Name: Creamy Chocolate Frosting with Cocoa Powder
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 3 cups confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar); 2/3 cup cocoa powder; 1/2 cup butter ( one stick, softened); 6 tbsp milk; 1 tsp vanilla extract

This creamy chocolate frosting is made with cocoa powder, powdered sugar, butter, milk and vanilla, so there’s no chocolate to melt and nothing to cook. It mixes up in about 10 minutes, spreads smooth and silky, and makes enough to frost a pan of brownies, a one-layer cake or about 12 cupcakes.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

Recipe Name: Creamy Chocolate Frosting
Serves: 12
Main Ingredients: confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder, butter, milk, vanilla extract
Why You'll Love It: This creamy chocolate frosting recipe is so easy to make and tastes delicious spread on top of cakes and brownies.

It’s budget-friendly, family-approved and a whole lot better than the canned stuff. Folks take one look at it and expect store-bought, then they taste how buttery and chocolaty it is and do a double-take. My favorite thing to spread it on is a pan of big batch brownies with chocolate frosting.

How do you make chocolate frosting with cocoa powder?

Beat 1 stick of softened butter with 1 cup of powdered sugar, 2/3 cup of cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of milk until there are no lumps. It will be thick. Then add the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and beat until smooth and creamy.

Why This Chocolate Frosting Turns Out So Smooth

Cocoa powder clumps easily, so the frosting gets mixed in two stages. The butter, cocoa, one cup of the powdered sugar and just two tablespoons of milk get beaten together first. It starts out lumpy and very thick, but stick with it and it turns smooth, which works the cocoa lumps out before you add the rest of the sugar and milk.

The kind of cocoa you use changes the flavor. Regular unsweetened cocoa gives you a classic milk chocolate frosting, and Dutch process cocoa makes it darker and richer, more like a dark chocolate buttercream.

Ingredients for Chocolate Frosting with Cocoa Powder

Ingredients for creamy chocolate frosting: cocoa powder, powdered sugar, butter, milk and vanilla

Butter: It needs to be truly softened at room temperature. Cold butter leaves little lumps that never fully beat out.
Cocoa powder: Regular unsweetened or Dutch process both work, so pick the flavor you like best.
Milk: Add it a little at a time. More milk loosens the frosting for a smoother spread on cupcakes.

You’ll find the exact amounts in the recipe card below. If you use unsalted butter, taste the frosting at the end, since a pinch of salt makes the chocolate flavor pop.

Helpful Tips Before You Start

Make sure your cake, cupcakes or brownies are completely cool before frosting, or the butter will melt and the frosting will slide.
I’ll confess I don’t always hunt for a tablespoon. Three capfuls from the milk jug comes out to about two tablespoons, though measuring is the more accurate way to go.
If the frosting is too thick, beat in milk a teaspoon at a time. If it’s too thin, add powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time.

How to Make Chocolate Frosting with Cocoa Powder

Softened butter and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl

1Start with Butter and Sugar

Add the softened butter and 1 cup of the powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl.

Cocoa powder and milk added to butter and powdered sugar

2Add Cocoa and a Splash of Milk

Add the cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons of milk.

Beating thick chocolate frosting with a hand mixer

3Beat Until Smooth

Beat with a hand or stand mixer until the mixture is smooth with no lumps of cocoa. It will be very thick at this point.

Adding the rest of the powdered sugar and milk to chocolate frosting

4Add the Rest of the Sugar and Milk

Add the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons of milk.

Smooth creamy chocolate frosting in a mixing bowl

5Finish with Vanilla

Beat in the vanilla until the frosting is silky and creamy. Taste it and add a pinch of salt if it needs it.

Spreading creamy chocolate frosting over a chocolate cake

6Frost and Enjoy

Spread the frosting over your cooled cake, cupcakes or brownies, and don’t forget to lick the beaters.

Brownies in a pan topped with creamy chocolate frosting

What to Frost with Chocolate Frosting

Spread it over an easy birthday cake from scratch for a classic yellow and chocolate combination, or swirl it on a batch of cake mix cupcakes when you need a quick party treat. It’s also wonderful on a simple vanilla cake or a moist chocolate zucchini cake, and spread over a chocolate depression cake it turns a simple pantry cake into a double-chocolate dessert.

The frosting keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to three months. Let it thaw in the fridge, then beat it for a few seconds to fluff it back up before spreading.

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Chocolate Frosting FAQs

What’s the difference between chocolate frosting and chocolate icing?

It comes down to thickness. Icing is thinner and usually poured or drizzled like a glaze, while frosting like this one is thick and fluffy thanks to the butter, so it spreads and holds its shape.

Why is my chocolate frosting lumpy?

Usually the butter was too cold or the cocoa went in all at once. Beating the cocoa with just part of the sugar and milk first, like this recipe does, works the lumps out before the frosting gets too stiff.

How much does this frosting cover?

It frosts about 12 cupcakes, the top of a one-layer 9×13-inch cake or a full pan of brownies. Double it for a two-layer cake.

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