Watch me make this Whipped Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe from start to finish!
Chocolate buttercream frosting is one of my FAVORITE kinds of frosting, especially when it’s whipped! Although I’m usually not crazy over frostings like some people, I’m a sucker for that buttery, creamy, fluffy, chocolatey buttercream!
I mean just look at the ingredients of this recipe: Real Butter. Cream. Powdered Sugar. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Real Vanilla Extract. Sweet mother of all things Holy! This stuff is good!
If you’re looking for an easy, chocolatey and downright delicious old fashioned chocolate buttercream frosting them let me introduce you to this recipe right HURRR! It’s my go-to recipe for crowd-pleasing chocolate buttercream frosting and it’s…well…amazing!!
This Whipped Chocolate Buttercream Frosting pairs up GREAT with my homemade yellow cake recipe! Check it out!
(I used a slightly different chocolate buttercream frosting recipe on this cake but after making it again with this whipped frosting OMG! I prefer whipped)
To make the frosting that I had in the yellow cake video, (pictured above) just omit the heavy cream and follow this mixing method otherwise all other measurements are the same. In a large bowl cream the butter, add powdered sugar and mix until creamy. Mix in cocoa powder. Add in melted chocolate and vanilla extract. Mix until creamy. Stir in a pinch of salt. Done!
This whipped chocolate buttercream frosting packs in two kinds of chocolate for that true chocolatey flavor; unsweetened cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips! The texture of this easy chocolate buttercream frosting is light, airy and fluffy, perfect for frosting soft layered cakes and cupcakes. I could seriously eat this stuff by the spoonful!
Don’t be tempted to use milk chocolate chips, dark or semi-sweet works just great and keeps the frosting from becoming too sweet.
Tips to making PERFECT Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (or any buttercream frosting)
1.) Let butter soften at room temperature. Do not microwave or you may risk melting the butter. Melted butter will make for a super-thin frosting and then you’ll have to overcompensate with more powder sugar, etc. Making the frosting way to sweet and weird tasting. To speed up the butter softening process you can cut into smaller pieces. I just take a stick out of the fridge in the morning and let it sit until I’m ready to bake. By then it’s super soft, but still, hold a shape which is what you want. If it’s a last-minute frosting and I don’t have 30 minutes to an hour to wait for the butter to soften, I’ll cheat and throw the butter in the microwave for just a few seconds while watching it like a hawk to make sure none of it is melted and then let it sit for about 15 minutes to completely soften.
2.) Cream that butter well. The first step and important one is making sure you cream that softened butter really well!! This prepares it for all those yummy ingredients!
3.) Sift any dry ingredients. In this recipe, the only dry ingredients we use are powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder. Sifting gets rid of any lumps and makes it all powdery light. Perfect for frosting!!
4.) Thin or Thicken carefully. If you feel the frosting is a bit too thick for your liking, thin it out gradually with tiny DROPS of milk or heavy cream (yes a little liquid goes A LONG way in frostings). If it’s too thin, let it sit for a bit FIRST since frostings become firmer as they sit. If it’s still too thin, add the powdered sugar a little at a time. I’m not a fan of this really since it changes the way the frosting will taste. Melting the butter, even a tiny bit, usually causes thinner frostings.
Whipped Chocolate Buttercream Frosting~ The BEST!!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, room temperature)
- 1/2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream (may need more)
- 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted (spoon into measuring cup to measure)
- pinch salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl cream butter until fluffy.
- Add in heavy cream and mix until light and fluffy.
- Mix in vanilla extract.
- Mix in melted chocolate chips.
- Mix in cocoa powder and powdered sugar until frosting is light, fluffy and whipped. (You have to mix it really good to get it airy)
- Stir in salt.
- Frost cake or cupcakes.
- Store leftover frosting in a covered container in the refrigerator. Let come to room temperature before using.
Video
What kind of butter did you use?
Unsalted
Very tasty but not fluffy. Will try again with my Kitchenaid instead of a hand mixer.
Maybe it needs the whisking beater.
Yes you have to reeeally beat it good to get it fluffy.
Sooooooooo good
This is the BEST but we added more whipping cream and more powder otherwise it’s really good everyone loved it. delicious
Add a little more whipping cream to loosen up the texture. Used it on a German Chocolate cake and it was fantastic.
I made this frosting once before and it was great – a big hit in my office on birthday cupcakes. Only problem is I can’t remember if I increased the recipe or not. Is one recipe enough for 30 cupcakes, or should I make 1-1/2 times the amount? (I don’t pile on the frosting. A swirl, as shown in your cupcake photo, would be enough.) Thanks!
This frosting is excellent – so light and delicious. Easy to make.
This is IT!!! I have been searching for the best light whipped chocolate buttercream, and have finally found it! I used a little more cocoa powder, since my husband wants it CHOCOLATE, but kept everything else the same. It is sooo good! If you don’t like heavy, sickening sweet frosting, this is what you want.
I used milk choc and it was still the best frosting ever….I don’t even like buttercream so this was a major win for me.
This frosting is perfect! I used dark chocolate chips..also I didn’t have heavy cream so I just threw in some whipped topping with the butter instead..like a dolap…every thing else I did the same, my new favorite, thank you for posting this…two thumbs up..would recommend it to anyone!
Oml…love it!!!
Thanks Gwen!!
So glad you enjoyed it Gwen!
Im thinking about using this as a filling for a cake, do you think that this filling would go well with a marshmallow fondant covered cake?
My absolute go-to for frosting! Pair it with her yellow cake and your guests will love it. My kids request this EVERY birthday!
I subst. The heavy cream with 14% sour cream and wooooweeeee delicious. (I didnt have heeavy creamnand was looking for some chocolate lol)
Awesome recipe! This is probably the best chocolate frosting I have ever made! I am a lazy baker, so I didn’t sift anything, nor did I use an electric mixer…I just mixed in everything the old fashioned way…with the ever reliable spoon. I added a bit of extra vanilla in mine, and it still turned out nice and light. Thank you so much for this recipe! It turned out great =)
Loved this recipe! Definitely a keeper. Incredibly delicious. Sweet but not too sweet and the chocolate flavor was just right. Great consistency as well. Thank you Monique! I love your recipes 🙂
I love this chocolate frosting recipe however your recipe asks for 1/2 tablespoons of heavy cream but I had to keep adding a few times until I got the consistency and the lighter flavor of the chocolate just right. In my opinion 1/2 tablespoon is not enough. It will leave the chocolate a lil bitter (unless you like dark chocolate) But once I added the extra heavy cream, OMG! This recipe is a keeper!
Hi! absolutely LOVE❤️ Your blog. How do i make it vanilla?
Omit the cocoa and melted chocolate chips!
Sounds yummy! I have been looking for a lighter alternative to buttercream frosting I can use to decorate cakes with. Do you have a vanilla favored version of this recipe or another recipe that would work for me. I love the idea of whipped icing, but I need a recipe that stabilizes it enough so that I’m able to pipe it and decorate with the icing.
I didn’t like the melted semi-sweet chocolate as it left a bitter taste in my mouth, but it did give it texture. I had to remake my frosting without the melted chocolate chips and more whipping cream, but next time I may just reduce both chocolate in the recipe in half and see how that comes out. I also noticed it tasted a little better after it sat for a while then tasting it right when I made it. Thanks for sharing your recipe. 🙂
Can I use regular cocoa powder instead of unsweetened? Thanks !
This whipped chocolate buttercream is seriously the BEST I’ve ever had!!! I am always so skeptical when I see the the BEST or Worlds Famous, and I usually find those are impostors! But honey, let me tell you this was AWESOME! So So So AWESOME! I used this frosting to top the yellow cake recipe I found here as well, which I believe is the pic on top. I didn’t measure how many cups it yielded, however it was enough to cover a double layer 9 inch cake. I didn’t have any leftovers (maybe because I kept eating it by spoonfuls) lol.
I made it but my frosting was suggary.i meant that the powdered sugar didnt melt properly..is one can suggest me that what should i do when i make any frosting to melt the sugar..i used hand electric mixer..
Sift the powder sugar first
Is there anything I can substitute for the heavy whipping cream, or can I go without it? I don’t want to buy a carton if I’m only going to use 1/2 tbsp!
Great recipe!! Thank you!
I made this frosting recipe yesterday (my very first homemade frosting!) and OMG, was it good! Thank you!
Not bad, but it was more like a ganache with the texture of icing. I would omit most of the cocoa.
salted or unsalted butter?
Leftover frosting? What leftover frosting! Ha ha! Seriously, I’ve made a lot of different chocolate buttercream recipes in my time, but this one takes the cake. It’s the best buttercream frosting ever. I did end up using three tablespoons of heavy cream in mine, however, probably because I didn’t sift the cocoa powder and sugar. I am keeping this recip for posterity. Thank you for sharing it.
does this froosting work for the cake pops
Just made a 4 layer cake, used this icing. OMG it’s the best I have ever tasted. This will used in my family for years to come. Thank you so much : )
I got this lemon donut recipe from this website.YOu SHOULD TRY IT OUT
How many cups does this recipe make? Thanks
Hi,
Did you get any response on how many cups this recipe makes?
I tried this recipe and the taste is realy good. But my concern was.. since its summer here in our place the frostings melts easily any suggestions please .. I dont want to use the frostings that required to use raw egg white due to some health concerns.. please help. Thanks
I would suggest adding extra powdered sugar to frosting/icing to make it stiffer and melt less quickly.
~Katie
Hi! I tried the recipe and its really very good.. but hy concern was after a few minutes the frostings starts to melt since its summer herenin our place.. any sugge Stions please. Thank you
@ Mary: When it’s the summer months, I always use a 1:2 butter to shortening ratio. Frosting that is made with shortening keeps better in hot/humid weather and generally doesn’t need to be refrigerated compared to frosting made with butter (extremely temperamental in hot weather). Try this recipe: http://www.crisco.com/Recipes/Details.aspx?recipeID=704 I wish you all the best!
Hi! On your butter to shortening recommendation for Chocolate Buttercream frosing you mentioned a 1:2 ratio of butter to shortening. I’m pretty sure I know what you are suggesing but I want to make sure. If the recipe calls for 1/4 cup butter in the frosting you would replace it with 1/2 cup shortening to make the frosting in the Summer months?
Thanks for the recommendation and your help on this:-)
Tandra
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’m making a three-layer cake this week and I was wondering. Would the amounts mentioned in the recipe be enough to cover it completely, or should I double the amount?
Great post,
It’s powerful youtube video also awesome recipe. I will make this with my family.
Thank you for sharing this!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your site! I would love this icing with chocolate cupcakes! Is there a recipe on here for a Classic Chocolate Cake that is just as moist as the Yellow cake? You are the Bomb.COM!
I’m not a chocolate fan. How does it alter the recipe to omit and make vanilla?
I would omit the chocolate
The cake with this icing is insanely ridiculous. Where did you come up with this recipe. The cake is so moist. I can’t eat it.Going thru chemo . I have no taste but my husband and my family are losing their minds about the recipes I have done.
I was reading through the comments for suggestions and saw your post. I hope you are well now!
Yayyyyy! You put this recipe up! 🙂 I’m so excited to try this out. Thank you for posting.
I have been waiting for this recipe now I can make the yellow cake today!! Thanks