This is a simple chocolate frosting recipe that you’ll use over and over again. Chocolate Frosting with Cocoa Powder and Powdered Sugar is ready in minutes with ingredients your more than likely have on hand.
This is not a mind-blowing original recipe. I’ve been making it for years and years. It is a basic Chocolate Frosting recipe that you need to have in your arsenal. Plus, it’s my favorite. If I could, I would eat spoonful after spoonful of it straight from the pan….oh, wait, I did do that!
Chocolate Frosting with Cocoa Powder and Powdered Sugar
Chocolate Frosting with Cocoa Powder and Powdered Sugar is my go-to basic chocolate frosting recipe. I use it for my Chocolate Coca-Cola Cake and on my Famous Rocky Road Brownies. This frosting is great on donuts, over ice cream, and on a classic white cake.
This recipe is also easily adaptable. If you have a large sheet pan of brownies, you may want to double the recipe. For just a few cookies, you may want to half the recipe.
It really is a delectable 5-minute frosting that goes great on cakes and cupcakes. Add an additional 2 tablespoons of milk to make it into an easy pouring sauce for ice cream and bread pudding.
Chocolate Frosting tips
One tip you must remember when making this icing recipe is to sift your sugar. Otherwise, you’ll have lumps and will have to stir A LOT, to get them out. I find that lumps are near impossible to get out once the sugar is stirred into the mixture.
Another tip, ok, I know this is two, is to use real butter. Margarine really doesn’t work well because it’s mostly oil. Use real butter at room temperature.
More recipes you’ll enjoy
If you’re new to my site, some of my most popular recipes are my pound cakes. Actually, I have over 60 pound cake recipes that I have tested, developed, and reviewed for you. I have highlighted some below (click on the photo) or you can get them all here: Pound Cakes Reviewed.
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- Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake
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*The calorie count is for the whole recipe.
Chocolate Frosting with Cocoa Powder and Powdered Sugar
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Save To Your Recipe BoxIngredients
- 1/4 cup butter salted or unsalted, I use this
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder I prefer this brand
- 1/3 cup milk whole or 2%
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract preferred brand
- 3 and ½ cup confectioners sugar sifted
Instructions
- Sift sugar.
- Heat butter in a small pan on medium heat, do not let butter get brown.
- Remove from heat, after all the sugar has been added.
- Whisk until smooth.
- Immediately pour over cake.
- If icing is too thin, add additional sifted sugar 1/4 cup at a time until desired thickness or sit it in the refrigerator a few minutes. Take it out and whisk it until creamy again.
- Frosting will thicken as it cools, but it'll be harder to spread.
Notes
Nutrition
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Luann Heshion says
My Grandmother always said to add an 1/8 teas salt to any powedered sugar recipe and it will cut down on the starkness of the sweetness of the sugar. It is really more delicious
Paula says
I’ve started doing this when I remember. I think it does make a difference. Thanks for commenting!
Dianne says
This is the best cocoa icing recipe and easiest!
I put it in the on freshly baked brownies and it tastes like chocolate fudge. Thank you for the tip to sift the sugar. 👍💕
Deb M says
I made this for my bundt cake and it turned out wonderful, everyone loved it. I had to be quick but I put roasted pecan pieces on top before frosting hardened. I definitely will be using this recipe again.Thank you for posting it. 🙂
Paula says
So happy you liked it!
Betty J Tijerina says
Is the nutritional info for 1 serving per person or the whole 2 cups of icing?
Paula says
For this particular recipe, it’s for the whole 2 cups.
Paula says
I do that because about 90% of my readers ask for specifically what I used so instead of having to reply separately to 100s of comments between all my social channels and blog I make it easy for readers to get the information.
Wendy says
This recipe has been my family’s go-to for generations, except we substitute coffee for the milk. It gives it a little extra something special without tasting like coffee.
Paula says
Oooo, coffee sounds good! I’ll try that!
Jayson V salvo says
Good day maam how can i make chocolate icing for frosting through scratch?? I have already here but the problem is the chocolate icing is very runny ang i cant even plain it ..this is my agony right now i hope you can help me with this…..
Paula says
Not sure what happened if you used the measurements listed but you can add more powdered sugar to make it thicker.
Vinu says
Awesome recipes but I forget to place the plate on the salt while preparing cooker cakes n all cakes are pathetic. But today I’ll do exactly as you’ve shown n post a pic.❤️
Paul Reed says
My mother made this frosting back in the early 50’s and all the time I was growing up. But instead of whole milk she used Carnation Evaporated Milk one can I believe. I don’t know if her amounts were the same. I have her recipe somewhere if I can find it.
Angie Ragan says
Very Easy & Delish 😊 reminds me of my grandmother’s that she used to pour over butter cake. Be prepared to work fast as it hardens rather quickly. More of a thick glaze that holds onto the cake than a whippet frosting. Great Recipe
Kate says
Can we pour this on a cake with buttercream frosting? Will not melt down the frosting? Please advice.
Paula says
Don’t pour it on while still warm, it’ll melt the buttercream.
Allana says
If I wanted it to be hard when it set, how would I do that?
Ivy Leaf says
This frosting does harden when it cools. I bulked up this recipe with a cup extra powdered sugar and a little extra butter. I know with baking one should measure exactly, but I tend to fudge my recipes. (pun intended!). I also used orange extract instead of the vanilla and used some clementine zest to add a subtle flavor to my frosting. I kept it on the warm burner (heat off) until I was ready to frost the cake. This kept it in a liquid state. Once the cake was cool, I drizzled the frosting so that it poured over the edges a bit. The frosting hardens and really keeps it’s shape. Much like a glaze over a pound cake. Ort does not soak in, it’s hard enough to stay right on the surface. The result was wonderful! I’ll be making this again.
Gloria Rowland says
Love for chocolate can never end for me. So, yes, this recipe is for me. I bake cakes a lot, and I made this chocolate frosting for the very first time. Eventually, I put it on the top of the cake as well as I ate the leftover frosting, which made me say “wow.” Thanks!
Azi says
This recipe is really nice. the taste is heavenly
Bola Badmus says
This is the best chocolate frosting I have ever tasted.
Gina says
Can I melt the butter in the microwave & make the icing in a bowl instead of in a pot on the stove?
Paula says
Yes, you can.
Linda says
Easy and fast and great tasting. My go to recipe for chocolate cake icing and I have used a lot of different recipes.
Sweet6th says
Is it really THAT good? Cause I’m using this for business Wednesday let’s see how my costumers like it!
Joey says
My mother made this, she’d make 2batches at one time. One for her and one for the cake! So happy to see the recipe hasn’t been list
Melissa Schaub says
Is the butter in your recipes salted butter or unsalted butter? Thanks!
Paula says
I use salted, professional bakers recommend using unsalted. It reacts the same in the cake so it basically comes down to which you like the taste of better. Using unsalted just tastes bland to me.
Anna says
I have always had difficulty making icing for my cakes. Spreading it was always done badly. This recipe was easy to make, easy to pour over the cake, looked decorative and tasted great! I had planned to scrape out the pan later, but someone beat me to it. Next time I am including a spoonful of instant coffee! Thank you!
Gil Ferguson says
OMG…this is the best frosting and so quick and easy…Thank You so much
Cherie Lynn Benoit says
First time for everything.
Great with white cake or brownies
Cherie
Jiei says
Mine came out hard as it cools. Not good! ((Sigh!) Maybe I shouldnt heat everything from the ingredients next time. Just mix all the ingredients together. Well, maybe!
Robbi says
How come u have to heat it, cant u just melt butter an mix together?
Steve Howland says
Why can’t you just use plain granulated sugar for this ? Does it help in the thickness to use powdered sugar ?
Paula says
Granulated sugar would be ‘gritty’
Diane Rosen says
This was the easiest frosting to make. I used it to frost a bundt cake. My kids loved it.