Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
This frosting is on par with the canned/container frosting except it’s wayyyy better for you!
There’s many kinds of frostings from ones you have to boil to cream cheese ones to royal icings that harden. For all intents and purposes, (barring precise ratios) this frosting falls more into the buttercream category and it is wonderfully rich and light and spreads like a dream. Thick enough to be piped (if kept cold) and able to be used between layers of cake or on the exterior, the thickness and richness of this recipe can easily be adjusted by adding in more sugar or more cocoa to suit your preference and needs.
💕You’ll love this recipe because:
- It’s easy to make and can be thrown together in just a few minutes.
- It’s free from any preservatives, stabilizers, artificial anythings, this frosting is clean eating heaven!
- It can be adjusted to suit your personal preference in terms of thickness and richness.
- You can add small touches of spices to amplify the chocolate flavor.
To make it you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Butter: Salted or unsalted, the choice is yours.
- Cocoa Powder: I highly recommend using a high quality cocoa powder as this is the main flavoring for your frosting.
- Raw Cane Sugar: Most recipes call for icing/confectioners sugar which you can use. However today we’ll make our own by finely blending raw cane sugar in a high powered blender until it is a super ultra fine powder. If it’s gritty or grainy, your frosting will be gritty, so process it until it is extremely fine like you’d expect confectioner’s sugar to be.
- Vanilla Extract: This adds a wonderful depth of flavor to the chocolate.
- Salt: I’m using a pink Himalayan salt but you can also use a sea salt.
- Cinnamon: This is entirely optional and can be omitted or replaced with nutmeg or even baking espresso. I like to add it in for that extra hint of earthy, sweet spice.
- Whole Milk: This is going to not only help our sugar dissolve and combine with the other ingredients but it’s also going to help our frosting achieve it’s light and fluffy texture.
Here’s how to make this easy Chocolate Frosting:
The order of ingredients matters when making your frosting.
- Start by melting your butter, it doesn’t need to be bubbling but it needs to be liquid.
- Next, add in the salt, vanilla and cinnamon (if using).
- Work in your cocoa powder until fully combined with the melted butter. It will be thick and fudgy looking.🤤
- Next, add in the milk and mix until fully incorporated.
- Stir in half of the finely blended sugar before adding the other half.
Once you’ve mixed it all together it will be thick and rich but not yet frosting (above left image). Now we need to whip some air into it to achieve that wonderfully fluffy, enviably spreadable texture. Using a hand mixer (so much easier), electric whisk, or a regular hand whisk and a whole lot of elbow grease, beat and whip your frosting until its volume increases and it begins to thicken and the color becomes much lighter (it should go from a dark chocolate to a milk chocolate color like in the above right image).
I highly recommend allowing your whipped mixture to chill in the fridge for 15 or so minutes before using it for the best results. This will allow the butter to set and will help it thicken even further.
If you find that it’s too liquidy, add in more finely blended sugar a tbsp at a time until it is as thick as you’d like it to be. You can also adjust the thickness and richness by adding in an extra tbsp of cocoa powder.
If you can resist eating it all with a spoon like it’s ice cream, I highly recommend trying it on my insanely delicious Almond Flour Chocolate Cake (pictured above). Look at how gorgeously rich and creamy it spreads and swirls. It’s honestly chocolate heaven and I would love for you to give it a try 💕
Easy Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch Himalayan salt
- pinch espresso powder or nutmeg or cinnamon (optional)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup Whole Milk
- 1 ½ cup raw cane sugar ultra-finely blended, or powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a bowl melt the butter and add in the salt, vanilla and espersso powder/nutmeg/cinnamon (if using).3 tbsp salted butter, 1 tsp vanilla extract, pinch Himalayan salt, pinch espresso powder
- Add in the cocoa powder and work it in until fully combined with the melted butter. (the mixture will be thick and fudgy).¼ cup cocoa powder
- Add in the milk and mix well to combine.¼ cup Whole Milk
- Add in half of the sugar and stir until fully combined before adding in the other half.1 ½ cup raw cane sugar
- Using a hand mixer or electric whisk whip your frosting for a few minutes until light and fluffy and it goes from being a dark chocolate color to a lighter milk chocolate color.
- Set your frosting to chill for at least 15 minutes to allow the butter to set and harden which will help your frosting stabilize.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Use as desired.
Video
Notes
- Ensure that your sugar is blended into an ultra fine powder using a high powered blender, if your sugar is gritty your frosting will be gritty.
- You can adjust your frosting's thickness or richness by adding in more finely blended sugar or cocoa powder.
- This recipe makes enough frosting to cover the top of a 9" round cake.
- A 9" round cake is set to be divided into 12 portions so the calories per serving is based on frosting for 1 slice (aka 1/12 of a 9" cake)
Nutrition
