Best Homemade Chocolate Frosting

Top view of one chocolate cupcake in a turquoise silicone baking cup, topped with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. The corner another cupcake and a few sprinkles are around the cupcake.

Best Homemade Chocolate Frosting

This incredible homemade chocolate frosting is made with 5 simple ingredients, takes just 10 minutes to make, and tastes absolutely divine!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 5

Mixing 10

Total Time 15

Servings servings

Calories 84kcal

Author Kristi

Equipment

Ingredients

½ cup butter At room temperature. See notes.
⅔ cup cocoa powder Unsweetened. Sifted.
3 ¾ cup powdered sugar Sifted, if lumpy. One 16oz bag of powdered sugar equals about 3 ¾ of a cup.
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 ½ tablespoon milk I use skim or 2% milk

Instructions

Place the butter and cocoa powder in the bowl attached to your stand mixer.
Use the whisk attachment of your stand mixer to mix the cocoa powder and butter together at medium speed for about one minute. Add the vanilla and mix at medium to medium-high speed until most of the cocoa powder is mixed in with the butter. The mixture will be dark and crumbly.
Turn the mixer off and scrape the whisk and sides of the mixing bowl to keep the butter in the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
Set the mixer to medium speed again and gradually add the powdered sugar (add about ⅓ of a cup at a time). If the mixture is sticking to the sides of the bowl or to the whisk too much, try increasing the speed once most of the powdered sugar is incorporated. Pause mixing as needed to scrape the whisk and sides of the bowl.
Once all of the powdered sugar has been incorporated, add the milk. Whisk at medium-high speed for about one minute and then set your mixer to high speed for an additional minute or two (until it has the whipped consistency you want).
Stop mixing, scrape the sides, and check the consistency. If you would like a thinner frosting, add one more tablespoon of milk and whisk on high for another minute. Otherwise, you're set and ready to frost your cupcakes!

Notes

Do not use cold butter right out of the refrigerator to make this recipe.
Let the butter sit out at room temperature for several hours, or overnight before making frosting. The butter should be soft.
The butter should soften enough to make frosting after one hour, but it will take more work to make because the butter won't be soft enough to mix easily and you won't get the same whipped consistency.
If your powdered sugar is lumpy, sift it using a fine mesh strainer. This will take a few extra minutes, but it will be well worth it. You do not want a lumpy frosting.
This is a sweet frosting. Frosting is supposed to be sweet. A little goes a long way.
Use good quality vanilla. You will be able to taste the difference.
I have made this with the most generic cocoa powder and my kids loved it. However, if you are particular about your chocolate, use a higher quality cocoa powder.
Pause mixing as needed to scrape the sides of the bowl so that all ingredients are mixed together.
Do not add too much milk. If your frosting has too much liquid, it will not whip or spread nicely.
To make your frosting even thicker, add more powdered sugar.
To thin out the frosting even more, add a small amount of milk at a time.
Have a small spatula handy to scrape the sides of the whisk and bowl as needed.
If you have a 4.5- or 5-quart KitchenAid stand mixer with a tilt head and stainless-steel bowl, using a pouring shield will lessen the mess from the cocoa powder and powdered sugar.
Once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to make this frosting in about 10 minutes.

Nutrition