What Is Chocolate frosting and How Can I Use It?
Chocolate frosting rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 35 recipes to cook with it.
Key Points
- Cocoa powder gives a leaner matte frosting; melted chocolate or ganache gives gloss and rounder flavor.
- Cocoa buttercream forgives; sift cocoa and sugar to avoid grit, then loosen with milk.
- Ganache is a 1:1 weight of chocolate to cream: glaze warm, spreadable once cooled.
- Substitute 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate for 3 tablespoons cocoa, trimming a little sugar.
- Buttercream keeps a day or two at room temperature; refrigerate ganache frosting within hours.
What is chocolate frosting?
Chocolate frosting is the soft, spreadable chocolate coating that fills a cake's layers and finishes its top. It splits into a few honest camps: American buttercream on butter and powdered sugar, ganache from chocolate and cream, plus cooked fudge frosting and the canned tub.
What separates them is where the chocolate comes from. Cocoa powder gives a leaner, more bittersweet frosting that stays matte. Melted chocolate or ganache gives gloss and a rounder flavor, because the cocoa butter sets as it cools.
Both work. They just behave differently under a knife.
Working With It
Cocoa-powder buttercream is the forgiving one. Cream softened butter, sift in cocoa and powdered sugar so you get no gritty lumps, then loosen with a splash of milk until it spreads. Roughly a quarter cup of cocoa per cup of powdered sugar lands in classic dark-chocolate territory.
Ganache is the opposite approach. Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate, let it sit a minute, then stir from the center out until smooth. A 1:1 weight ratio of chocolate to cream pours as a glaze warm and spreads like frosting once cooled.
Cooked fudge frosting, the kind on Fry's Fudgey Layer Cake, sets firm and glossy and waits for no one. Spread it the moment it reaches spreadable, because it stiffens fast as it cools.
For a deep, old-fashioned result, a layer cake like Extra-Rich Chocolate Cake leans on a real cocoa or melted-chocolate frosting rather than a tub.
Pairing And Pitfalls
Chocolate frosting takes well to a pinch of salt, a shot of brewed coffee, or a splash of vanilla, all of which sharpen the cocoa instead of muddying it. It pairs naturally with coconut in Peter Paul Mound Cake and with the custard layers of an Awesome Boston Cream Pie.
The most common mistake is a grainy frosting from unsifted cocoa or powdered sugar. Sift both, and beat long enough to dissolve the sugar.
The second is overheating. Melted chocolate stirred into hot butter can break or turn greasy, so let it cool to just barely warm first.
Ganache has its own trap. Boil the cream too hard or stir too soon and it can split into an oily mess. Let the hot cream rest on the chocolate before stirring gently. If it does break, a spoon of cold cream whisked in usually pulls it back together.
Swaps And Stand-Ins
No cocoa on hand? Melt unsweetened or semisweet chocolate and beat it into the butter base instead, dropping a little powdered sugar to balance the added sweetness. About 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate stands in for 3 tablespoons of cocoa.
Out of frosting entirely, a quick ganache covers a cake with nothing but chocolate and cream. For a lighter finish, dust the top with cocoa and powdered sugar, or spread a thin chocolate glaze the way Cocoa Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze does.
Canned chocolate frosting is the honest shortcut. It is sweeter and softer than homemade. Warming it for a few seconds makes it spread cleanly, and folding in a tablespoon of cocoa or melted chocolate deepens the flavor.
Buying And Keeping It
In the tub, check that the surface is smooth with no oil pooling on top, and mind the date. Whipped varieties cover more area but hold less detail when piped, so reach for the dense stick-style tubs if you want sharp swirls.
Homemade buttercream keeps at room temperature for a day or two if your kitchen is cool, since the sugar acts as a preservative. Beyond that, refrigerate it up to a week or freeze for a couple of months, then re-whip before spreading.
Ganache-based frosting is more perishable because of the cream. Refrigerate it within a couple of hours and use it within about five days.
A finished, frosted cake holds best under a cake dome at room temperature for two to three days. Refrigerate only if the kitchen is warm, and let it come back to room temperature so the frosting softens before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 2 tbsp creamy (41g)Quick facts
Food group: Chocolate frosting is a member of the Sweets US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.
- In Chinese
- 巧克力糖霜
- British (UK) term
- Chocolate frosting
- en français
- glaçage au chocolat
- en español
- glaseado de chocolate
How much does chocolate frosting weigh?
| Amount | Weight |
|---|---|
| 2 tbsp creamy | 41 grams |
Related
Sweets
Recipes using chocolate frosting
There are 35 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Fudge Brownie Muffins
Fudge brownie muffins with cocoa, butter, cinnamon, and optional pecans. Dense brownie texture in handheld portion-controlled muffin form, ready in 40 minutes.
Five-Star Brownies
Cocoa-based brownies cut into star shapes for parties and patriotic occasions. A blend of butter and shortening keeps them tender and chewy with a deep chocolate edge.
Halloween Bat Cupcakes
Super easy to make, and we made our own chocolate cupcakes recipe and chocolate wafers recipes, you can find both of them here too! Not too sweet, not too much butter, and also we used some sour cream to make the frosting, love these cute bat Halloween cupcakes!
Cocoa Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze
Cocoa bundt cake with chocolate glaze: a one-bowl buttermilk batter that turns out tall, tender, and deeply chocolatey thanks to a half cup of cocoa and a quick double-speed beat.
Mounds of Bugs
Mounds of Bugs are no-bake Halloween treats made from Mounds candy bars with licorice legs, Reese's Pieces eyes, and chocolate sprinkle spots. A fun candy craft kids love to make.
Zucchini-Kuchen (Zucchini Cake)
An elegant German zucchini cake with coconut, candied cherries, rum, and lemon, lightened with whipped egg whites and finished in a glossy chocolate glaze. Baked in a traditional Rehruecken mold for a stunning presentation.
Creepy Critters
No-bake Halloween spider cookies made by stacking peppermint patties on butter cookies, then piping frosting legs and candy eyes. A spooky craft kids can eat!
Chocolate Ripple Cake, Low Calorie
Lower-calorie chocolate ripple cake baked in a clay pot with a coconut cream cheese swirl. Made with nonfat cream cheese, egg whites, and fat-free sour cream. Serves 12.
Cocoa Drop Cookies
Old-school cocoa drop cookies made with buttermilk and whole wheat flour, topped with a glossy homemade chocolate frosting. Quick to mix, quick to bake, and yields a big batch of 4 dozen.
Decadent Halloween Brownies
Triple-chocolate Halloween brownies with espresso, walnuts, and chocolate chips, chilled and cut into festive shapes with cookie cutters, then frosted in orange.
Peanut Butter Pizza Cookies
Oversized peanut butter pizza cookies topped with chocolate frosting, cashews, candy pieces, coconut, gumdrops, and a white chocolate drizzle. A fun decorating project for kids.
Chocolate Peanut Goodies
No-bake chocolate peanut butter candy squares made with chocolate frosting, oats, and chopped peanuts. Just 4 ingredients, no cooking, and ready in 30 minutes.
Summer Celebration Chocolate Cake
Summer celebration chocolate cake swaps some oil for applesauce in a buttermilk-cocoa sheet cake, topped with quick chocolate frosting. A potluck-ready eggless crowd-pleaser.
Mississippi Mud Brownies
Mississippi mud brownies with gooey marshmallow creme and swirled chocolate frosting over a fudgy brownie base. Semi-homemade using brownie mix for an easy crowd-pleasing dessert.
Celebration Cake
Four-layer Celebration Cake stacks chocolate and banana cake with rum-spiked pineapple cream filling and rich chocolate frosting. A showstopper for birthdays and holidays.
New Year's Eve Cake
New Year's Eve clock cake: three airy white cake layers stacked with silky chocolate cream filling, wrapped in rich Hungarian chocolate frosting and decorated to look like a clock striking midnight.
Chocolate Dream Torte
Four-layer chocolate torte with whipped cream filling, milk chocolate frosting, roasted pistachios, and handmade chocolate hearts on top. A stunning centerpiece from a simple cake mix.
Halloween Spider Cake
Spooky Halloween spider cake shaped from two round layers with black frosting, licorice legs, and gumball eyes. A fun green gelatin surprise hides inside the body.
Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake
Classic homemade chocolate cake with deep cocoa flavor baked in layers or a sheet pan. This tender, from-scratch cake is perfect for birthdays and celebrations.
Confetti Cake
Fun confetti cake with chocolate chips baked in, topped with colorful marshmallows and drizzled chocolate frosting. A semi-homemade party cake kids can't resist.
Black Cat Cupcakes
Halloween is coming, make these cute yet delicious cupcakes for your Halloween party. Everyone will love them.
Favourite Boston Cream Pie
This pie is super delicious and it is always a big hit at our family gathering dinner.
Almond Coconut Twinkles - 1953 Winner
Almond Coconut Twinkles (1953 Pillsbury Bake-Off Winner): coconut-and-almond drop cookies topped with double-boiler chocolate frosting. A senior-division winner that still delivers.
Chocolate Potato Cake
Old-fashioned chocolate potato cake with riced potatoes folded into the batter for incredible moisture. Layered with whipped cream and smothered in chocolate frosting.
Favourite Chocolate Malt Cake
Chocolate malt cake built on a full cup of malted milk powder, cocoa, butter, and half-and-half. A nostalgic 9x13 sheet cake with deep chocolate flavor and that unmistakable Whoppers-meets-fudge finish.
Chocolate Triangle Cake
Striking chocolate triangle cake with thin sponge cake strips frosted and stacked into a layered triangular log. Vintage architectural showpiece for dinner parties and birthdays.
Jamocha Rum 'N Butter Cake
Jamocha rum butter cake soaks devil's food cake with a hot rum-coffee-butter syrup, then crowns it with whipped chocolate-coffee frosting and shaved chocolate. Boozy, moist, and rich.
Microwave Cone Cakes
Brownie batter baked in ice cream cones and topped with frosting. A fun, mess-free treat kids can make in the microwave.
Awesome Boston Cream Pie
If you forgot to make a cake for dessert, then try this delicious Boston cream pie that doesn't take long to make!
First Prize Chocolate Cake
Buttermilk chocolate cake made with real unsweetened chocolate and topped with a from-scratch dark chocolate frosting. A rich, tender two-layer cake with deep cocoa flavor.
Extra-Rich Chocolate Cake
If you like fudge and moist cake--this one's for you! Extremely easy to make.
Peanut Butter Ho Ho Cake
Peanut Butter Ho Ho Cake with a devil's food cake base, fluffy whipped peanut butter filling, and pourable chocolate frosting. A nostalgic, no-fuss dessert that starts with a cake mix.
Peter Paul Mound Cake
Mounds candy bar cake with chocolate cake layers filled with gooey marshmallow-coconut filling and covered in chocolate frosting. A semi-homemade showstopper.
Fry's Fudgey Layer Cake
Rich chocolate fudge layer cake made with cocoa cooked into a thick paste before mixing into the batter. Includes a from-scratch Chocolate Frosting Royale recipe.
