Creamy, fluffy homemade chocolate frosting is perfect for cupcakes, layer cakes or brownies. Made with cocoa powder so there are no fancy ingredients, this recipe is tastier than anything from a tub. It’s the perfect, classic recipe that every baker needs.

**This recipe was originally posted updated March 26, 2023 with updated recipe tips & photos**

I’ve used this chocolate buttercream recipe so many times. It’s not too sweet but has a rich chocolate flavor and a thick, creamy texture. It pipes beautifully onto cupcakes and is thick enough to support a layer cake. It’s the kind of frosting I’ll happily eat with a spoon, and I have zero guilt admitting that.

This is an American buttercream recipe – meaning that it’s simply made by beating together the butter, sugar and flavorings, as opposed to making a meringue from egg whites and sugar like you would in a Swiss buttercream recipe. Sometimes people will refer to American-style frosting as icing, but technically speaking, icing is thin and glossy whereas frosting is thick, creamy and fluffy.

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients

This recipe uses nothing fancy. You’ll need:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
½ cup cocoa powder
3-4 cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons milk or cream. Either works – I prefer milk for frosting with a knife, and cream (whipping cream, heavy cream or half and half work) if I’m using a piping bag.

I always prefer butter over shortening in frosting because it provides more flavor and doesn’t leave that gross, greasy feeling in your mouth (like you often get with grocery store cupcakes). Salted butter works too, but make sure to leave the salt out of the recipe.

For the cocoa powder, you can use natural or Dutch-processed depending on how rich of a chocolate flavor you’d like and how dark in color you want your frosting to be. Dutch-process cocoa is sometimes called dark, or specialty dark, and provides a richer flavor and (you guessed it) a darker color. I sometimes use ¾ cup cocoa powder when I want a really rich flavor, or ⅓ cup cocoa powder for more of a milk chocolate flavor. But ½ cup is kind of my standard. You can see the difference between natural and Dutch-process cocoa below.

You can also add a touch (½ – 1 teaspoon) of instant espresso powder to help cut the sweetness, but that’s totally optional.

How Much Frosting Does this Make?

This recipe makes enough to frost:

24 cupcakes, with a thin layer
12-18 cupcakes piped high with a piping bag
one 9×13 inch pan of brownies or sheet cake (just the top)
half the recipe to frost the top only of an 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan of brownies or cake
double the recipe (or make 2 batches) for a triple layer 8-inch round layer cake – you may have some leftover, depending on how thick you like your frosting
multiply by 1.5 for a double layer 8-inch round layer cake

Tips for Making Chocolate Buttercream

Make sure your butter is softened, but not melty before getting started. If you gently press your finger into the butter it should leave an indent, but your finger shouldn’t sink in.
Sift the cocoa powder & powdered sugar to avoid lumps. Cocoa is notoriously lumpy, and no one wants that in their frosting.
At the very end, turn the mixer up to high speed for 15 seconds for extra fluffy frosting
Make sure your kitchen isn’t too hot – otherwise, the frosting can melt. In the summer, I typically turn on the air conditioning to avoid the frosting getting too thin.

How to Store Frosting (& Make Ahead Tips)

Frosting can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container at room temperature (up to 1 day if your kitchen is cool), or in the fridge. Then when you’re ready to frost your cake/cupcakes – take the frosting out of the fridge about 30-60 minutes prior and let it sit and room temperature to soften. If it’s still too firm, beat it again with your stand mixer to soften it up.
Frosted cakes and cupcakes can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days. The large amount of sugar stabilizes the frosting. Alternatively, you can store in the fridge for up to 5 days. I recommend taking your cake/cupcakes out of the fridge and letting them sit on the counter for 30-60 minutes before enjoying.

This chocolate buttercream frosting is my go-to recipe, and if you’re looking for the perfect recipe that’s creamy, fluffy and pipes beautifully – then this is the recipe for you.

And if you’re looking for some tasty treats to put this chocolate frosting on, may I recommend:

Chocolate cupcake piped with chocolate frosting

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5 from 6 votes