Easy Fudge Buttercream Frosting
It’s rich, creamy and intensely chocolaty, and it couldn’t be easier to make! Plus it’s the perfect topping for cakes, cupcakes and more.
Baking and assembling a cake is hard enough without adding a complicated frosting recipe to the mix. Everyone needs a few easy frosting recipes up their sleeve and this is one of my favorites. It always receives rave reviews and every time I whir it up I want to dive in headfirst into the silky chocolate. Although I usually settle for a few finger swipes instead.
This frosting comes together in a food processor in about 10 seconds flat. It’s awesome. If you don’t have a food processor you can use a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, but the results won’t quite be the same. The food processor keeps the frosting dense and fudgy, while using something like a stand mixer will incorporate air into the frosting while you beat it, creating a more light and airy product.
Use this easy fudge buttercream frosting on just about anything! I’ve used it in this chocolate fudge layer cake (pictured below), this yellow birthday cake with chocolate frosting, and on top of these vanilla cupcakes.
Easy Fudge Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 6 oz unsweetened chocolate , melted and cooled (180 grams)
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar (563 grams)
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter , at room temperature (340 grams)
- 6 tablespoons whole milk or half and half (90 ml)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below, send me an email, or take a photo and tag it on instagram with #completelydelicious.
Please pass me a spoon, that buttercream is gorgeous!
This is picture perfect in every way! I want to down that ish with a spoon!! Beautiful.
OMG. This is awesome!
I’m bookmarking this because Asher is apparently determined to bake every day!
Smart boy! 😉
I just made this frosting – its sooooooo good. However, all I had was semi sweet chocolate. Def need the unsweetened but it was still delicious. I was experimenting as I’m going to be baking a birthday cake for someone in a few days. Just need to know if this cake is ok to leave at room temp. Just don’t want the frosting to start to slide off the cake because the base is butter instead of shortening. Also, is it a frosting that can be smoothed to give it that fondant look (will this frosting crust?) in order to decorate it? Great recipe – I could just eat a bowl of it by itself.
Yes, this cake will be fine at room temperature. I usually like to chill my cake after frosting to make it more sturdy, then let it sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving. But that’s not necessary. Left uncovered it should form a crust, though I’ve never tried to give my cakes a “fondant look”. Hope this helps!
I will never make another chocolate frosting. Thank you forever!
Do I have to use a food processor or would it turn out okay if I use a standard kitchenaid mixer??? Thanks!
I made cupcakes and topped them with this buttercream icing of yours. It looked so good!! and tasted equally good too. It’s amazing how this simple recipe can be used in so many simple desserts to give them a gourmet twist! My next plan is to make cake with the same icing.
Yes!! So happy you found and loved this recipe. It would be awesome with a cake! 🙂
I make this frosting all the time. It is consistently wonderful! Can you tell me if the icing can be made a day ahead then frosted the next day? I like to chill/freeze my cake layers before I frost them. It makes them so much easier when the cake layers are cold/frozen.
Again, wonderful recipe!
Yes, this frosting can be made up to several days in advance. Store it in the fridge but let it come completely to room temperature before frosting your cake so it’s at a good spreadable consistency.
Hi. Will this be enough to fill and cover a 3 layer cake, need to fill 2 layers? Thinking of mixing in a little Tia Maria for a Mocha taste.
Hi Delia! The frosting won’t be thick, but it should be able to fill and frost a 3 layered cake. If you want a more generous frosting to cake ration, consider multiplying it by 1 and a 1/2. Love the idea of a mocha fudge frosting too!
I live in Pakistan where the weather is usually very hot in Summers and for a few months humid as well , will this work with out shortening and secondly can I freeze it and then use it later ?
This frosting does freeze very well! Let it thaw and then beat with an electric mixer to fluff it up again. This recipe does require butter, if you want a recipe without butter I recommend searching for a “chocolate ganache”.
Will this work for Tunnel of Fudge cake by just adding it in with the cake mix?
No idea, never tried it!
Been looking for a fudge buttercream frosting that is super easy and with just the right sweetness. So glad to have found this! Now I am using this to pair with my moist chocolate cake and I get nothing but rave reviews!thanks a lot ❤❤❤
Lol this recipe made me realize I must have a *tiny* food processor.
Can we use a mixer and get the same result? Thanks!
You can use a mixer, but it won’t quite have the same result and the mixer will incorporate more air into the frosting. The frosting will likely be lighter in color and texture, but definitely still delicious!