Name: Chocolate Frosting I
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: ¼ cup margarine, melted; ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder; ⅓ cup milk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 3 ½ cups confectioners' sugar

Great texture and color as well as taste. Smooth and easily spread, this frosting turns any cake, cookie, or cupcake into something deliciously special.

Chocolate Frosting I

margarine, melted

cocoa powder

milk

vanilla extract

confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl, beat margarine and cocoa together until combined. Add milk and vanilla; beat until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Adjust with more milk or confectioners' sugar if necessary.n


This frosting was just okay - I should've heeded the advice of many others and added more cocoa powder and less powdered sugar, as the overwhelming taste is sweet, not chocolately.  Also, the cocoa powder and butter really need to mix for awhile, and get a spatula in there to make sure it's not at the bottom of the mixer...I found a little residue at the bottom after I added the powdered sugar.  I made this to frost chocolate pound cake from this site, and didn't end up using it (the cake stands alone and the frosting just wasn't good enough)...I'll let my kids decide if they want to put it on the cake or just on graham crackers later!

This frosting took a rather average "Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies" recipe and made it one of distinction! I used half a recipe for a 9x9" pan, using butter rather than margarine, a little less powdered sugar, a bit more cocoa and half and half, a couple teaspoons of corn syrup, and about 1/2 tsp. chocolate extract in addition to the vanilla. Creamy, soft, satiny, glossy, chocolatey good.

This is a fudgey tasting chocolate frosting that sets up nicely without cracking or getting hard. I used butter instead of margarine, added 1/4t salt, and cut the sugar to 3 cups, since some reviewers said it was too sweet. This was perfect for my family, especially on Karen Dunn's Chocolate Applesauce Cake (this site). Thanks for a great treat, Tianne.

i added a lot more cocoa powder and it was pretty good, but next time i make it i'll use softened butter instead of margarine. definately let it rest and re-mix it before you use it.

I loved this recipe!  However, I found that I could feel the sugar and cocoa powder in the texture of it.  So, I let it rest on the counter for a fews hours.  Then, I whipped again.  It was perfect after that!  Thanks!

Good, creamy frosting. Quick and easy. Be sure to mix the margarine and cocoa well-no lumps. I used 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. It was sweet enough. A little more cocoa would give it a richer chocolate flavor. Will make often!

Very good frosting... I followed previous reviewers recommendations and used a little more cocoa powder and a little less sugar.... yum!

WONDERFUL!! I'VE FOUND THAT USING COCOA INSTEAD OF CHOCOLATE PIECES ALWAYS MAKES A BETTER TASTING PRODUCT. I ALWAYS USE COCOA FOR FUDGE, CAKES, FROSTINGS, ETC.  IT JUST HAS A DISTINCTIVE FLAVOR THAT I ABSOLLUTELY LOVE...&amp; THIS ONE'S SO EASY. ALSO, IT HELPS TO SIFT TOGETHER THE COCOA &amp; SUGAR FOR A SMOOTHER TEXTURE!

Nice frosting!  I used butter instead of margarine, added more cocoa and used half and half instead of milk.  I had to play with this a bit, but overall pretty good.

Great, creamy recipe.  Use BUTTER.  If you get lumps after you add the cold milk, just zap the entire mixture in the microwave for 10-15 second and mix again.  I used 3 cups powdered sugar (was perfectly sweet) and increased cocoa to 2/3 cups. Use heavy cream for a shinier finish (similar to a ganache texture).  Also, you can subsitute buttermilk instead of milk for a wonderful buttermilk, chocolate frosting.  If you do, keep sugar at 3 1/2 cups. **I use this to frost Dark Chocolate Cake II - super.

Super good, and super easy!  I put it on top of "Black Magic Cake" (from this site) that I made into cupcakes.  Great!  I would suggest not adding all the milk at once - I alternately added milk, then the confectioner's sugar, and didn't end up needing all the milk.  Might have made it a bit runny if I had used it all.  I also use 1/2 this recipe on the "Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies" from this site - awesome! Thanks for the recipe!

I needed a quick and easy chocolate frosting recipe to go with the peanut butter brownies that were cooling. This was it! So quick and easy and you can do it all with a whisk! I did, however, only use two cups of the sugar and it was great.

The reviews were so mixed on this that I was almost afraid to try this recipe...I'm glad I did. I used a 1/2 cup butter and followed the recipe otherwise. What I got was a creamy frosting that held it's shape when piped in a big swirl on the top of peanut butter cupcakes. This was neither too sweet or too cocoa intense. I'd highly recommend this recipe to others and will use it often.

I don't know why this recipe only has 4-1/2 stars.  I have used it for years and it's the only chocolate frosting recipe I ever trust.  It is extremely versatile - can be piped, or thinned and drizzled and everything else in between.  I don't know how many times I've made it - seems like zillions and it always comes out perfect.  Have made it with regular cocoa, as well as Hershey's special dark cocoa.  It is a wonderful frosting and/or filling.

The frosting turned out get great, chocolatey and moist.  I changed the measurements a bit -- 1/2cup butter, 3/4cup cocoa  powder, and 2 cups sugar.  That way it wasn't too sweet like some of the reviewers mentioned.

I only used maybe 3 TBS of milk and I ran out of icing sugar after only using around 2-1/2 cups... But it turned out delicious! I didn't have that too-sweet taste going on that some people have mentioned. I didn't melt the margarine, and I beat the icing for a bit, then let it sit for 30+ minutes and beat it again. I used it on Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies and it was absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing, Tia!

Toward the end, when I was adding additional powdery stuff to adjust the consistency, I added more cocoa powder instead of more confectioner's sugar.  I feel this really enhanced the flavor, as it was getting too sweet and not chocolate-y enough.  I was so pleased with the result.  This is a great, easy recipe which I will surely use often.  Many thanks to the author!

I took the advice of others on here and increased the cocoa and decreased the confectioner, and it's still too confectionery tasting.  Not a fan.

Like a few others, I subbed butter for the margarine and didn't bother to melt it. I used it softened and it was fine. Also used whipping cream in place of the milk because I had it and also figured it would hold up a bit better for piping purposes and I was right. Excellent taste.

I think this is a great chocolate frosting!  I used *real* butter and upped the cocoa and it was very chocolatey!  I'm not a huge chocolate fan, but it tasted good to me.  If you are a chocoholic, this is def for you!  I swirled it w/vanilla butter cream frosting to top red velvet cupcakes.  Thanks for a great chocolate frosting!  

Really good frosting.  I was a bit hesistant at first because I never made a buttercream type frosting with melted butter...and yes, I used butter not margarine.  I took the advise of other reviewers and added a couple extra tablespoons of the coco and cut back to about 2 1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar.  Used this on the Cream Filled Cupcakes from this site.

I just made this recipe with my two girls, ages 5&amp;7 , and not only was it easy, it was delicious. The girls helped me mix and measure so it was a group effort,and when I asked them what they thought I should say in the review they said "Write that it is so good we almost fainted!". I think that sums it up nicely. Thanks for the great recipe!

Wonderful and I will never buy store-bought again!  (Keep in mind that this recipe calls for confectioner's sugar and if you have ever made icing for cookies, you know you have to keep adding milk until you get the consistency you want.  If this frosting is too thick, just slowly add a little more milk.  If it is too loose, slowly add a little more sugar! You can't go wrong. Thank you very much.

This is an awesome *VERY* chocolate frosting. I was really worried at first when I mixed the butter and cocoa (seemed like not enough butter and was really dark). Then I moved the mixture into my blender (no REAL mixer sadly) and- WOW! After not giving up and adding more and more of the sugar (I had to stir by hand at first each time I added sugar) the frosting got very thick and wonderful! I used the full 3 1/2 cups of sugar and a little more then the called for milk (mine was nonfat). I will NEVER buy chocolate frosting from a can again! Thank you this was my first time making frosting and I feel great. (: Oh, I made cupcakes BTW. I think this might be hard to spread on a large cake. It's kind of like the frosting (icing) you find on donuts (only thicker).

My absolutely favorite chocolate frosting! It comes out perfect everytime and the taste is creamy and delicious.  I do use butter instead of margarine, but otherwise everything else the same.  The better the cocoa powder the better the frosting!

Really good frosting... I did add an extra tbs of butter (not margerine) and a tbs of honey to cut the taste of the powdered sugar. So much better than the store bought stuff. Thanks Tianne for the great recipe! 

I tried to use this on my cake but I used almost 5 or more powdered sugar and it was still runny like water.

i can't say enough about this frosting! i was looking for something easy and quick that i could scale down because i was short on chocolate. this frosting did me right, i put half a batch on an 8x8 pan of killer brownies, they lasted 20 minutes!

I took the advice of others and upped the cocoa.  I started at 3/4 cup and then just added enough powdered sugar to get the consistency that I wanted.  In subsequent batches, I threw in even more cocoa.  Everyone thinks it is the bomb!  I had no problems with clumping (I used a hand mixer) and just threw in cocoa at different times during the mixing process using a "taste as you go" method of measuring.  *WARNING*  This method can cause severe sugar shock!

I would reccomend this recipe if you don't have any evaporated milk--that's what happened to me!

First thing, make sure that you sift all of the powdered sugar through a little strainer, it makes it finer and not gritty.. 
I used butter, not margarine, and I actually doubled the amount of  butter to 1/2 cup and it worked out well, it wasn't melted either, it was warm..
Like a lot of reviews said, I added less powdered sugar and more cocoa and it turned out great! Really good frosting :) I am using it for my amazing chocolate cake.

Definitelyl reccomend trying this! Check many reviews to see what people suggest adding! (:

This frosting had such a smooth velvety consistancy, and it had a wonderful chocolate flavor.  My only suggestion for people trying to frost a double layer cake is that you will need to probably double the recipe and add more milk so that it  won't pull your cake apart.

very tasty, but i probably only used 3.5 cups of sugar and it was plenty sweet.

I used half the powdered sugar and double the coco and this frosting was a perfect brownie topper!

I just made this icing for the Black Chocolate Cake recipe I got on here.  One word:  DELICIOUS!  This is THE best cake frosting I've EVER had.  Make it, you'll love it!

Excellent, bakery type icing. Used on cup cakes. Will use this as a go to frosting.

This frosting was really good! It came out creamy and easy to spread, but I used significantly less sugar than called for (just under 2 cups), and like many people suggested, added a bit more cocoa.

This frosting has great consistency, and easy to spread, but a little too chocolatey for me. Very dense and rich. Overall, a good chocolate frosting though.

Just used this to top Dark Chocolate Cake II from this website. I only had skim milk, and no vanilla extract on hand, but this still turned out fine. Definitely reduce the sugar.

This will be my chocolate frosting recipe from now on. I substituted real butter for the margarine, and I added a dash of salt. Thanks Tianne!

i hate to give bad reviews, but this was terrible! it looked like brown cottage cheese! tasted bad too! i was so hopeful because of all the great reviews...what a waste!

This is sooooo good!  I used about 1/4 cup less powdered sugar than the recipe calls for, and I had to add more milk for a creamy consistency.  This tastes incredible with the Chocolate Mayo Cake submitted by Virginia Godd. It also looks very pretty.  It's WAY better than store-bought frosting.

A solid and good chocolate frosting, but not exceptional.  I prefer my frostings to be VERY  chocolately and rich.  It frosted my cake nicely, but the next day it was a bit droopy and runny on the cake.

A nice glossy frosting. This frosting was smooth in texture and easy to frost, "Banana Cupcakes," also from this website. I cut back on the amount of powdered sugar to about 3 cups while increasing the unsweetended cocoa powder a bit more. I opted to use 1/4 cup of melted butter instead of margarine and half and half milk with 1 tsp vanilla extract. I had to beat the frosting a bit until I achieved a smooth consistency then added a bit more half and half and sugar where I thought necessary. What I liked about this particular frosting recipe is that it did not hardened up at all on my cupcakes and it maintained its creamy texture. Also, this recipe uses cocoa powder whereas others call for chocolate squares - a nice change. Thou I am not a chocolate fan I had no complaints from anyone.

Turned out quite good! I followed someone's suggestion of adding a little more cocoa instead of powdered suger towards the end- otherwise it would get too sweet. But good consistency and easy to make

These were amazing lol  I was surprised but the only thing i did different was use a chocolate glaze and not the frosting!  Would make them again!

This recipe is a good start, but I felt it was way too sweet for me.  It also got thin the first two times I made it, so to try and balance out the sweetness, I threw in two VERY heaping tablespoons of shortening in it along with a pinch of flour, and wow, it got fluffy, chocolately and just wonderful!  This altered version, for me, is a keeper!  thanks for sharing it1

A nice basic frosting, albeit a little grainy. Like others, I upped the cocoa to 2/3 cup, and used only 2.5 cups confectioner's sugar.

bad bad bad! I made this frosting for a cake and it COMPLETELY demolished it...it was way too sticky. Instead of spreading over the cake, it just made the cake completely come apart...do not make it!!! It ruined my good cake! :(

This recipe was very simple to make and turned out to be delicious.  It took very few ingredients and all of them are common and inexpensive.  Will definitely use again.

Thank you! This is wonderful.. it tastes like the betty crocker packaged chocolate icing, without that strange aftertaste. Also, it is much easier to work with &amp; spread. I followed the reviews and only used 2.5 cups of sugar

I used this frosting on a white birthday cake and was told it was the best part.  This was a first for making chocolate frosting and so easy.  Thanks for the wonderful recipe.

This is an excellent frosting recipe.  Not too thick or cocoa tasting, which is what I have often run into.  I've finally settled on a chocolate frosting recipe.  THANK YOU!

I liked it and so did my husband, the really picky eater!  Given other reviews I increased the cocoa powder by about a tablespoon (I like chocolate!).  Then as I was mixing in the powdered sugar I did some taste tests.  At about 2.5 cups added it was sweet enough for my simple cake.  I then added enough milk so that it would spread without tearing my cake.  After those minor adjustments it was perfect!  Thank you for the recipe.

the other 135 people weren't wrong, this is really good frosting, fluffy, delicious and easy to spread

This tasted just like store-bought frosting, which was perfect.  My bf loved this.

None of my 5 family members were thrilled with this. Even after the suggested adjustments (less sugar, more cocoa) it was sickeningly sweet. It tasted like putting hershey's syrup on top of cake. It was easy, though, which is why it does get 2.

NEEDED A FROSTING RECIPE QUICK,THIS WAS FANTASTIC!!!!! THANKS FOR A GREAT RECIPE!!!!

This Chocolate Frosting is great just as the recipe is written.  I took the advise of other reviewers and found the frosting was ruined.  When I did make it according to directions it came out great!  If it is too sweet I would suggest adding a bit more butter instead of cutting down on sugar.  When you cut down on sugar the frosting will not have the correct consistency.

Very Good! I added sugar gradually, probably about half of the amount the recipe calls for and it turned out very chocolatey and great consistency! Spreads great!!

Seriously? I'm a big baker. Been doing it professionally for years. Decided to try out a new recipe, and this one was horrible. It tasted ok, but super grainy, and way tooo sweet.

Great base recipe... I think next time I will take the advice of others and use more cocoa powder and less powdered sugar (I only made a half-batch this time) but it's still good.  It goes great with the zucchini brownies (also from this site).  Yum!

This is my absolute favorite chocolate frosting. It is nice and creamy and fudgy! Absolutely delicious. As always, people have different tastes with sweets, u can adjust the powdered sugar to ur preference, this recipe is perfect!!

Delicious!!!! I used water instead of milk, and only a few Tablespoons, and it came out so chocolaty:)

I initially planned to follow other reviews and cut the sugar down when I made this, but I found that I needed all  the sugar to get the right consistency. So, I ended up following the recipe exactly and it turned out great. If you're expecting frosting just like what you get in a tub at the store this isn't it, but  this does have a rich chocolate flavor and it was great on cupcakes. It was pretty sweet and a thin layer of frosting was plenty. It would be perfect for brownies too! I had enough for 15 cupcakes. 

Wayy too sweet and there's a powdery aftertaste....  if you like tasting sugared sand, try this.

Love this icing.  After beating, the consistency was perfect.  I didn't have to add more milk or anything.  Frosted the "too much chocolate cake" recipe.  Both turned out perfect.  Icing was sweet but not too sweet.

This is the best chocolate frosting recipe I have found!  I love a rich very chocolate flavor and this recipe has it, not to mention it has a very nice dark look to the frosting. Love it, love it, love it!

Fantastic recipe! Thank you sooooooo much for the recipe.

This recipe tasted good but was very thick. In fact it was too thick to spread and it ruined  my cake.I added a little bit of buttermilkand then it was Perfect! i would recommend this recipe (with the altercations) to anyone who likes sweets and chocolate!!!:)

I'm so glad i cut down on the sugar. Even without the full written amount, it was really sweet.
However, it was an incredible frosting to go with the cake I made, and very easy to spread!

This did not work for me at all. I followed the recipe exactly and beat the heck out of it but it was still thin and grainy. With all the great reviews I would like to try it again to see if I can get it to work.

Yum Yum. Just what I was looking for. Will keep this recipe.

Very good!  I halved the recipe to lightly frost an 8x8 pan of "Quick and Easy Brownies" from this site. I was able to use a whisk for the first part, and a spatula to finish it up. Great flavor, color &amp; texture.

Simply one of the BEST chocolate frosting recipes I've ever had the pleasure of using.. YUMMY!

I must have done something wrong, maybe I didn't mix it enough after I added the milk and vanilla but it was grainy and thin. I threw it away and made a different chocolate frosting.

I decreased the powder sugar and increased the coco.  Excellent

Followed the recipe exactly; made in the mixer. It was FABULOUS. Looked professional, tasted incredibly chocolaty and yummy. 

Very good and so simple to make! I added a little more cocoa powder for more chocolately taste.

This is pretty thin in consistency, but it worked well for frosting a cake. I don't think I would have been able to use this for piping. 

I made this on a whim one night and it turned out great. Super simple and tasted just like the frosting that you'd buy from the store.

very tasty frosting! wouldn't change a thing (and perfect with david's yellow cake).

This frosting was delicious. Absolutely perfect on a simple white cake. 

Awesome! I did add an extra 1/4 cup of cocoa, and 1/2 cup less of powdered sugar! Smooth, rich, creamy, easy to work with! I was skeptical melted margarine? I'm a believer now! Yummy!

could've been a little more moist, but went great on my cupcakes! 

This is so good I wanted to just eat spoonfuls. I used dutch processed cocoa and heavy cream. I added the sugar gradually probably about 2 cups. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.

I used Dutch-processed cocoa instead of the normal cocoa powder and the frosting turned out to be super chocolatey, darker and delicious! I also added less sugar (2 1/2 cups) to avoid the cloying sweetness other reviewers have mentioned.

Super easy--was looking for something to go on a 8x8 vanilla cake at the last minute.  Cut this in half, added a dash of salt and used butter.  Good flavor, good texture.

this is a very Good Frosting, but i used butter instead of margarine and added a little creamcheese that i needed to use up and it was wonderful. Very creamy! Spreads nicely....

I tried the recipe as it is, and I couldn't really use the frosting that it yielded. I tried again and cut the sugar back to 2-2 1/2 cups, and increased the cocoa by about 1/3 of a cup. I also added in some coffee, as I had brewed some while making the Black Magic Cake from this site. The frosting was then a bit runny, so I had to add flour on top of that, but after all the alterations it turned out great. The recipe listed here isn't anything special, but it lays a good foundation and you can easily play around with it to get a sweetness and consistency that suits your tastes, and in that sense it was very helpful. Also, one mistake I made was not to sift the cocoa powder and sugar, so I did end up with some clumping, but will remember to do so next time.

I used unsalted butter instead of margarine and increased the sugar content by adding Splenda to the recipe.
Mine turned out nice and fluffy.

Not great. I tried this with all the suggested modifications and still had to punt.  The mixture seized after I added the milk, so I had to re-warm it over a double-boiler before I could blend in the sugar.  Then, after sitting covered at room temperature for about an hour, it was too stiff to pipe through a large star tip.  Fortunately, I was being lazy and had used a zip-top bag instead of a pastry bag, so I was able to add milk and knead it until it was loose enough to pipe.  But then it was too much like ganache to hold any shape and just sort of oozed all over the tops of the cupcakes. It does taste good, but I won't bother with it again.

Really yummy! I put this frosting on the chocolate chip cookie dough + cupcakes = the best cupcakes ever recipe. I followed the advise of other reviewers and used real butter, 3 cups of powdered sugar and about 1/3 cup of extra baking cocoa. It had a rich chocolate flavor. This is my new frosting recipe:) THANKS

Very chocolatety frosting, a little thin, (but that may have been my fault for not beating it long enough), I'm not sure that the kids cared though.  It was good on top of the chewy peanutbutter brownies (from this site).  Thanks Tianne.

This was very good and quick to make. I used oil instead of the suggested melted margarine. I decreased some of the powdered sugar and increased some of the cocoa powder to make it more chocolaty. I also used hot water instead of the milk to keep this recipe non-dairy. I used this to frost the inside and outside of a double layer s'mores brownie cake and topped the cake with mini marshmallows, chopped up graham crackers, chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. I then melted some extra chocolate chips into the left over frosting and drizzled that over the cake! It was delicious!!

This frosting was good, not great. Definitely very easy and quick, good when you need something fast. It tasted a bit too "confectionary" for my liking. But it did the job. I used only 2 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar and that was definitely enough; I also added 2 tbl spoons of milk after mixing in the sugar. I might make again if I need something quick, but otherwise i'll stick to my Buttercream Frosting.

This frosting was so good.  I spread it over a Dark Chocolate Cake I found here.  Thanks.

This frosting turned out perfect and was sooo easy to make, perfect on my brownies.

This is a fast, easy, and delicious recipie.  Great because I had all the ingredients on hand.  I added a bit more sugar though to make it thicker.  Highly recommended.

Chocolate Frosting I

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total: 15 minutes

Servings: 2

Author : Tia the Baker

Ingredients

Instructions

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