Everyone needs a “go-to” chocolate frosting and this is now mine! One of the most popular recipes on Our Best Bites is this vanilla Perfect Cupcake Frosting and Filling. Its velvety smooth texture combined with the not-so-sugary bite is perhaps the perfect thing on top of almost any cake or cupcake. One of the most commonly asked questions on that post is, “Where’s the chocolate version??!!” I experimented a lot with adding chocolate to that recipe without much luck. I came up with a lot of things that tasted amazing, but there were always slight problems with the consistency. I knew I had seen similar recipes in chocolate before but I couldn’t seem to find one until one of you dear readers pointed me to a recipe on Sugar Plum. Sure enough, it was just what I was in search of! I adapted the recipe slightly by using plain ol’ salted butter and omitting added salt. And then I added extra chocolate to get a richer color and flavor. Once you try this chocolate frosting you’ll be hooked!
Ingredient Notes
- Sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Milk
- Butter
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to Make Chocolate Frosting
- The recipe starts by cooking flour, milk, sugar, and cocoa powder in a sauce pan until it thickens, much like the first step in the beloved white frosting. You’ll strain the mixture so you don’t end up with icky flour lumps in your frosting, because who wants icky flour lumps in their frosting??
- While that mixture is cooling off, melt some chocolate chips in the microwave. I found this to be the key to having the frosting remain stable- the melted chocolate seems to bind it. Then we whip real butter with our chilled chocolate mixture until it’s light and fluffy.
- At this point it’s much like the results of just adding cocoa powder to the white frosting. But the secret is adding in the melted chocolate. Isn’t chocolate always the secret?? Whip that up and then give it a taste. If you want a richer chocolate flavor just add more cocoa powder. I added about 4 Tablespoons extra to get my frosting looking and tasting like this (I also found the color of the frosting darkened as it sat). It pipes beautifully, and tastes amazing!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store unused frosting in fridge and bring to room temperature before using again. If needed, beat with an electric beater before using.
- Note that the longer this frosting sits, the darker it appears. For darker, more intense flavor, use a chocolate chip with a higher cocoa content.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! There is enough here to generously frost 24 cupcakes or to frost and fill an 8 or 9 inch 2-layer cake.
Check out this post on How to Frost Cupcakes to help you achieve the perfect cupcake!
Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup real butter softened
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips melted
- Optional: Additional cocoa powder as needed
Instructions
- Melt your chocolate chips if you haven’t already and set aside to cool. You obviously don’t want it so cool that it hardens, but you can get it close to room temperature and still have it be soft and stir-able.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, and milk; bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Boil 1-3 minutes or until thickened like a thinned pudding. Remove pan from heat and strain mixture into a small bowl. Cool completely in the refrigerator or freezer.
- When chocolate flour mixture is cooled, beat the butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the cooled chocolate mixture until well combined fluffy, about 1 minute. Finally add in melted chocolate and beat again until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. If desired, add additional cocoa powder to taste, up to 4 tablespoons more. Spread or pipe frosting on to cupcakes or cake.
- Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes or to frost and fill an 8 or 9 inch round 2-layer cake.
Questions & Reviews
This has become my go to chocolate icing recipe. It blows my mind how good it is every single time I make it. Today I did a variation on it where I added 1.5 Tbsp espresso powder to the milk mixture. Holy dark chocolatey mocha goodness!!!
Hi , I would like to know if i can use white chocolate instead of cocoa or if i can make this frosting without chocolate ?
Thanks 🙂
Hello from Mexico! Greatest chocolate frosting ever! Easy to make, holds and pipes well and of course delicious. I used mexican semi-sweet chocolate that has a little cinammon and vainilla and everyone loved that special touch!
Hi, is cocoa used in choc frosting sweetened or unsweetened?
Thank you
Hi, is cocoa powder in choc frosting, sweetened or unsweetened?
Thx!
This is the best chocolate frosting ever. I will NEVER make frosting with powdered sugar again. Okay…never is a long time. Maybe I will sometimes, but the point is, I REALLY like this frosting.
Hi all,
I have just finished making these and oh em gee are they to die for!!! I never really like the chocolate frosting as its too sweet but oh my these i cane get enough of. I also did the vanilla frosting the other day and my friends alllll loved it and asking me for the recipe. I have definitely told them to go to this website!!! Thank you so much!! 🙂
scusate sono Italiana si potrebbero avere le dosi in grammi grazie
Delicious!
My new go to chocolate frosting. My cupcakes where not only beautiful
but tasty.
Hello Sarah!
I was wondering if you could tell me how many grams or ounces of chocolate chips you use? I prefer to use chocolate from a bar and not sure how I’d go about measuring it in a cup as I find it hard enough most times (I’m in the uk). Thank you!
I’m really not sure Jamila! What I do is just chop the bar up and then you can measure it in the same way 🙂