Chocolate Frosting with Melted Chocolate

This chocolate frosting recipe is made by melting butter, dark, and milk chocolate together before adding it to a mixer and beating icing sugar and then sour cream into the mixture. If you are looking for a decadent chocolate frosting that is great to spread over cakes and cupcakes, look no further. 

If like me you love trying out new frosting flavors, you have to try out more of my frosting recipes! Like this Peanut Butter Frosting, this Chocolate Ganache Frosting, or this Vanilla Buttercream.

Ingredients

To make this delicious chocolate frosting you will need the simple ingredients listed below. 

Vanilla extract – choose a quality vanilla extract rather than essence to give this recipe a great vanilla flavor. 

Unsalted butter – use unsalted butter rather than salted butter for this recipe. You don't need room temperature butter for this recipe as it is melted with the chocolate. 

Milk and dark chocolate – I love using a combination of dark and milk chocolate for this frosting, Cadbury milk chocolate, and Lindt 70% are my favorites. You can do the same or use semi-sweet chocolate chips, just ensure you are using high quality chocolate for this recipe. 

Whipping cream - I love adding cream to my frosting for extra fluffiness but if you don't have any open, whole milk will also work.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

To make this delicious chocolate buttercream frosting, follow the simple steps below. 

STEP 1: Melt chocolate and butter. In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Set aside to cool slightly then add the melted chocolate mixture to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. 

STEP 2: Add the vanilla and syrup. Add the golden syrup and vanilla extract to the chocolate mixture and mix briefly.

STEP 3: Add icing sugar. Sift half of the icing sugar over the frosting mixture and whisk to combine. 

STEP 4: Add sour cream. Add the sour cream and beat until the frosting is well combined and homogeneous. At first, the mixture will look lumpy, continue beating at medium-high speed. 

STEP 5: Add remaining icing sugar. Sift over the remaining icing sugar and beat at medium-high speed until the frosting is fluffy.

STEP 6: Add cream and salt. With the mixer's motor running at medium-high speed, add the cream and salt and beat until fluffy. 

STEP 7: Decorate. Add the frosting to a piping bag or use an offset spatula to smooth it over cakes, cupcakes, or cookies. 

Hint: When the sour cream is added the mixture will look lumpy, trust the process and just carry on beating it, it will become smooth. 

Variations

This chocolate frosting has the perfect balance of bitter and sweet chocolate for my taste but you can try different combinations of chocolate if you prefer. All milk chocolate or all dark chocolate will work for this recipe. 

If you are unsure what to use this frosting on, try these Vanilla Cupcakes or this easy recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes. 

And if you'd like to see how I have used this recipe or variations of it in other recipes then look at this Bounty Cake or this Bar One Chocolate Cake which uses Bar One chocolate bars in the recipe! They both make the perfect birthday cake!

Equipment

To make this decadent chocolate frosting recipe you will need a rubber spatula and an electric mixer, either an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer.

I always use a stand mixer or electric whisk to make the buttercream as they help ensure a fluffy frosting. I also always use an accurate kitchen scale when baking.

Depending on how you use this frosting you may need piping bags, different nozzles, and an offset spatula. 

Storage

Once you have made this creamy chocolate frosting I recommend using it immediately on your baked goods.

For any leftover frosting store it in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days. You will need to re-whip this frosting before using it again but first, bring it to room temperature.

When it comes to delicious frostings, it doesn’t get more addictive than this recipe. Whether you are using this on chocolate or vanilla cakes you are going to love the result! The real chocolate flavor is what makes this recipe so successful, so definitely give it a go over cocoa-based frosting recipes. 

If you give this recipe a go, please leave a star rating and comment below – I love hearing about your kitchen stories!

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Happy Baking

With Love,

Kitty