enjoy!
Thank you!
I have never once had luck with buttercream, but made this yesterday to frost the sides of a slightly wonky layered german chocolate cake.
IT. IS. PERFECT. Everyone at our Easter dinner oohed and ahhed over it.
:) Thank you, Michelle. I have had 100% success with every recipe from your collection.
Good golly this was AWESOME!! In 20+ years of home “baking” I’ve tried making buttercream exactly 3 times before this recipe, all were disappointing (hence the reason I’ve been reluctant to try it)… But this was creamy, smooth, fluffy and DELICIOUS!!! 5 Stars! THANK YOU!!!! :)
I tried this with unsweetened chocolate, and it works just fine! It gives the frosting a very rich, almost mocha note.
I just made the frosting for my cupcakes. Its really good. But it was a little light for me so I doubled the chocolate chips. Made it even better!
I was asked to bake cupcakes for a baby shower I’m attending tomorrow. And I was wondering if, when piped, the frosting stands up nice and keeps it’s shape or if it’s too soft? It looks to die for and would love to try it!!
Hi Amy, I have had great success piping this frosting, it doesn’t get soft on me. Enjoy!
Hi, I was hoping to use this frosting to make cupcakes for Easter and i would like to use a whip cream filling but i’m not sure if it would clash with the taste of the chocolate butter cream. Would this idea be a yes or no?
I don’t think it would clash, at least I can’t think of a reason why it would! Go for it!
Made this buttercream today~ IT IS THE BEST!
Great recipes!
I found this recipe while looking for a chocolate chip muffin recipe on your site and I want to try it for my son’s 1st birthday cake. I wanted chocolate buttercream icing and think I’ve found it! My question is can you use a hand mixer if you have yet to win or buy a stand mixer ;-)? Off to make your Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Muffins for the kids for breakfast before school today =)
Hi Christine, Yes you could definitely use a hand mixer!
I’ve struggled with finding a good frosting recipe for too long considering how long I have been baking, and this finally solved my problem. It’s light with almost a whipped consistency, the chocolate flavor is undeniably there but it’s not overwhelming, it’s not overly sweet and it stays fresh beautifully. Absolutely perfect frosting, thank you so much!
Thank you! I made a batch just now…and it is absolutely HEAVENLY!