Make light and fluffy, silky smooth milk chocolate buttercream frosting in 10 minutes or less. Perfect for decorating cakes and cupcakes!
There's nothing quite like a swirl of chocolate buttercream frosting to top off a piece of homemade yellow cake or cupcake. Better yet, pair it up with marble cake, and you've got the best of both worlds.
This homemade chocolate icing is very creamy, and it's the perfect fluffy frosting for cupcakes. It's very silky, and works really well as a chocolate frosting for piping onto cupcakes or for cake decorating.
In fact, I use this chocolate frosting recipe in my Minecraft grass block cake recipe, and I think it's the best icing for this rich gluten-free chocolate zucchini cake.
Being a rich buttercream frosting, a little bit goes a long way. Combine its buttery flavor with chocolate and you've got the makings of a heavenly chocolate buttercream icing for chocolate lovers.
Why You'll Love This Homemade Chocolate Icing
- It's is a super easy recipe that anyone can make. You literally just mix it up and spread it on!
- Make it in 10 minutes or less. It's that quick!
- Make a light and fluffy, silky smooth frosting that's perfect for decorating or piping onto cakes and cupcakes. This buttercream frosting strikes the perfect balance between thick and creamy.
- Although buttercream frosting uses a lot of sugar, it's still much healthier than the cans at the store. Have you looked at those ingredient labels?!
- Chocolate buttercream frosting is naturally gluten-free, and I'll even show you how to make it dairy-free.
Ingredients & Substitutions Notes
- Salted Butter – Although you can use shortening in a pinch, I prefer salted butter for its superior flavor and texture. Not to mention, real butter is much healthier than hydrogenated oils. Of course, you can also use unsalted butter so long as you add 1/4 teaspoon of salt for every 1/2 cup of butter and mix it in well.
- Pure Vanilla Extract – Although you can use imitation vanilla, I think a pure vanilla extract gives this frosting much better flavor.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – I like to use heavy whipping cream for this recipe because of the stability and richness that it gives to buttercream frosting. In case you don't have any cream on hand, here's a great list of heavy whipping cream substitutes. Alternatively, you can use milk instead, but keep in mind that you may end up with a softer icing that does not as easily spread or pipe onto a cake due to the lack of stability.
- Powdered Sugar – It is important that you use powdered sugar for this recipe rather than regular granulated sugar. Powdered sugar is super fine, and it won't give off the gritty texture that regular sugar would.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – I use regular old unsweetened cocoa powder, but you can use any cocoa powder you want. I think a dark cocao powder would make a delicious buttercream frosting!
Keep in mind, all of the ingredient amounts you’ll need are in the printable recipe card below.
How to Make Milk Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Before making any type of buttercream frosting, I recommend softening the butter. You can do this by letting it set out for a little bit before cooking, or you can pop it in the microwave for a few seconds (but try not to let it melt).
How to Mix Up the Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- Then add in the heavy whipping cream and mix well.
- Add in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, and whisk everything together until the frosting is silky smooth, creamy and easily spreadable with no grittiness. A stand mixer or even an electric hand mixer makes with a whisk attachment makes this step so much easier! Also, don't forget to use a spatula to scrape down the sides every now again so as to totally incorporate all of the dry ingredients.
- You should now have a smooth-as-silk, creamy frosting that's both thin enough to spread and thick enough to pipe onto cakes and cupcakes. A small spoonful never hurt anyone!!
How to Serve Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Homemade yellow cake or yellow cake cupcakes definitely taste delicious with chocolate icing, as does chocolate sheet cake and even fluffy chocolate cupcakes. Chocolate on chocolate is absolutely delicious.
If you're looking for an especially easy dessert, just use a bought cake mix in whatever flavor you prefer. I'm thinking a French vanilla cake mix would be especially delicious with homemade chocolate icing!
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ's
How Do I Make a Dairy-Free Chocolate Buttercream Frosting?
Thankfully, this recipe is already naturally gluten-free, and it's not very hard to make this frosting dairy-free. First off, you'll need to substitute the butter with a dairy-free alternative, like dairy-free buttery sticks or even coconut oil. Again, you can also use vegetable shortening.
Second, you'll need to find a dairy-free substitute for the heavy whipping cream in this recipe. The best substitute that I know of is full-fat coconut cream, subbed 1:1 for the cream, although it will impart a slight coconut flavor to finished frosting. If you don't care for that, you can also sub with cashew cream. To make cashew cream, you'll need to blend up about 3/4 cup of cashews with 1/4 cup of water for every 1 cup of heavy whipping cream needed.
Finally, it is always best to check all of your ingredient labels to ensure that they are dairy-free, and do keep in mind that making this recipe dairy-free may require some trial-and-error, adjusting ingredient amounts here and there as you perfect it. Fortunately, it's an easy recipe to begin with!
You can store most buttercream frosting in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days max. However, if you're going to be storing it longer than that, it's best to stick it in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Yes, you can! In fact, I always have leftover icing, so I usually throw it in the freezer to keep it for next time. Freezing won’t hurt the texture, consistency, or flavor of your frosting. Just be sure to store it in an airtight container, so it won't get freezer burn.
What Can I Add to Buttercream Frosting?
Here are a few more ways you can change up this buttercream frosting recipe…
- Add a flavored extract for additional flavor… Think maple, caramel, peppermint, etc.
- Consider throwing in a splash of lemon or lime juice. Even lemon zest would add in extra flavor.
- Although I've never tried it myself, I have seen many people add a dash of instant coffee powder to chocolate icing. In fact, I think that would be absolutely delicious!
- Similarly, throw in some spices. A pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves or even allspice would go far.
- Make a different flavor; It doesn't have to be chocolate. Think vanilla, strawberry, peanut butter, lemon, etc. Don't be afraid to add a few drops of food coloring to suit whichever flavor you make, and definitely choose a cake flavor that pairs well with whatever frosting you use!
More Chocolate Recipes You'll Love
- Chocolate buttercream frosting was made for this classic yellow cake. Trust me, it's the best combination that you didn't know you needed!
- I've always had a hard time with homemade chocolate cake, until I found this moist and delicious chocolate cake recipe. Super easy, no fail recipe with rich chocolate flavor.
- These easy chocolate Rice Krispies treats can be made in 15 minutes or less for a quick dessert that the kids will love!
- Grandma made the best homemade chocolate whoopie pies, and I'll show you how! Rich, fudge-flavored cookies with a creamy vanilla frosting….They're so good.
- Learn how to make chocolate peanut butter Ritz crackers with only 3 ingredients and a little bit of time. Hands down, my favorite holiday snack or dessert.
- These 4-Ingredient buckeye balls are a must-have for any large gathering or special event. They're so easy to make, and they have unbeatable chocolate peanut butter flavor!
- My boys practically ask for this old-fashioned homemade chocolate ice cream every week. Homemade ice cream is just so much better than store-bought, and I'm a sucker for anything chocolate….Rich and creamy ice cream recipe with NO EGGS!
- This peanut butter chocolate cake is similar to my regular chocolate cake recipe, but with a homemade peanut butter frosting!
- Learn how to make the BEST chocolate glazed donuts that everyone will love. Quicker and easier than you would think, and they're so delicious!
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Milk Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
- Stand Mixer optional
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
- Before getting started, it is imperative that you use softened butter. Either let it sit out at room temperature for a bit, or you can pop it into the microwave for a few seconds, making sure that it absolutely does not melt.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
- Then add in the heavy whipping cream and mix well.
- Add in the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, and whisk everything together until the frosting is silky smooth, creamy and easily spreadable with no grittiness.*
- You'll end up with a very smooth, creamy, chocolate buttercream frosting that's perfect for cake decorating, piping onto cupcakes, and more. Not to mention, it tastes rich and delicious.
