This ultra-rich and silky smooth chocolate fudge frosting only takes 5 ingredients to make. It’s the perfect indulgent chocolate frosting to keep on hand for all sorts of sweet desserts!
Why this recipe works
Homemade fluffy chocolate fudge frosting is super simple to make using butter, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. I much prefer it over a tub of store-bought frosting, and you can whip it up in under 10 minutes total.
Imagine spreading a heaping layer of smooth chocolate buttercream over double chocolate cupcakes, fudge brownies, or a classic white cake. Bookmark this recipe for all your chocolate fudge desserts!
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions
FROSTING – In place of the heavy cream you can use whole, regular milk, or almond milk though you likely won’t need the full 2/3 cup as originally called for. Heavy cream creates a fluffy smooth frosting, milk will do the trick as well but is thinner in consistency. It will not whip up as well and might be runnier. If you plan on substituting the heavy cream with milk, use your best judgment when adding it to the mixture (you don’t want to add too much otherwise the frosting won’t be very stable).
How to Make Chocolate Fudge Frosting
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- In a small saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over low heat.
- Mix in cocoa powder, stirring until the mixture is nice and thick.
- Place chocolate mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add ½ of the powdered sugar, mix until combined. Add half of the heavy cream, mix until combined. Continue with remaining powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.
- Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes, until frosting is smooth and creamy. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Yes, you can easily double this recipe for more frosting. The ingredients listed in the recipe card below is enough to frost 12 cupcakes. If you plan on frosting an entire cake (sides included) I would recommend doubling this recipe to be safe.
You can freeze chocolate fudge frosting in an air-tight container for up to 4 months. Allow it to come to room temperature then give it a good mix before spreading or piping.
This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for 4-5 days when stored in an air-tight container or ziptop bag.
Serving Suggestions
Serve chocolate fudge frosting piped or smeared over cupcakes, cake, brownies, sugar cookies, or donuts. We won’t judge if you decide to lick it straight from the bowl!
More Chocolate Recipes
- Chocolate Mousse
- Chocolate Lasagna
- Chocolate Pound Cake
- Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies
- Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
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Chocolate Fudge Frosting
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter one stick
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 cups powdered sugar aka confectioners sugar or icing sugar
- â…” cup heavy cream or whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- The ingredients listed in the recipe card is enough to frost 12 cupcakes.
- You can easily double this recipe for more frosting. If you plan on frosting an entire cake (sides included) I would recommend doubling this recipe. You will also want to double it to frost a 13×9 cake or a 2 layered round cake.
- In place of the heavy cream you can use whole, regular milk, or almond milk though you likely won’t need the full 2/3 cup as originally called for. Heavy cream creates a fluffy smooth frosting, milk will do the trick as well but is thinner in consistency. It will not whip up as well and might be runnier. If you plan on substituting the heavy cream with milk, use your best judgment when adding it to the mixture (you don’t want to add too much otherwise the frosting won’t be very stable).
- If your frosting is too thick – add about a tablespoon more of heavy cream, then slowly adding more as needed.
Instructions
- In a small saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over low heat.
- Mix in cocoa powder, stirring until the mixture is nice and thick.
- Place chocolate mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer). Add ½ of the powdered sugar, mix until combined. Add half of the heavy cream, mix until combined. Continue with remaining powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.
- Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes, until frosting is smooth and creamy. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Amanda Davis
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Fudge Chaser says
It’s okay, but it’s not really fudgy at all, and it’s not thick enough to hold up between two layers of cake (even chilled, it squeezes out). I was hoping for a more pronounced and rich chocolate flavor, but this recipe tastes like a lighter chocolate buttercream. Unfortunate all around. Fine for a thin layer on cupcakes, I assume.
Amanda Formaro says
Hmm, I literally just made this a couple weeks ago for a birthday party and everyone raved about it. Sounds like you may have missed a step or perhaps one of your ingredients was expired. Did you substitute anything?
William A Whittemore says
Hey . I ma de this pbu I altered it slightly and itl still came out delicious , I added two tablespoons of condensed milk and o make extra fluffy I added two tablespoons of Crisco shortening . It was on so good . I was proud… Try it sometime . Have a blessed day
Rose says
So delicious. I’ve tried to find a dusgy chocolate frosting that was rich but not too sweet. This hit the spot. I made one batch and I was able to fill and ice 3 – 7″ layers of herseys chocolate cake. I definitely needed to add more whipping cream, my icing came out thick but spreadable not as glossy as the photo here. I cannot wait to make It again. No changes were made from the recipe posted. I used Ghirardelli 100% Dutch processed cocoa powder. Perfection!!
Grace says
Balances my chocolate cake really well. So smooth and creamy too. Thanks for the recipe.
Amy Fleming says
Can I make ahead and freeze? How would I thaw just sit out? Thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
Yes, freeze in an air tight container. Thaw in the fridge preferably, but room temp will work too
Marilyn says
Good recipe, turned out great! I was looking for a frosting for my peanut butter fingers that had a richer chocolate flavor than chocolate buttercream. Didn’t have any issues, whisked chocolate and melted butter until it was smooth, added 1/2 powdered sugar, mixed and added 1/2 the milk. Thick, had little beads but I didn’t mix it that long. Added 2nd cup of powdered sugared, mixed more, added rest of milk and vanilla and mixed until smooth…maybe 2 minutes and I used cold 1/2 & 1/2…it’s what I had on hand. It does come out smooth if directions are followed. Very good, wasn’t too sweet. Used 1/2 Hersheys cocoa & 1/2 Dutch process.
Grace says
Good idea mixing 2 different kind of cocoas, I’ll try it next time as I want my frosting a little bit more deeper
Misty says
Just made this for a chocolate cake. The flavor is fantastic! I did follow the instructions very carefully because I was concerned about if pilling like other reviews mentioned. I added the cream very slowly, did half the sugar then half the cream as written. I still ended up with a lot of little cocoa powder balls in the final product, even after beating for 5 minutes. Any suggestions for what I may have done wrong?
Amanda Formaro says
What was the expiration date on your cocoa powder? How long was it in the pantry since the last time you used it? Sometimes it can settle and just age. I like to fluff any powdery ingredients (flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking soda, etc) before measuring and using them.
Marilyn says
I just made this frosting 5 minutes ago. I didn’t sift the cocoa powder, but I pulled the melted butter off the burner, added the cocoa and whisked until smooth. It does get smooth if you wisk it. I did sift my powdered sugar.
Andrea says
This fudge frosting is amazing! It came together beautifully (I followed the directions for adding ingredients in steps). I made a 1-1/2 amount because I needed to frost a layer cake that already had a filling for the layers. It was plenty (and nice and thick!). I will keep this recipe and definitely make it again (and again, and again…). The only improvement I would like to see is weight measurements in addition to the volume (maybe some people had trouble because their amount of cocoa or powdered sugar was off). Thank you for sharing, Amanda!
Rose Tunney says
This was a bit too sweet for me and was also very grainy. I didn’t have heavy cream but did use half and half. I added more of it, which was suggested as a possible way to make it less grainy, but it didn’t help much.
Misty says
It shouldn’t be grainy unless you accidentally used regular sugar instead of powdered sugar.
Denese says
Delicious! Perfect consistency and fudgey flavor. We prefer a fudge frosting (rather than a chocolate buttercream) and this is fantastic – I’ll never buy another tub of store-bought fudge frosting again! We lean towards dark chocolate, so I used 1/2 c. dark cocoa powder and 1/2 c. regular (I might even go 2/3 c. dark + 1/3 c. regular next time). For those who had issues with the mixture creating little balls/pebbles – after adding the FIRST half of the cream, I mixed on low speed to incorporate the cream and then bumped it up to medium speed just long enough to get all of the balls/pebbles to smooth out…about a minute. I had no balls/pebbles after that point. I used heavy cream and I let it warm to room temp; I also let the butter cool slightly after it was fully melted on the stove, before adding the cocoa powders (I sifted them into the butter to avoid clumps). Not sure if hot butter and/or cold cream would affect the outcome but I didn’t want the chocolate to seize ;) Last small tweak I made – I added an 1/8th teaspoon of salt along with the vanilla to amp up the chocolate just a touch. So delicious and creamy – thank you for this wonderful recipe, Amanda!
Emily M says
This is incredibly tasty and easy to make. It’s like an extremely elevated version of the canned stuff. I doubled the recipe for a 4-layer 9″ cake (2 baked layers and then cut in half to total 4) which had the perfect ratio of cake to frosting for my taste. I sifted the cocoa powder into the butter to eliminate lumps and added a heavy pinch of salt to the butter to enhance the chocolate flavor. In the future I’ll hold back on adding all of the heavy whipping cream, because I had to add a little more powdered sugar to get it to a thicker consistency. I also could have refrigerated the frosting and whipped it more later, but I was in a hurry. I can definitely see this being my go-to classic chocolate frosting recipe.
MaryM says
When I find myself with surplus egg yolks, I use them in a recipe for yellow cake that I bake in two 8 inch square pans, wrap securely, and put in the freezer for “emergency “ desserts. Half this recipe generously frosts one square pan and there are few things that can compete to yellow cake with seriously good fudge icing. This is seriously good fudge icing
Pamela Kenny says
So creamy and fudgy!
Lizzy says
I made this recipe and absolutely loved it! I’m really picky with frosting, particularly chocolate and this was super yummy! Pretty sweet but not super rich which I enjoyed. After first mixing in the powdered sugar and chocolate mixture, it beaded up but after adding the milk and pushing through it really came together :))
Christy says
This was way too sweet. I also had to add extra heavy whipping cream because it was so dry
Joy says
When do you put in the vanilla?
Amanda Formaro says
Sorry about that, I’ve corrected the recipe. It goes in with the cream.
Mackenzie Davies says
Can this recipe be used for cupcakes to be outside in some heat?
Amanda Formaro says
It’s best if these aren’t sitting in the sun. Keeping them in the shade will help, or even better if you can keep them in a cooler. They should be fine for a couple hours outside covered up.
A. L. A. says
is it possible to use half the butter and the rest peanut butter
Sad says
I don’t know if I did something wrong or if this recipe is just off. I cooked the butter down and mixed in the cocoa powder as directed, but when I added the powdered sugar into it and started beating it just beaded up and there were a million tiny clumps of cocoa powder that never incorporated. And I whipped it with the whisk attachment for a while trying.
Chelsea says
I also had this problem. Any ideas??
Chelsea says
I also had a problem with the butter and cocoa powder turning into the paste-like consistency that you had shown. Does the cocoa powder need to be hard packed?
Amanda Formaro says
The cocoa powder mixture will be paste like, please refer to the step by step photos in the post. You will see what it should look like. Place chocolate mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add HALF of the powdered sugar, mix until combined. Add HALF of the heavy cream, mix until combined. Continue with remaining powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.
Amanda Formaro says
The cocoa powder mixture will be paste like, please refer to the step by step photos in the post. You will see what it should look like. Place chocolate mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add HALF of the powdered sugar, mix until combined. Add HALF of the heavy cream, mix until combined. Continue with remaining powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.
Anita says
Can you use canned milk
Amanda Formaro says
We have not tried that, but I would imagine it would be fine. That is if you are referring to regular milk and not sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk.