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
Very good! Nice and rich (in a good way) MAKE SURE to not Skip straining the mixture especially if you are going to pipe the frosting I did that and the clumps got stuck in the piping bag I had to keep removing the tip and wash them out. Cheers!
I needed to make chocolate frosted cupcakes for my dad’s 80th birthday party and I came across your recipe so I went for it!! I own a micro-bakery but mostly do breads and cookies so frosted cakes aren’t typically on my menu…. they just might be now ~!!! One thing I did a little different was that I whisked the flour, sugar, coco and milk really well, let it sit for a minute, then whisked it some more…THEN I put it on the heat and whisked it non-stop until it thickened. I put some cling wrap down on it In the pan to keep a skin from forming and let it cool… Once cool…I gave it one more whisk….& …..NO LUMPS…. I also used dark chocolate chips vs semi sweet…the chocolate flavor was PERFECT !! Didn’t need any extra cocoa…. Thanks for sharing … I may be making this on a regular basis….it’s GREAT!
This is excellent frosting. I’ve made a vanilla version, but this was my first chocolate. I put the cocoa through a sieve as I added it, then added the milk gradually, stirring well after each addition. I continued stirring as the mix heated, and it quickly came to the right thickness, smooth and creamy. I DID NOT NEED TO STRAIN THIS MIXTURE! I believe this is because I added the liquid slowly, and never allowed lumps to form as I cooked. This is much the same technique used for gravy , and the result was excellent! Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi, I am from the USA and this recipe is the best I have found. I love it. Thank you
Made this the other day for cupcakes – awesome frosting!
I was worried the flour mixture was too thick (but so smooth, I did not strain); I went with it – blended just fine. I did have to re-melt the chocolate; the flour mix took a bit to cool. I might not do that first next time… It all whipped together so nicely though! I did add all 4 T of cocoa, but only because it felt so light/thin that I wasn’t sure it would hold. I also put the finished frosting (still in the mixing bowl) in the fridge for a few minutes (it was warm in my kitchen, I thought that may have had something to do with the consistency) and then re-whipped it. Piped nicely with the 1M as suggested =) At the very end though, I think the warmth of my hands may have caused a bit of separation (speckling?)… I frosted 12 regular size cupcakes and about 30 minis. Today, the last 2 minis are holding up nicely – they’ve been left out Thursday pm to Saturday am. Wonderful recipe overall, thank you!!