Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Rich, fluffy chocolate buttercream made in 10 minutes with cocoa, butter, cream, and vanilla. Perfect for cupcakes, cakes, piping, or spreading.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 cupcakes, or 24 lightly frosted cupcakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: AmericanNo-Bake
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
½ cup Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for 2–3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Add powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, and heavy cream. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are absorbed.
Increase speed to medium and beat for 2–3 minutes, until smooth, fluffy, and creamy. Scrape down the bowl and paddle 2–3 times while mixing.
Add an extra ¼–½ cup powdered sugar if the frosting is too loose, or 1–3 teaspoons heavy cream if it is too thick.
Transfer frosting to a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes, or spread with an offset spatula.
Notes
This frosting makes enough for generous swirls on 12 standard cupcakes or a thinner layer on 24 cupcakes. For best results, sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder before mixing.
