If you are looking for a good fudgy frosting for cake or cupcakes, this quick and easy recipe is the one you need.
I have been using this frosting recipe for almost 50 years! If you want a "bittersweet" frosting, leave off the vanilla. I do not add it anymore, and we like it better. Can easily add another square of chocolate for even fudgier frosting. I often halve the sugar & butter and use 2 sqs. of chocolate for 13X9 cakes. Save a lot of fat gms. and calories, and my husband never knows the difference. If you make a layer cake, you must use the full recipe. I usually need only 1/3 C milk for the right consistency. Whip the frosting on high for a couple of mins. to make it fluffier.
Read MoreThis recipe is very close to the recipe printed on the Baker's unsweetened chocolate box. The Baker's recipe calls for an extra square of chocolate (4 oz. total) and 1/3 cup milk. When I saw the comments from other reviewers that it wasn't enough chocolate and too much milk I just went with the Baker's recipe.
Read MoreI have been using this frosting recipe for almost 50 years! If you want a "bittersweet" frosting, leave off the vanilla. I do not add it anymore, and we like it better. Can easily add another square of chocolate for even fudgier frosting. I often halve the sugar & butter and use 2 sqs. of chocolate for 13X9 cakes. Save a lot of fat gms. and calories, and my husband never knows the difference. If you make a layer cake, you must use the full recipe. I usually need only 1/3 C milk for the right consistency. Whip the frosting on high for a couple of mins. to make it fluffier.
This recipe is very close to the recipe printed on the Baker's unsweetened chocolate box. The Baker's recipe calls for an extra square of chocolate (4 oz. total) and 1/3 cup milk. When I saw the comments from other reviewers that it wasn't enough chocolate and too much milk I just went with the Baker's recipe.
Wow...what an incredibly beautiful frosting! Smooth, shiny, spreadable, decadently fudgey and creamy, this is without a doubt one of the best chocolate fudge frostings ever. I used 4 ounces of fine quality chocolate and 1/2 cup milk and it was simply perfect, ready to spread after standing about 5-10 minutes. My only suggestion would be that while this is adequate for a 13x9" cake, my 2-layer cake could easily have used another half recipe, even a double recipe if decorated.
Oh my goodness! This was the most phenomenal chocolate frosting I have ever made. Its the first one I made, not using cocoa powder, and I will never go back. I had to make a birthday cake for someone who loves chocolate - oh my, this one requires a big glass of milk alongside. I actually doubled the recipe to make sure I had enough to frost a layer cake, and I ended up only adding the first amount of milk because I thought it appeared too thin. As it began to set, it was just perfect. Once I had the layers frosted, I thinned out a portion to use for piping and decorating, because I was afraid it wouldn't come through the tip, and it was perfect. This is now my chocolate frosting recipe. And anyone who said it wasn't sweet enough is just crazy.
Very good fudgy frosting, easy to make. But definitely have to WAIT for it to set before spreading or it will spread too much
This is the perfect chocolate frosting recipe. It is so flexible. I made a yellow sheet cake, and punched holes in the cake while it was hot. I made the frosting exactly as the recipe...using 1/2 cup of the milk. I then separated one cup of the frosting, added more milk for a thinner consistency, and poured this over the hot cake. The frosting ran in the holes. After the cake cooled, I frosted with the thicker frosting. It was HEAVEN SENT! Thank you for sharing the recipe Carrie.
Overall, this recipe is very good, the frosting tasted wonderful on chocolate cake. The only bad thing I noticed was that it was a little bit thin and runny, even after it had cooled.
What an incredibly smooth chocolately frosting! I used 3 - 1 oz. squares of Baker's semi-sweet chocolate plus 2 oz. of Hershey's dark chocolate. I only used 5 Tbsp. of milk to get the right consistency. It was perfect for Black Magic Cake from this site.
Oh, this is good! Much better than the buttercream frostings I hear referred to so often. I used a double dose of this recipe to frost my first cake ever, a 4-layer devil's food cake, and it turned out very well. Everyone that had a piece absolutely adored it. I loved the frosting, especially. Even when the cake itself became dry, the frosting was still moist and delicious.
Holy smokes- I'll never use any other chocolate frosting recipe again; sooooo easy, soooooo decadent and pretty. I used 4 oz of chocolate, and needed no more than 1/2 cup milk (and after some internet investigating, found that 1 lb powd. sugar is equal to 4 cups). Thanks for the great recipe!!!
So yummy! I used it to frost the Black Chocolate Cake from this site (I made 2 9-in round layers) and this made PLENTY of icing (with leftovers) to frost the top, sides and a layer in between the two rounds. Looks and tastes great! I did use slightly less milk than the recipe called for and it set to a useable texture in about 5 minutes.
This frosting is the bomb! I should mention that my review is based on adding a extra 1 oz. chocolate. I used about 1/2 cup of milk. I let it sit for about 10 minutes and it was perfect for piping onto cupcakes. I made half again as much frosting and it was the perfect amount for about 30 cupcakes. This will be my go-to chocolate frosting recipe from now on!
WOW! This is delicious, fudgey, decadent frosting! A cinch to make, and also spread very easily, making decorating the cake a breeze! I followed the reviewers' two main tips- 4 oz of chocolate and 1/2 cup milk- and thought that the taste and consistency were perfect! As written, this recipe yields the right amount for one cake, but when I make a double layer cake, I find that one-and-a-halfing the recipe is necessary. Thanks so much i love this frosting!! :)
This is not only for fudge. I use this frosting for almost every dessert that I make. It is easy and I always have everything I need in my pantry. Thanks for the post.
Too much milk, not enough chocolate (to offset the sugar, needs salt (I do not think salted butter is the answer, just add some salt to taste at the end and stir). This is, as others have said, identical to the Baker's chocolate recipe on the box except this one has been modified, and not for the better. With this much milk, you have to add the entire 4 cups of sugar, and then it's too sweet to be a fudge frosting. Reducing the milk and adding chocolate (which is what the Baker's recipe says to do anyway) is the solution. Any frosting with "fudge" in the name should be redolent with chocolate taste, and not so much on the sugar taste. Thanks for the recipe, it's made my house smell delicious!
One word....YUMMY! I used whipping cream in place of the milk as I wanted a richer frosting and a more professional taste. I will be using this again for sure!!
This is much better, in my opnion, than the powdered sugar and cocoa powder buttercream. The melted chocolate gives a much deeper and richer flavor.
I love, love this recipe - the frosting rocked! I followed the other reviewers suggestions and used 4 squares of chocolate and 1/2 cup of milk...FABULOUS! My only mistake was not putting this delicious frosting on homemade cupcakes...I used a box (and while it was great and everyone loved the cupcakes) this frosting deserves a more decadent foundation : )...a nice dense, homemade cake or cupcakes (IMO). Thanks You!
Excellent recipe! Very fudgy and chocolatey, just like the title indicates! I don't keep unsweetened chocolate squares around much so I just used the substitution for cocoa and butter (1T butter to 3T cocoa). SO rich and decadent and beautifully creamy... mmm!
Great frosting. Perfect on cakes. I made one change - only used 1/2 cup milk and that gave me the perfect spreading consistency.
As one of my kids put it, this frosting would make dirt taste good. This came together perfectly, piped onto the peanut butter cupcakes beautifully, and tasted amazing. Definitely a winning chocolate frosting recipe!
Very fudgy and delicious icing. My husband requested a chocolate cake with fudge icing for his birthday and he was delighted with this icing.
I was shocked at how beautifully this came together, without any cooking on the stove! It is fudgy and rich, and easy! It was a little too much for a 13x9 cake, but the leftovers are great on graham crackers.
This recipe is a keeper. I will use this from now on, easy to make and delicious result. It frosts 24 cupcakes perfectly. We added red, white and blue sprinkles for the 4th of July.
While I have a lot to learn about cake decorating I can certainly slather on frosting and shake on sprinkles. As other reviewers suggested I used 4 oz. of chocolate and 1/2 cup of milk in this frosting. It was perfect paired with David's Yellow Cake from this site. Yummy!!!
EXCELLENT! I omitted the vanilla extract and replaced the milk with coffee. SO RICH! I wanted a bit thicker texture but not slap-you-in-the-face sweetness, so instead of adding more sugar to thicken it I added 1 tablespoon of corn starch. Perfect!
I added a little extra chocolate (cocoa powder) because I wanted it REALLY chocolatey - a great recipe!
Great, easy fudgy frosting!! Remember to add only 1/2 cup of milk, and then only add enough more for your desired consistency(actually, mine was a little on the thin side, but by the time my cake cooled, the frosting had firmed up some). It was perfect, actually, I have had problems with other recipes seeming right, but after frosting the cake, it had gotten to hard. This icing stayed great even after a few days (normally all the cake would have been gone, but we went out of town for a few days).This is definatley the recipes I will always use now.
Tasted great but recipe calls for way too much milk. Also I used 4 squares of chocolate and that was perfect, ended up using a little less than 1/2 cup milk total. I thought the sweetness was just right. With all that confectioner's sugar you don't need the chocolate to be sweetened too. Would make this again with my adjustments.
This is the best fudge frosting I've ever made! I didn't make any modifications to the recipe; it turned out exactly like I hoped it would.
Great fudgy frosting! I used mine to frost brownies. There is no way that 3/4 cup of milk is correct. I only put 4T of milk and it came out perfect.
LOVED the consistency of this frosting! I did add a bit extra chocolate and some Godiva chocolate liqueur. AWESOME...this will be my goto recipe now!
I was very disappointed in this recipe. I followed the suggestions of other reviewers and added a 4th ounce of baking chocolate, and I was careful to put the milk in a bit at a time. But, my frosting was a pale tan - NOT the deep glossy brown shown in the photo, and it just tasted like sugar. So, I then added 3 more squares of baking chocolate (double the amount specified in the recipe), and only then got a chocolate flavor that wasn't overpowered by the confectioner's sugar. But, the color is still pale tan, and instead of being a glossy, rich fudge consistency, it is just stiff with sugar. I had hoped for a frosting similar to a Boston Cream Pie. I definitely will NOT use this recipe again.
Wonderful! Half of this recipe is PLENTY for cupcakes. Also, I used much less milk than called for. Tip: Add the chocolate and butter while hot so it will melt the powdered sugar and not leave lumps. Stir well with a wired whisk. Thanks for the recipe!
Excellent, I put in the fridge to thicken for 1/2 hr& used less than 1/2 cup milk, just added slowly until I got the consistency I was looking for....The Best Frosting Ever
I doubled the recipe for 40 cupcakes, perfect after adding 1 more cup of powdered sugar. Excellent fudgey flavor and I used semi-sweet Baker's chocolate squares.
Made this for my mama and daddy's 50th anniversary and it was awesome. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I used this frosting with a dark chocolate cake, and it was outstanding! Very easy to work with.
This was the frosting I used for a friend's birthday cake. When he tasted this frosting, he had a huge smile. According to him, this is how frosting should be. I did adjust the amount of milk used, starting with 1/4 cup and then add small dribbles until it was the consistency was right.
This was a good bittersweet chocolate recipe, however it wasn't my favorite. I wish I had read the reviews first so that I could have put less milk in. It wasn't very firm, but that's what you get when you're in a hurry and you don't read the reviews!! I would use this again, but not my favorite.
Awesome flavor to this frosting! It tastes just like fudge. However, way too much milk. I suggest starting out with 1/4 cup and adding more as needed. Also, it is better if you use a hand blender. It needs to be soft and shiny or it tastes grainy and too much like confectioner's sugar. I gave it a 3 because I had to use 1 1/2 lbs of powdered sugar and I'm not sure if I will still have to add more. I had to refrigerate it just to thicken it up. This, after hours of sitting at room temp.
I love this frosting because it is the perfect sweetness! I usually double the recipe because I make layered cakes and only use 3/4 of a cup of milk so the frosting isn't too runny.
Very yummy and rich! When I first put everything together I was very scared...it was runny and looked horrible, but the longer I whipped it up with my mixer the better it looked! Great for a rich chocolate icing!
Excellent fudge-like consistency. Definitely a keeper. I only used 1/2 cup of milk, but I live in a cool, humid area. You might want to start with the 1/2 cup and add more if needed after it's set up.
lovely frosting! As written, I think there would be wayyy too much milk. As written, is more like a glaze. This almost tastes like a ganoche. It is satiny smooth with a silky like satin texture and a lovely sheen to it. I love it because there is no butter to soften and beat. Just straight from the fridge and melt in a pan. Although it is not an extremely dark chocolate, it is incredibly fudgey tasting. There is just the perfect amount of butter and is not greasy tasting. I simply added the chocolate mixture to my confectioner's sugar and added milk accordingly. It does firm up a bit when cooled at room temp. This is a keeper. It is perfect for "Linda's Awesome Brownies" from this site because this brownie is not very sweet so this compliments it wonderfully. Would definitely make again.
Great recipe. I will, however, use less than 1/2 cup of milk and try using 1 more square of chocolate next time.
The taste of this "frosting" is great. I'm completely baffled by its consistency, however -- it came out like a ganache even after an hour in the fridge. How long does "let stand" mean? **IF** I try this frosting again, I will add milk by the tablespoon and go from there. I can see this working fine on brownies or a 9x13 -- something that doesn't come out of the pan. But I tried it with cupcakes and found it far too runny. I followed the recipe exactly, using the converter to halve the quantities (I did leave out the vanilla). Still looking for that perfect chocolate frosting.
This is SO delicious! I left out the vanilla, because I didn't have any, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I covered a 9x13 pound cake very generously and had about 3/4 cup left over. It developed a hard skin, which gave a very pleasant crunchy outside, then moist inside, and it looked very pretty on the cake. I got rave reviews! Thanks!!
I think it was too much milk, even after adding more sugar still not the right consistency for what I had in mind. Also added another square bringing the total to 4, still not chocolatey enough, comes out looking like milk chocolate rather than a dark chocolate. Taste just ok in my opinion.
Delicious frosting, made it for a yellow cake!!! Made extra to store for the next cake, it was so good!
I have never made chocolate frosting from scratch or even really like chocolate cake or frosting but this was awesome! I made this on a chocolate cake the other nite for dessert and it tasted wonderful. I only had half the amt of butter on hand so I subsituted with margarine which really made it runny i think so i added cocoa powder and lots of powdered sugar. Even so, it turned out delicious! Thank you so much for such an easy, delicious recipe!!
I was a little wary to make this recipe because I am taking them to work tomorrow and some of the comments almost scared me away...ALMOST. I used 1/4 c. milk only and this is the best frosting I have ever made. I love it more than the buttercream I am used to making. Definitely a keeper! I was able to frost almost 60 mini cupcakes with just one batch!
Great taste and easy to make. I followed the recipe exactly, it worked well but I think I will put more chocolate in next time and less confectioners sugar, to make it more choctastic!
Was worried because i had to substitute cocoa powder instead of the squares. But it worked beautifully... Used 9 tbsp of cocoa and 3 tbsp of shortening to replace the 3 oz squares. Great recipe!
Thanks to recipe submitters and Thanks to all previous reviewers, especially msf27 that suggested 1 lb sugar is 4 cups...anyhow, I only added 1/2 cup milk but did add 4 oz of chocolate instead of three. Yes it was more sweet than chocoloatey, but it was Very Good! Still 5 star from this chocolate lover!! Easy to make too!
This is the perfect chocolate frosting recipe. The tweaks that make it perfect for me are: always use 4 ounces of chocolate to 1 pound of sugar, and I never need more than 1/2 cup of milk to smooth it out. Just the right amount to frost a double-layer 9" cake. Perfect every time.
I wasn't impressed with this, even though I followed reviewers advice and cut the milk to 1/2 a cup and added an ounce of chocolate. It wasn't runny, but the flavor was nothing special.
Quite good. An extra square of choc and some cocoa powder didn't hurt. Leave it at 1/2 c milk and the consistency is just right. Kind of fluffy and moist, not too fudgy.
This was a very good frosting. I upped the chocolate to 4 oz. and used 1/2 cup of milk, and it was perfect. I piped it on my daughter's birthday ice cream cone cupcakes. (Remember those?) Needless to say my newly turned 6 year old is very impressed! Infact, we all were.
This frosting is very "old-fashioned". My great-grandmother used it on her cakes, and I am so glad to have found it again. Though it is much sweeter than a store-bought, it tastes better. I used it on the Black Chocolate Cake recipe from this site, and it was enough to cover the entire cake, as one reviewer noted. I only used 1/2 cup of milk, thanks to suggestions, and it was ready to spread in less than 2 minutes. The cake set out for a while, and the icing did not get hard or crust over, it stayed smooth and creamy. Very good!
I made this last night. My husband LOVED it (my kids did too..) I put it on top of pudding filled cupcakes... YUMMY!!! I will keep this recipes for sure!! Thanks for sharing it.
I didn't follow the directions on this at all. I melted the chocolate by itself, set aside. Whipped the butter until creamy, then added the sugar, milk and vanilla slowly. Lastly, I added the melted chocolate. Delicious!
Maybe I did something wrong but I followed the directions and it turned out like a glaze instead of a frosting. I tried to correct it by adding another half recipe w/ much less milk (1/8 cup) and still not thick enough for frosting a layer cake. I thought about using it anyway but then I tasted it, WAY TOO SWEET for my taste. It was sweeter than bought icing. I gave up.
So very good!!! It was a little thin, I used the 2 tbsp of milk, and had to add some extra powdered suger to thicken it up. But it was delicious and perfect on a chocolate cake!
Thank you for the most incredible frosting recipe EVER! I couldn't believe how easy this was...and the taste and texture are just wonderful. Really fudgy tasting. I even had to use skim milk and it was still rich and delicious. This will definitely be my staple chocolate/fudge frosting recipe! Thanks! Jen
This is great frosting. Someone complained that it was thin. As always you need to watch the amount of milk, but mine came out perfect. Great recipe.
I did EXACTLY how the recipe said to make it. I let it set. It did not get hard. Tasted it. Something wrong. Did not taste like fudge frosting. Never did set up.
I did not find this sweet at all, there is no way you can use unsweetened chocolate in this recipe. I followed other people's advice by cutting down the milk (you MUST do this)I also used unsalted butter, and I still had to add more sugar, to make it sweeter and thicker. The frosting was not as good as I expected. I would make it again with semisweet chocolate, but we will see.
This recipe tasted pretty good, but it was very runny and hard to work with. I would definitely use less milk, because even after the frosting stands, its still very thin. However, I used to to ice a professional looking cake and since it practically poured on, it looked great on the cake..very smooth!
I made it exactly as stated and it did not hold shape. I tried using Wilton 2d tip to frost my cupcakes and it didn't stay. :( tasty though.
Mine did not set up AT ALL, lol. It looked like a beautiful ganache instead. I'm guessing I simply did not add enough confectioners sugar, (1 lb.). I thought one lb. was a lot, but obviously it didn't go far enough. Next time, I think I'll do the lb., but then keep adding and adding. Waiting to have it set up, like the recipe says, is a little confusing. But, I'll have to just keep on experimenting. Tasted WONDERFUL, set up or not. :) Thanks!
my guests liked it, but I thought it was too sweet and not chocolatey enough. I will keep looking for a chocolate buttercream frosting.
Frosting was very good....spread well and used on heavenly white cake for Kiel's birthday cake.
This has excellent taste, very delish! However, mine did not set up, we had to add a cup and a 1/2 of sugar and 1/4 cup of flour (!) and we are hoping that it will be good for our cupcakes. definitely dial down the milk in the recipe, previous person suggested 5 tablespoons, not sure how that compares with 3/4 cup... but if we spread it as is, it would fall off our cupcakes.
EXCELLEEENNNNNNNNNT!!!!! I used this for a friend's 40th birthday cake and made 2 double batches. I was concerned that the consistency was too runny, but after 30 min. in fridge, it spread like a dream. This is the ONLY chocolate icing recipe for me.
Delightful! Smooth, creamy, and the chocolate flavor's not too intense, so it nicely compliments the deep dark chocolate cupcakes on which I used it. Just one recipe frosted 48 cupcakes. Honestly, I would characterize it as "fudgy," but it's definetly delicious. It gets four stars because of personal preference - I honestly missed the tanginess that cream cheese gives chocolate frostings.
I have a small cake business and this is now my go-to chocolate frosting! Excellent taste and consistency!
This frosting recipe definitely has potential. It needs quite a bit of time to set so next time I will make this the day before I want to frost a cake. I will also try using less milk as suggested by other reviewers.
Not impressed at all. I had to add 12oz of chocolate to get a chocolate flavor. I did use semisweet. It tasted like powdered sugar. Does thicken up after about 5 minutes to spread, it was difficult to spread as I was icing the cake. I will keep looking, thanks anyway.
I have found the ultimate chocolate frosting recipe. Thanks you previous reviewers for the warning about the milk. It is far too much. I increased the recipe and did not use the amount called for in the recipe. Thanks for sharing Carrie.
There was a few problems with the recipe, but there wasn't anything wrong with the actual recipe. We were making half of the recipe, and my father put in the whole amount of milk. So we cooled it in the fridge, heated it up again, and cooled it again overnight. It still didn't thicken, even when putting more sugar in it. But, I brought it to a party anyway, and it made a great dipping! We dipped the cupcakes I made (Cream-Filled Cupcakes) and pretzels, and we ate ourselves sick! So don't throw it away if you mess up!
I liked the flavor of this frosting but it was a bit thin for my taste even after giving it time to set up. I didn't add any of the additional milk and ended up adding a little more soft butter and powdered sugar to make it the consistency I preferred. I will make this again because the taste was good!
This frosting recipe is way too sweet. It's the kind of sweet that burns your tongue!! All I could taste was the confectioners sugar. I decided to use this recipe because of all the great reviews. I followed the recipe exactly and the only positive thing to say is it did set up after sitting in the fridge!! I was worried because it was so runny! Unfortunately I have to keep looking!!
Absolutely wonderful! I always add a little more milk if I'm frosting a layer cake since it is quite thick after it sets. Otherwise I have trouble spreading it.
I cut the recipe in half for brownies and only used 1/4 c. milk and LOVED it! very easy to make and soooo good! I'll never buy frosting again.
I have made this recipe as is and loved it. But I was short ingredients last time and used 1 1/2 sq unsweetened choc., and 6 Tbl. milk. I used everything else according to the original recipe. It was just as great this way.
I whip it slightly. I frost the sides with the frosting. Then I pipe little flowers on top of a chocolate ganash. Just fabulous!
