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
Mary Jane- yes it works great on cake! I actually used it on the monkey cake we have on the site and it holds up really well. Are you frosting the cake tonight or just making the frosting? If you're frosting the cake, you can just keep it at room temp. If you're wanting to store the frosting you can refrigerate it. Tomorrow you'll need to let it come to room temp on its own and then beat it again to fluff it up. Should work great!
I am planning to try this frosting this evening for my son's 22 birthday tomorrow. It looks perfect for cupcake, but not many comment for using it on a double layer cake, does it hold up between the two layers. And how should I store it when I am finished tonight, airtight or refrigerator??
Thank you so much. I ask myself, "what did we do before the internet."
leemz- it will definitely last a few days in the fridge. Beyond that, I couldn't tell ya because it's never lasted that long at my house!
I was looking for a frosting that didn't have too much icing sugar and stumbled upon your blog. I made it today for my butter cake and boy it's delicious. I plan to make it often now. But one thing i need to know is that for how long can I refrigerate it?
please do lemme know
thanks in advance,
leemz
I was looking for a frosting that didn't have too much icing sugar and stumbled upon your blog. I made it today for my butter cake and boy it's delicious. I plan to make it often now. But one thing i need to know is that for how long can I refrigerate it?
my website is http://thechefinme.com, will post this cake asap, God willing!
please do lemme know
thanks in advance,
leemz
Lisa, just make sure you add the chocolate *very* slowly, a little at a time, and while the mixer is running. That way it doesn't give it time to cool into any clumps.
Hi, I've made this twice now. Both times delicious, however the second time I had trouble piping as the tip kept getting clogged with little lumps of chocolate. The chocolate had been melted thoroughly and allowed to cool at room temperature for about 30minutes. its as though when I poured it in the flour and butter mixture was too cooled and may have set some of the melted chocolate. Any ideas?
I've made the flour frosting a number of times now and get rave reviews. My good friend begged me to make chocolate cupcakes for a special day tomorrow so I tried the chocolate frosting and it is too liquidy/soft to pipe. I'm putting it in the fridge hoping it will stiffen up. It tastes great! My oldest already snuck a bit to put on his graham cracker so if it doesn't stiffen up, I guess my kids will have it for a snack this next week on their crackers and will be very happy!
megumi- if the end product is too soft then it's most likely that your butter is too soft. It should be a little colder than room temp. I wouldn't add more flour, if you need it to firm up the best way is to put the finished product in the fridge until it's stiffened up. I'm glad you like it!
I'm so glad to have found your blog and a confectioner sugar free icing (can't stand the grittiness). I have a few questions for you! 1. I've made this twice now and both times it's actually quite liquid-y. Almost too soft to pipe. The butter I have here is very soft so that may be it. The second time I did it, I chilled the pudding mixture in the fridge until it was cold and that made my butter firm up – like I think another commenter experienced. Thinking about SMBC I figured making butter cold = bad so I microwaved the mixture to make it room temp. I was wondering if making the "pudding" a little thicker with more flour would help it hold better? What do you think? Mine doesn't look as fluffy or stiff like yours does in picture #5. I don't know if it's the wimpy hand-mixer I'm using. THANK YOU!