Super-Simple Chocolate Frosting
Super-Simple Chocolate Frosting
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| KAF guaranteed, quick-n-easy | |
| Hands-on time: | |
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| Total time: | |
| Yield: | 4 1/2 cups, enough to fill and frost a 2 or 3-layer cake, or 24 cupcakes. |
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups unsweetened baking cocoa
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup unsalted butter, very soft
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
1) Strain the cocoa, confectioners' sugar and espresso powder, if using, into a bowl.
2) Bring the cream to a simmer on the stove or in the microwave, and whisk into the cocoa mixture.
3) At first the mixture will look grainy; continue whisking for a minute.
4) You'll see the lumps disappear as the sugar dissolves and the cocoa hydrates. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
5) Place the butter, salt, and 2 cups strained confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl.
6) Beat until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla.
7) With the mixer running on low speed, add the cocoa mixture a spoonful at a time until it's all incorporated. Scrape the bowl, then beat at medium speed for one minute more. Use to frost cake as needed.
Reviews
- 04/28/2012
- Fixed this for the first time, it was fabulous! Do want to note that if you refrigerate it, you have to give it time to soften before you use it!
04/09/2012- This is an amazing chocolate frosting. I made this for my son?s forth birthday and then again for my daughters baptism brunch - each time I had people ask where I bought the cupcakes. For my son?s birthday I used chocolate cupcakes and for my daughter I used a yellow cupcake. Both were amazing! I followed the directions on the blog, which were very helpful and left nothing to question. I piped the frosting on the cupcakes which made the presentation as beautiful as they were delicious. The frosting is smooth, creamy and with just the right amount of chocolate it?s not overly rich. Simply perfect!
- 03/08/2012
- I made the chocolate stout cake with this frosting recipe, instead of the one given with the cake recipe, and it was fabulous! The frosting has a fluffy texture (at room temp) and the flavor is delicious. I followed the recipe & included the espresso powder...it was so simple to make and the yield is plenty to frost a large two-layer cake (which the stout cake is). The combination was a huge hit & I will definitely use this recipe again.
- 01/03/2012
- I made this for my daughter's birthday and it was great. I made it with yellow cake. One thing I didn't like was that it was a little gritty. I wonder if I didn't heat the cream enough to dissolve the sugar or beat it long enough? The flavor was wonderful, despite the sandiness. I have a feeling there will be more requests for this cake for birthdays!
This will seem gritty in the early stages of mixing, but once thoroughly mixed, the confectioner's sugar should dissolve fairly easily. The cream should come to a full simmer and also be sure that adequate mixing times are observed. A measurement error with the cocoa or sugar may have caused the grittiness. ~Amy
12/08/2011- No compalints on this end, simply a good piece.
- 11/03/2011
- Hi everyone! If there were 10 stars I would rate it 10 stars! This is THE best icing/frosting I have ever made! And I have been experimenting with lots of toppings and fillings. Even family and friends who usually don't eat sweet, sugary icings are hooked on this creamy truffle like frosting! It can even be eaten with a spoon on its own! With caution I may add! I adjust the cocoa easily depending on who likes it strong or toned down. And I do add extra cup icing sugar to make it hold its shape better. Best of all it keeps beautifully in the fridge for weeks and is ideal to have frosting ready in an emergency! Thanks for a great recipe.
- 10/20/2011
- Despite the fact that I accidentally failed to put half of the butter into the recipe, this came out delicious. Very very chocolatey, and was perfect with a piping bag to put on cupcakes.
- 09/11/2011
- I usually make cream cheese based frostings as other types seem to be too sweet for my taste and the cream cheese tang takes care of that issue. But, I wanted to have a frosting that can sit at room temp. so I gave this one a try. So glad I did, very good, packs a good chocolate punch although I am sure that depends on what type and quality of cocoa powder you use. It was a little soft, but other that I really like it and will be making again. Thanks KAF!
- 08/01/2011
- I'm relatively new to making frosting from scratch (I'm sorry, I admit I LIKE canned frosting)... but this recipe may have converted me forever! I LOVE IT. I made it for someone who prefers Milk to Dark chocolate so I used less cocoa (about 1-1/14); might do even less next time (but for myself, I'd go full strength). The consistency was softer than I expected (my butter was REALLY soft). I added another cup of confectioners sugar, and refrigerated overnight. Brought to nearly room temp before frosting. It spread very easily and looks great. I'm just hoping it doesn't get too soft prior to presenting tomorrow. I refrigerated the frosted cake - hope it doesn't spoil it. But is there a way to thicken the frosting without adding additional sugar? By the way, I had enough to spread on the small top cake piece I sliced prior to frosting (KAF's "Chocolate Cake") and it was awesome. Hopefully everyone else likes it tomorrow!
- 07/31/2011
- I'm thrilled to have found this recipe. This frosting tastes like a lovely buttercream, and for all I know, maybe that's what it is. It was the beautiful picture in the July KAF Baker's Catalogue that attracted me to it, and I'm happy to report that ours came out just as picture perfect. Many thanks KAF!
Lethepg's comment intrigues me. I wonder if the yogurt is actually simmered or rather goes in room temp---and if so how does the cocoa mixture dissolve? Seems I've inherited Mom's health recipe tweaking gene after all. And thanks for your thoughts!
I would add the Greek yogurt directly from the fridge or at room temperature. Frank @ KAF.
