Fluffy and smooth with a lovely chocolatey flavour, this is how to make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting! Follow along with the quick recipe video (below recipe). Use this buttercream to frost cakes and cupcakes – it can be piped, spread and used to sandwich cake layers!
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Fluffy and chocolatey, buttercream frosting is a classic favourite for smothering over cakes and cupcakes. This Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is:
✅ Perfect for piping – it holds its shape with swirls, roses etc
✅ Can be used for sandwiching between cake layers – it won’t ooze out everywhere like cream when you cut into the cake
✅ Fluffy, creamy, luscious and buttery. Totally indulgent and will rival any high end bakery!
How to make Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Buttercream frosting is not hard to make but it does take time – and an electric mixer or stand mixer. The key is beating, beating, beating – for at least 6 minutes, usually 7 to 8 minutes.
The longer you beat, the fluffier it is and the smoother it is.
Beat, beat, beat!
Other than beating, the only other tip I have for a beautiful classic buttercream frosting is to use the right butter to icing sugar (powdered sugar) ratio. Too much sugar to butter = gritty frosting. Too little, and it just tastes like butter.
Go forth and enjoy! – Nagi x
Use this Chocolate Buttercream Frosting for:
-
Chocolate Cupcakes – no stand mixer required for these incredible cupcakes!
-
Chocolate Cake – the BEST everyday chocolate cake, ever!
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Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 200g / 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 1/2 cups soft icing sugar / powdered sugar , sifted (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder , unsweetened, preferably Dutch Processed, sifted(Note 3)
- 1/4 cup milk (any)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attached. Beat for 3 minutes on speed 7 until it becomes pale.
- Add half the icing sugar and cocoa powder. Beat for 3 minutes - start slow, increase to speed 7.
- Add remaining icing sugar and cocoa powder. Beat again for 3 minutes.
- Add milk and vanilla if using. Beat again for 1 minute on speed 7.
- Spread onto cakes / cupcakes, or spoon into frosting bag and pipe.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
BY POPULAR DEMAND…. Dozer photo added!! I didn’t have one in this recipe because it was an extra recipe for the Chocolate Cupcakes. Gasp shock horror! Better fix it! 🙂
Hi nagi
Absolutely love all your recipes and I am sure this one would be no different. However I am a bit confused regarding the soft icing sugar. Would the superfine icing sugar from the brand SIS be considered a soft icing sugar?
Hi nagi, Absolutely love all your recipes and I am sure this one would be no different. Just a bit of a question regarding soft icing sugar since I am a bit confused.
Would superfine icing sugar from the brand SIS be considered a soft icing sugar ?
I’m making this tonight, quick question, has anyone made it dairy free? I’m thinking to just swap butter with dairy free Marg and substitute almond milk for the milk.
Any hints?
I made this yesterday, and even my “I don’t eat cake” husband liked it. It’s really yummy.
There are so many brands of “Dutch processed” cocoa out there, what brand would you recommend?
Simple, Chocolate, Delicious! Another winner! Thank you Nagi
I used this frosting with your vanilla cake recipe. I typically do not like frosting because it’s usually too sweet. This was so smooth, so chocolatey, and not too sweet.
Excellent recipe! I followed your directions and the mirror glaze was glossy and lasted until the cake was all eaten up! I love the details you add and easy to follow directions.
Thank you!!
Just made this delicious buttercream this morning to frost 3 large 32 x 21cm family-sized chocolate cakes. Made 3 separate quantities, icing each cake as soon as I had completed a batch. The quantity gives a very generous amount for a family size cake and it was absolutely delicious. Keep the cakes as cool as possible if you aren’t refrigerating them. I wasn’t too sure about making my icing the night before. Has anyone done this ahead?
Hey!
I really want to try this for Christmas. I’m scaling this recipe up by 50% for your chocolate cake recipe like it mentioned, but i find it so hard to measure the ingredients, such as “0.38” cup milk. Do you have solutions?
Thank you!
Click on metric then weigh the ingredients, this is what I do when I am scaling up/down 🙂
Love your recipes! So easy to follow and fail safe too! Choc buttercream worked a treat and tasted great too. Congratulations on the book too! I’ve added to my Christmas list!
I’ve just tried this recipe and it seems to have separated and it looks like it’s oozing. Where did I go wrong?
Im making 2 cakes instead of one,what is best to sandwich together, I will put choc butter cream.I on top.
Nagi I love you!! I just went to make this recipe and realised I was out of cocoa powder. I checked your notes and of course you have an option for chocolate instead. Thank you! This recipe is delicious, as is everything I have every made of yours.
Can I store them at room temp rather than in the fridge? Thanks again.
This is a P.S. to my earlier question. If I can make the frostings a day ahead can I store them at room temp rather than in the fridge? Thanks again.
Can I make both the chocolate and vanilla buttercream a day ahead and fridge them?
This frosting seems to have caused a heart attack on my first use of Kitchenaid mixer! Finished it in the Thermomix. Worked far better!
Hello I love this recipe it was absolutely a winner when I made it for my family. I was wondering what the recipe was for normal vanilla buttercream do I just substitute the cocoa powder with icing sugar?
My vanilla buttercream can be found here: https://www.recipetineats.com/my-very-best-vanilla-cake/ N x
Hi Nagi. Thanks for your great recipes; especially the detail instructions. Your site is always my go to.
I made the chocolate buttercream today along with the ‘best chocolate cake ever’. I didn’t have enough soft icing sugar so made up difference (about 1/3) of pure icing sugar. Could this be the reason the buttercream seems a bit grainy?
Yes Georgia – the pure icing sugar hardens up a bit and doesn’t stay soft like the icing sugar mixture. N x
omg nagi I am such a big fan of your recipes your the best my friend Will took a photo with u
I made this chocolate buttercream alongside the chocolate cake recipe and it was so delicious everyone could not believe I had made it! I doubled the ingredients as I was making quite a big cake, so I made two thick sponges both measuring 9 inches wide and baked them for roughly an hour on the temperature recommended- as they were bigger sponges than the standard recipe therefore a longer cook time but it still came out perfectly soft, fluffy and not too chocolate yet or sweet at all. The recipes provided by Nagi are truly the best I have come across!! I don’t bake often but when I do reciptineats is my go to, I have made her vanilla sponge recipe which really does stay moist for 4 days! My husband was actually surprised the cake tasted so good as it was for his birthday, and he is a very picky eater so that is saying a lot! I felt compelled to write a review on here because it was my first time making this and this is a foolproof method for the perfect chocolate cake. Thank you Nagi for sharing!!
Hello Nagi, can you use Icing mixture (Icing sugar with starch) in stead of Icing sugar?
I always use Soft Icing Mixture (icing sugar with starch added, called confectioner’s sugar in North America) when making frostings. Pure icing sugar can be clumpy and it hardens up forming a crust. It is better for decorative icings like Royal Icing that need to harden. If you only can get pure icing sugar then you need to be sure it is very fresh and well sifted and just know that you will still get the crust when it sets. N x
That is fabulous, Fab!!! N x