Small Batch Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Name: Small Batch Chocolate Buttercream
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 8 tablespoons (113 grams) of unsalted butter, room temperature; 3 cups (345 grams) of powdered sugar; ⅔ cup (60 grams) of your favorite cocoa powder(s) (I use a mix of black, unsweetened, and natural cocoa powders); ⅔ cup (160 grams) heavy cream; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt

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Fully obsessed with the creaminess and indulgence of this small batch chocolate buttercream frosting! Due to the abundance (read: just right amount) of heavy cream in this frosting, it's ultra smooth and similar to a chocolate ganache. Use it for spreading onto cakes, cupcakes, and more.

Mixing bowl full of small batch chocolate buttercream frosting.

This is the best chocolate buttercream frosting if you need enough to coat a small cake. The recipe here yields just the right amount of delicious buttercream to cover a two-layer, 6-inch cake like my chocolate sprinkle cake.

If you're a chocolate fan in need of recipes and ideas similar to this one, you'll appreciate the ideas below:

And like this one, I've got more classic frosting recipes on my site, but if you're looking for homemade frostings that are a bit funkier and different, my basil buttercream, mango buttercream, blueberry cream cheese frosting are worth a try!

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📋 Ingredient List for Small-Batch Chocolate Frosting
💭 Pro Tip
Why You'll Love this Creamy Chocolate Frosting
Best Results: Baking in Grams
📖 Steps for Making Small Batch Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
💡 The Secret to Super Smooth Frosting
Recipe Tips
Flavor Pairings and Uses
Frosting Storage
Chocolate Buttercream FAQ and Troubleshooting
More Recipes like this Small Batch Chocolate Buttercream
Small Batch Chocolate Buttercream

📋 Ingredient List for Small-Batch Chocolate Frosting

The recipe card below includes all the ingredients you'll need, as well as the quick steps for whipping up this delicious frosting recipe. It's an easy American buttercream frosting with a delicious flavor.

Unsalted butter, room temperature - Room temperature or slightly softened butter mixes more easily in your bowl, ensuring a smooth consistency. Also, using unsalted butter gives you more control of the overall saltiness of the frosting.
Powdered sugar - While this ingredient of course adds sweetness, it also contributes to its light and fluffy texture.
A combination of cocoa powders - Here's where you can play with the recipe and use what's in your pantry. Mixing black, natural, and unsweetened cocoa powder in your buttercream frosting creates a really nice, rich chocolate flavor. Black cocoa brings a dark, intense flavor, while natural cocoa adds a more traditional chocolate taste. The blend allows for customization—you can tweak the ratio to suit your flavor preferences or even just what's available in your pantry. If you only have one cocoa powder, start there! You won't go wrong either way.
Pure vanilla extract - The aroma of vanilla extract contributes to the overall warmth in taste and appeal of the frosting.
Lots of heavy whipping cream - Next to chocolate, heavy cream is maybe the best part of this recipe? I say that because it's key to achieving a silky, spreadable texture. Cocoa powder is a drying agent, meaning that without enough liquid in a recipe, it can make a frosting thick and trickier to spread. However, the generous amount of heavy cream here keeps our chocolate buttercream smooth with a luxuriously creamy texture.
Himalayan or Kosher salt (use half as much for table salt) - Salt enhances the overall flavor profile. This ingredient balances the sweetness.

Up-close shot of a chocolate cake, topped with rainbow sprinkles and coated at its base, sitting on a cake stand.

💭 Pro Tip

Set out your ingredients before diving into this small batch chocolate frosting recipe!

Organizing ingredients and setting them all out on the counter before beginning a recipe is a great start and huge help.

This step makes it harder for you to accidentally omit part of the process or a key ingredient. And you won't have to make as many trips back and forth to your pantry!

Why You'll Love this Creamy Chocolate Frosting

Easy to make - Whether this is your first time making frosting or you're a pro, this tried and true recipe has a short list of simple ingredients that combine quickly and easily.
A classic frosting flavor - Like my almond buttercream frosting, this chocolate version will become a go-to. It's got an intense chocolate flavor that is meant for a true chocolate lover!
Versatile - This frosting works well for decorating a layer cake or topping off cupcakes.
Perfect texture - Over here, we like our frosting decadent and creamy. This small batch buttercream is super luscious. I could seriously eat it on its own. 🤤

Best Results: Baking in Grams

If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking.

While I include cups and grams in my recipe cards, weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency.

I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.

📖 Steps for Making Small Batch Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Mixing bowl containing butter, cream, cocoa powder, and other ingredients for chocolate frosting.

Combine: With a hand mixer or stand mixer and paddle attachment, add butter, powdered sugar, your cocoa powders of choice, vanilla extract, heavy cream, and salt to a large mixing bowl.

Mixing bowl containing whipped chocolate frosting.

Start by Mixing Slowly: Start mixing on a low speed in short bursts to avoid powder flying out. Then, increase the mixer speed and cream butter and other frosting ingredients for 5 minutes until fluffy and fully incorporated.

Bowl of small batch chocolate buttercream frosting with a red spatula next to it.

Smooth: Use a spatula to smooth the frosting by dragging from the middle of the bowl to the edges. Continue for 3-4 minutes to remove air bubbles and achieve a smooth texture. At the same time, you can adjust the consistency to your liking by adding heavy cream one tablespoon at a time. If too thin, add powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time and mix.

Chocolate cake frosting in a piping bag, fitted over the rim of a tall glass.

Transfer: Once smooth, transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your preferred tip.

💡 The Secret to Super Smooth Frosting

Once your electric mixer has fully combined all the ingredients, use a flexible rubber spatula to swipe the frosting around in your bowl

Push frosting with the spatula from the middle to the sides of the bowl, watching as the tears and bubbles in your buttercream disappear.

This creates the perfect consistency of your frosting, making it nice and fluffy as air bubbles pop in the buttercream.

Recipe Tips

If you need to thin out this frosting, add a few splashes of milk.
If you need to make a thicker frosting, add about ¼ cup of powdered sugar at a time. Mix until you’ve reached your desired consistency.

Flavor Pairings and Uses

This classic frosting has so many great uses.

For fruity flavors - This chocolate frosting would be fun paired with my raspberry almond cupcakes, blueberry filled cupcakes or strawberry filled vanilla cupcakes.
For a striking color contrast - Top my small batch vanilla cupcakes with this rich and chocolaty frosting.

Landscape overview view of a glass bowl full of small batch chocolate buttercream frosting.

Frosting Storage

This small batch chocolate buttercream freezes very well and also stays fresh in the refrigerator for a few days.

Freeze it in an airtight container or tightly sealed plastic wrap for 3 months. Let it thaw and come to room temperature before attempting to use it to decorate cakes or cupcakes.

This buttercream will stay fresh keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about 3 days.

You can also freeze fully decorated cupcakes or cakes that use this frosting.

For more on a related topic, I have a detailed guide for freezing cupcakes.

Chocolate Buttercream FAQ and Troubleshooting

Do I need heavy cream or heavy whipping cream to make this recipe?

The short answer is that here, either option works!

The longer explanation is that these two ingredients are fairly interchangeable and comparable though have a slight technical difference.

Heavy cream must contain at least 36% milk fat. It’s richer and whips up to stiff peaks, making it ideal for recipes that need structure, like whipped creams frostings, or various kinds of ganache.

Meanwhile, heavy whipping cream typically contains between 30% and 36% milk fat. It’s slightly lighter and better for recipes where a softer texture is desired.

What kind of cocoa powders can I use here?

I use a mix of black, unsweetened, and natural cocoa powders to create a rich and nuanced chocolate flavor.

Black cocoa gives the frosting a dark, almost Oreo-like intensity, while natural cocoa offers bright, fruity notes. Unsweetened cocoa (often processed like Dutch-processed cocoa) falls somewhere in between, with a smooth and slightly alkaline taste that complements the other two.

The bottom line is that you really can use the cocoa powder you have and/or the one you like best. Just know you may need to tweak the amount of heavy cream, as some cocoa powders are more dry than others, and the goal is to make this really indulgent and spreadable.

How are unsweetened and natural cocoa powder different?

The key difference between unsweetened and natural cocoa is in their processing.

Natural cocoa is untreated, giving it a brighter flavor. Meanwhile, unsweetened cocoa is typically processed to reduce acidity, resulting in a milder, deeper taste.

Honestly, I combined them for a unique blend of flavors but also because it's what I had in my pantry!

Slice of chocolate cake with sprinkles on it.

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More Recipes like this Small Batch Chocolate Buttercream