This Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frosting goes along with this Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake. That recipe card covers both, but this frosting is just too good to not have it’s own post! It would be great on so many different cakes or cupcakes. Don’t be turned off by the number of steps here. This recipe is originally from Cook’s Illustrated, which means every step and ingredient serves a specific purpose in turning out the most delicious end result! I’m so glad I stuck with the recipe and made this frosting. It’s more labor intensive than beating some butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder together but it’s sooo worth it. The flavor is so perfect. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, so the great chocolate flavor really shines through. You’re going to come back to this one again and again, I promise!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Semisweet chocolate – Chocolate chips work great, but so would a chopped up chocolate bar.
- Unsalted butter – Use real, unsalted butter. The butter in this recipe gets cooked with sugar. Although you could probably use salted butter, the salt at that step could affect the way the sugar dissolves. Adding it at the end helps highlight the chocolate flavor as well, so unsalted butter is preferred!
- Granulated sugar
- Light corn syrup – Like Karo brand. This is not high-fructose corn syrup, by the way. It’s mostly glucose and helps prevent sugar crystals from forming. You’ll find it on the baking aisle near the other syrups.
- Vanilla extract
- Table salt
- Heavy cream
How to Make Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frosting
- Start by melting some chocolate. The glass bowl you see in the pictures is sitting on top of a pan of simmering water. After the chocolate is melted, set the bowl aside and dump out the water that was in the pan. Now you’ve already got a warm pan for the next step (butter melting). Remember that when you read the recipe and it tells you to use 2 pans. I’m all about one less dish to
have sitting in my sink for dayswash. - To the melted butter, you’ll add a little corn syrup, vanilla, and granulated sugar. As soon as it’s all melted together and the sugar is dissolved, add it to a large bowl along with the chocolate. The beautiful, glorious, melted chocolate. And also some heavy cream. You know, for good measure.
- You’ll stir this all together and have sort of a chocolate sauce consistency. Place your bowl in a bowl of ice to bring the temperature down, and just keep stirring until the mixture starts hardening against the side of the bowl. Then you can pop the paddle attachment on your mixer and start whipping. Magically it turns thick and fluffy.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished frosting in the fridge in an airtight container. When ready to use, let sit at room temp for 20-30 minutes then rewhip briefly before using.
- Don’t overcook your sugar mixture! Keep the heat low and remove it from heat as soon as you don’t see sugar crystals.
- If you jumped the gun and didn’t cool your frosting mixture enough, pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes and whip again!
- Note that the texture of this frosting is so light and soft, and whippy, that this frosting would probably be best for slathering- like smeared all over a cake, or just plopped on top of cupcakes, as opposed to piping. If you’re looking for a good chocolate icing for piping- try this Chocolate Frosting!
Frequently Asked Questions
For sure! Just store it in the fridge in an airtight container. When ready to use, let it sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes and then rewhip to restore texture before using.
This recipe is best for semi-sweet chocolate. Milk chocolate will result in a softer, sweeter frosting (likely overly sweet) with a less deep chocolate flavor. White chocolate is mostly sugar and cocoa butter, with no cocoa solids, so it melts and behaves quite differently than semisweet chocolate. I would not expect the frosting to turn out well at all with white chocolate!
Regular whipping cream would be an ok substitution, but your frosting may not whip up as firmly. I would not use milk.
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
- 16 ounces semisweet chocolate finely chopped (I measured 16 ounces chocolate chips on a kitchen scale, it’s a teeny bit more than 2 ½ cups.)
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoons table salt
- 1 ¼ cups cold heavy cream
Instructions
- Melt Chocolate in heatproof bowl set over a saucepan containing 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted. Increase heat to medium; add sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt and stir with heatproof rubber spatula until sugar is dissolved, 4-5 minutes. Add melted chocolate, butter mixture, and cream to clean bowl of stand mixer and stir to thoroughly combine.
- Place mixer bowl over ice bath and stir mixture constantly with rubber spatula until frosting is thick and just beginning to harden against sides of bowl, 1-2 minutes (frosting should be 70℉). Place bowl on stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed until frosting is light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Stir with rubber spatula until completely smooth.
Notes
- Store finished frosting in the fridge in an airtight container. When ready to use, let sit at room temp for 20-30 minutes then rewhip briefly before using.
- Don’t overcook your sugar mixture! Keep the heat low and remove it from heat as soon as you don’t see sugar crystals.
- If you jumped the gun and didn’t cool your frosting mixture enough, or it just seems a little too soft, pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes and whip again!
- Note that the texture of this frosting is so light and soft, and whippy, that this frosting would probably be best for slathering- like smeared all over a cake, or just plopped on top of cupcakes, as opposed to piping. If you’re looking for a good chocolate icing for piping- try this Chocolate Frosting!
Questions & Reviews
Okay, this looks fabulous! However, I went to check out the chocolate cake recipe from “Cooks” and there are to many to count. How about some help as to where to find the recipe-better yet, can you send it my way? Thanks. I LoVe, lOvE, LOVE your blog and book! I also made lots of mother day cans for friends, family and my nursery kids “kissed” the pre-made cans leaving lipstick “kisses” from them to mom. They were a hit! What to do about 2 big bags of fruit cocktail is my dilemma now! Thanks
I’m surprised at the comments, which is why I always take the time to read them. Yellow cake never occurs to me. Not when I could make chocolate. It sounds good though and I might have to give it a chance, after I make the chocolate one, of course. I got my chocolate tooth when I started having kids too, but only in baked form. No chocolate bars here. Cake is so much healthier right? 🙂 I’ll be trying this as soon as I get the chance. I wanted to share a link with you though: http://www.amazon.com/SideSwipe-KitchenAid-Bowl-Lift-Stand-Mixers/dp/B0027YOW8S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1304973463&sr=8-3.
This is a SideSwipe blade. It’s just a paddle attachment (available for most mixers) but it’s like having a rubber spatula and paddle in one. No more stopping to scrape the sides. I bought one about a year and a half ago, and it’s the only thing I ever use, even for lighter breads! I sound like a commercial, but it’s seriously my favorite part of my KitchenAid.
Angie, you’re right, these are great! I use mine ALL the time. Do you think we can get compensated for our endorsements? Probably not.
I think you could use sweetened condensed milk instead of corn syrup. I made a fudgy frosting with just sweetened condensed milk and melted chocolate chips, similar to an easy fudge recipe I have.
I don’t have a stand mixer or anything. Could I use a regular egg beater to do the last step?
Yes Cami- you could definitely use a regular hand mixer!
So I’ve been wanting to get your book for a while now and yesterday my mom got it for me and my sisters! We spent about an hour pouring (drooling) over all of the wonderful recipes! So excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woo Hoo! What a nice momma! Hope you enjoy it!
I just want to eat it by the spoonful! How many calories you suppose? Nevermind, I’d rather not know. Thanks for the recipe 😉
I am sooo excited for the cake recipe! I have to do a chocolate cake this weekend and need a good recipe. Do you think the cake recipe is sturdy enough to stack and do a 3 tier? I hope so!!! 🙂
Yep- definitely sturdy enough to stack 🙂
Ah! I need the cake recipe NOW! LOL! Tomorrow is my hudband’s birthday, I can’t wait until Wednesday! I guess I will have to try the frosting with my old chocolate cake recipe 🙂 and try this one next time.
Email me if you want- I’d be happy to share it with you before then!
Oh, if you get this tonight, I would appreciate it so much if you would PLEASE email it to me. Thanks!!!
I really want some chocolate frosting now, that looks soooo good!
love the look of this cake frosting!! i have noticed that you cook it with corn syrup…is there a substitute for the syrup that wont make the food your cooking taste different, i thought honey, but honey has a pretty distinct taste..just wondering cuz we don’t use or eat any corn syrup..thx so much!
Lol- Denelle I made a prediction when I wrote this post that someone in the fist 10 comments would ask for a substitute for corn syrup. I’m so good! In this recipe, honestly, nope. I mean, you could probably use honey, but like you said, it’s going to affect the flavor.
How about trying Agave nectar? It has the same consistency as corn syrup but supposed to be better for you…not sure that it really is though 🙂 The brand I used was Xagave and I found it at the Bosch kitchen store but I’m sure it’s sold in lots of other stores too. Good Luck!
Use Lyle’s Golden syrup. It is an import from England available in most grocery stores (just ask them to help you find it). I substitute with it all the time and like it just as well, if not better. It is more expensive though. I hope it helps!
Thx for the help and ideas! I also just googled corn syrup substitute and It said I can just take however much light corn syrup it asked for and put that much white sugar.in then add water…and same with dark cs..just use brown sugar and water…I will check actual mesurments if anyone else would like to know…also if I make this frosting..and im pretty sure I will since my 2 yr olds bday is this sat. Ill let you know how it turned out and tasted..