Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

For my husbands birthday, he requested a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I knew that he was very fond of buttercream frosting so I got online and looked for a good recipe to try. Many recipes involved melting chocolate morsels and I didn't feel like doing all that much work, considering I have a toddler running at my feet, so I kept looking until I found one that was simple and easy. I did finally find one here.

While I had no intention of piping, I did notice that it was a bit too fluffy and soft for it (it would have taken a lot more dry ingredients to change this). So if I were to decorate a cake, I'll probably find another recipe. But for a soft, fluffy, tasty frosting, this was the right recipe. I loved the flavor.


1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 ½ c. confectioners (powdered) sugar
½ c. cocoa powder
½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. milk or heavy cream

Cream the butter in an electric mixer until fluffy. Sift powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on low (so that the dry ingredients do not blow out) until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and milk/cream.

If frosting is too loose, add more sugar. If frosting is too thick, add milk, 1 Tbsp. at a time.

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