About This Chocolate Fudge Frosting Recipe
This chocolate fudge frosting recipe makes the creamiest, dreamiest chocolate fudge frosting made from melted chocolate and lots of butter. The frosting is a dream to work with, holding its shape for piped designs and spreading and swirling like velvet on any surface. It’s the perfect recipe to generously frost an 8- or 9-inch round cake with 2 or 3 layers.
The best part? Most chocolate fudge frostings require you to cook the chocolate and butter to a certain temperature to get that classic fudge consistency. But you don’t need to worry about that for this recipe!
In fact, you don’t even need a stand mixer for this recipe. The recipe instructs you to make whip the ingredients in a food processor to get that perfect creamy, custardy texture. As a result, the recipe is fast and easy—it comes together in just 15 minutes! There’s no need to bring ingredients like butter and milk to room temperature either, saving you time and energy.
And if you need a cake recipe to pair with this delicious chocolate fudge frosting, check out Hummingbird High‘s collection of cake recipes! I love pairing the frosting with My Best Chocolate Birthday Cake, Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake, and My Best Yellow Cake recipes.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Scroll down to see the ingredients and exact quantities needed for the recipe! But for now, let’s talk about key ingredients, where to find them, and any potential substitutions:
Ingredient Sources And Substitutions For The Chocolate Fudge Frosting Recipe
- Unsweetened Chocolate: Unsweetened chocolate is chocolate that is 100% cacao with no added sugar. It is often used in baking for making intensely chocolatey desserts. I recommend Ghirardelli’s Unsweetened 100% Cacao Baking Bar, which is available in most major grocery stores.
In a pinch, you can use a dark chocolate with a high cacao content—at least 65% and above. However, your frosting will come out sweeter.
- Whole Milk: Use whole (not 2% or skim) milk for the most flavor. In a pinch, you can use plant-based milk like almond, coconut, oat, or soy (though your frosting might end up with those flavors).
- Kosher Salt: Kosher salt is the best salt for baking recipes. But you can replace the kosher salt in the recipe with table salt. Just use half the amount listed in the recipe when you do!
Making Chocolate Fudge Frosting Step By Step
Check out the gallery before for some process shots and photos of key steps in the recipe:
Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ
I don’t have a food processor. Can I still make this chocolate fudge frosting recipe?
In theory, yes, but I don’t recommend it. The frosting gets its creamy and airy texture from being whipped in the food processor. Although you can mix everything in a stand mixer, you’ll need to mix everything for twice as long (and it still probably won’t be as creamy and airy). If you go this route, I also recommend using room temperature ingredients for the butter and milk.
Breville Sous Chef Pro 16 Cup Food Processor
I use this Breville Food Processor for tasks like chopping and grating ingredients, as well as making purees, sauces, and frostings like this recipe. Although it’s on the pricey side, it’s worth it for the variety of blades and food processor bowls in the kit.
Help! My chocolate fudge frosting looks like it curdled. What did I do wrong?
Uh oh! Curdled frosting means that the chocolate was still too hot when you added it to the rest of the ingredients. But don’t worry, you can fix it! Simply stick the entire food processor bowl with the frosting in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes to let everything cool. Then, follow the recipe instructions to continue processing the frosting.
Do I need to use the chocolate fudge frosting right away after making it?
Yes, I recommend you use the frosting immediately after making it. The frosting will start out with an incredibly silky, creamy, and easy-to-smooth texture. However, as it cools, it will eventually harden into a fudge-like texture. So it’s best to work with it when it’s still soft and creamy!
Can I use this recipe on a sheet cake?
Yes! Though I recommend halving the ingredient quantities for a 9 x 13-inch sheet cake.
Best Recipe Tip
I recently discovered that you don’t really need to sift confectioners’ sugar when making frosting. Because you’ll be mixing the frosting at high speed, most of the lumps in these ingredients work themselves out pretty easily! Save yourself time and energy—don’t bother sifting the confectioners’ sugar unless it’s REALLY necessary.
That being said, DON’T apply this advice to other recipes beyond American buttercream. I still encourage you to sift these ingredients (ESPECIALLY if they look really lumpy) when making baked goods with delicate crumbs like angel food cake. You’ll also need to sift confectioners’ sugar when making royal icing.
Looking for another easy, delicious chocolate frosting recipe? Check out my recipe for Quick and Easy 5 Minute Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting!
Get the Recipe:
Chocolate Fudge Frosting Recipe In A Food Processor (No Candy Thermometer Required!)
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 15 minutes
Servings: 5 cups
This recipe makes the creamiest, dreamiest chocolate fudge frosting in just 15 minutes in a food processor with ingredients like melted chocolate, butter, milk, and vanilla. It’s perfect for 8- or 9-inch yellow or chocolate layer cakes. The best part? No candy thermometer required!
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Prep the chocolate for the frosting. In a food processor, pulse the chocolate for a few seconds at a time until chopped into ½– to 1-inch pieces.
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Melt the chocolate. Transfer the chocolate to the top of a double boiler or to a heatproof bowl set over a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan filled with a few inches of simmering water (be sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water). Cook over medium heat, using a heatproof rubber spatula to stir the mixture and scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally, until the chocolate has melted, about 10 minutes. Set the top of the double boiler or the bowl on a wire rack and let the chocolate cool while you prep the other ingredients.
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Prep the rest of the ingredients. In the food processor, combine the confectioners’ sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, and salt.
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Add the chocolate, then process all the ingredients to make the frosting. Pour in the melted chocolate and pulse briefly to combine, then process until the frosting is creamy, smooth, and light brown in color, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then process for an additional 30 seconds.
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Use immediately. Use an offset spatula to cover your favorite cake recipe with the chocolate fudge frosting.The chocolate fudge frosting will keep under a cake dome at room temperature for up to 1 day. After that, refrigerate any cake with frosting in an airtight container for up to 2 more days.
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule
Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.
