Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is my favorite chocolate frosting of all time.  It's luxuriously silky, super easy to make, and full of real chocolate flavor. 

I developed this chocolate buttercream recipe when I was making my Chocolate Cupcakes and I'm now convinced it's the best chocolate frosting recipe I've ever had.  The quality and flavor versus the ease and time it takes to make just don't add up - it's so fast and simple and tastes like it should be much more difficult to produce!  

It's an adaption of my Russian Buttercream recipe which uses condensed milk to make a wonderfully glossy frosting, not like the stodgy texture that you get with powdered sugar in an American buttercream. And it's made with real chocolate which gives it a rich chocolate flavor that you just can't achieve with cocoa powder alone.  

This easy chocolate frosting pipes like a dream for cupcakes or decorating cakes, but it can also be used as a filling in a layer cake - it's so tasty I almost want to just eat it with a spoon! 

So if you're looking for a deliciously chocolatey buttercream with wonderful texture that comes together insanely quickly and easily - this may be your new go-to recipe! 

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients
• How to Make Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
• Why Chocolate Russian Buttercream?
• Common Mistakes
• Troubleshooting
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Pairing
• Recipe

How to Make Easy Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This homemade chocolate frosting comes together really easily in just a few steps. Even though it's a very simple recipe, there are a few details it's important to pay attention to for best results. 

1. Before beginning, make sure you butter is completely at room temperature - not too cold and not too warm.  If the butter is the wrong temperature it can completely screw up the frosting. (If this happens, see my troubleshooting guide below). For best results, I take my butter out of the fridge about 1 - 11/2 hours before making the frosting.
2. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in the microwave in 30-second increments until totally melted. Set aside. 
3. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, and whip on high speed for 5 full minutes.  You can use a handheld electric mixer, or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.  I like to stop every 90 seconds or so to scrape down the sides of the bowl. After five minutes the butter should be light in color and have a nice creamy texture. 
4. Very slowly and gradually add the condensed milk.  If you are using a stand mixer, drizzle it in a steady stream while the mixer is on medium speed. If you are using a large bowl and handheld mixer, add about a third of the condensed milk at a time and whip until completely incorporated in between additions.  It's important not to incorporate the condensed milk too quickly or it won't mix together properly. 

5. Once all the condensed milk is fully incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed and whip for 1 minute. 
6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the melted chocolate, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Whip again until everything is incorporated. You should have a gloriously smooth, glossy homemade chocolate buttercream. (If you don't, see the troubleshooting guide below)

Why Chocolate Russian Buttercream?

Russian buttercream is probably the most simple homemade buttercream you can make. It has the wonderful glossy texture you get with something like an Italian meringue Buttercream, but without using egg whites or double boilers, or any of that faff.  

This is an adaption of Russian buttercream to make the best chocolate buttercream frosting recipe I have ever tried.  It uses real chocolate to make a smooth frosting that tastes as good as chocolate ganache - it's the perfect chocolate frosting!

Comparing this recipe to other chocolate buttercreams, if they are as quick and easy as this they typically using icing sugar and cocoa powder which gives a grainy texture and inferior flavor.  You can use the best cocoa powder in the world but it won't give as good a result as using real chocolate. 

Or a classic recipe that does have that luxurious silky texture will usually be made with the meringue buttercream method, which is a lot more complicated and time-consuming.  That's why this is my all time favorite chocolate buttercream recipe. 

Common Mistakes

• The biggest mistake people make with this homemade frosting recipe is not having the butter at the right temperature.  If you use cold butter or too far softened butter, it will mess up the frosting. (If that happens, see the troubleshooting section below). 

• The next biggest mistake is trying to add the condensed milk too quickly.  It's super important that the ingredients are all incorporated slowly so that they can emulsify properly.  Take your time and be patient with this step. 

• Another mistake would be adding the chocolate when it is too hot.  Your chocolate shouldn't get too hot if you are melting it gradually, as per the recipe, but if it does get overly hot somehow make sure it cools down a little before adding it to your frosting, or it will melt the butter. 

Troubleshooting

Though this chocolate buttercream frosting recipe is very simple, a few things can go wrong when making it.  Don't worry, it's all fixable. 

Buttercream has curdled or separated:

When this happens it's usually because the butter was too cold, or because the ingredients were added together too quickly. Don't worry, your buttercream is not ruined! Heat the buttercream over a double boiler to just gently warm the butter. We're not looking to melt it entirely, just warm it a little.

Whisk the whole time, just with a regular whisk, and you should see it start to come together. Once it comes together, put it back in the stand mixer and whip on high until it reaches the correct consistency.

If you go too far and it gets too warm, put it in the fridge to chill AFTER the mixture has come together. It doesn't matter if it gets cold if it has already emulsified.

Buttercream is soupy:

This means the butter was too warm. Put the whole bowl of frosting in the fridge for 15 minutes and then try whipping at high speed again.

Variations

Mocha Buttercream - To make a delicious coffee and chocolate flavored buttercream, dissolve 2-4 teaspoons of espresso powder (depending on how strong you want it) in a dash of hot water and mix it into the frosting after adding the chocolate. 

White Chocolate Buttercream - Try a white chocolate version of this buttercream instead by replacing the dark chocolate for white chocolate on a 1:1 ratio. 

Equipment

• Mixing Bowl
• Stand Mixer with Whisk Attachment

Storage

This easy chocolate buttercream frosting doesn't need to be stored in the fridge, so you are safe to store your frosted cakes at room temperature, the frosting will likely last longer than your delicious cakes, about 5 days.  

However, if stored in the fridge in an airtight container, the frosting will be good for up to a week.  Before using it to frost your cakes, bring it down to room temperature and whip it up for another minute or so just to bring the wonderful texture back.  

Pairing

Here are some cake and cupcake recipes that go really well with this chocolate buttercream frosting.

Recipe