Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Rich and deeply chocolatey, this chocolate buttercream frosting is made with butter, cocoa powder, and melted dark chocolate for a dreamy frosting. This is silky smooth and pipes beautifully, like chocolate ganache in buttercream form. The added chocolate makes a more stable frosting.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

How This Recipe Works

While most Canadians would probably call this a chocolate icing recipe, buttercream is technically a frosting (thicker, can be piped, etc.) and this is an American buttercream style recipe with added cocoa and dark chocolate.

The melted dark chocolate is what makes this frosting so special. With only cocoa it tastes good, but it's lacking that real rich flavour and smooth, silky texture that the chocolate adds. It is very rich and best in small portions, so keep that in mind! The best thing about this recipe is how stable it is, making it extremely easy to pipe and swirl.

I developed and tested this recipe. My taste-testers were a bit split on this one - European testers found it a bit too rich, and North Americans and Australians absolutely loved it. It's very much in line with classic birthday cake, a real decadent chocolate frosting. We love it. As pictured with our sourdough vanilla cake, it's completely nostalgic and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients You'll Need and Why

You need buttercream ingredients - icing sugar, butter, and vanilla - plus cocoa and dark chocolate. These are our notes from recipe testing and you can find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

• Butter: this should be real butter, not margarine, which is too soft. If you only have unsalted butter, add a pinch of fine salt to the mixture. Room temperature butter is soft but not softened or greasy. For a dairy-free alternative, use a good vegan butter that comes in stick or block form and not in a tub (see vegan buttercream).
• Icing sugar: also called confectioner's sugar or powdered sugar. You must use icing sugar for this recipe, and it won't work with granulated sugar.
• Chocolate: choose a good dark chocolate that you like the flavour of, around 70% cocoa solids. This should be bar chocolate, not chocolate chips, which have added stabilizers that change the texture of the frosting.
• Cocoa: unsweetened cocoa powder. We prefer Dutch process cocoa for this recipe, which is a little smoother and less bitter than natural cocoa, but either can be used.
• Cream: you may need some whipping cream to thin out the frosting slightly depending on use and the temperature of your home. We typically use 1 or 2 tablespoons of cream.
• Vanilla: a splash of vanilla extract brings out the chocolate flavour. If you want an even stronger chocolate, add a pinch of espresso powder too.

How to Make Chocolate Frosting

Sifting is important for this recipe and almost any frosting recipe, to avoid lumps in the final product and have the smoothest, lightest frosting. You'll need a fine mesh sieve for both the sugar and the cocoa powder.

Step 1: beat the butter with electric mixers or the paddle attachment on your stand mixer until light and fluffy. The butter will significantly increase in volume.

Step 2: sift the icing sugar into the bowl. All icing sugar is lumpy, it's just how it is, and if you don't sift you'll end up with lumpy buttercream. Measure before sifting if using cups.

Related: Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Step 3: add the vanilla and mix on low speed to start - to avoid a sugar cloud - then increase the speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes.

Step 4: sift in the cocoa powder. Just like icing sugar, cocoa is always lumpy, and should be sifted before use unless it's being heated (see sourdough brownies or chocolate marshmallows).

Step 5: beat the cocoa in on low speed to combine. At this point, the frosting will be tasty, but it has a slightly muddy colour and the chocolate flavour isn't strong enough.

Step 6: slowly drizzle the melted dark chocolate into the bowl, beating on low speed to mix the chocolate in as it's added. Once fully combined, the frosting will be smooth, creamy, and glossy.

Expert Tips for the Best Frosting

• Mix well before adding the cocoa: if the frosting is mixed for too short of a time, the sugar won't dissolve and it'll be gritty and less fluffy.
• Use room temperature ingredients: the butter needs to be at room temperature, but everything will mix more easily if the cocoa, sugar, and cream are also all at room temperature.
• Sift the ingredients: we can't stress this enough. If you skip sifting, you will end up with a lumpy frosting.
• Pipe or spread before it sets: the high chocolate content in this frosting means it does set at room temperature after a few hours. Don't make the frosting in advance and then plan to decorate with it several hours later. It's best to decorate as soon as it's mixed, and then let the cake or cupcakes set.
• Keep at room temperature: this will harden if refrigerated, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it tastes best and has the best texture when at room temperature.

More Icing and Frosting Recipes