A super rich and intense Chocolate Fudge Frosting that is so insanely delicious and easy to make, you’ll never want to go for another recipe ever again!

So you’re done baking your Devil’s Food Cake and are now ready to cover it in a thick layer of Crazy Delicious Chocolate Fudge Frosting?

Or maybe you’ve made another kind of cake and your quest for a delectable fudgy chocolate frosting recipe to top it with lead you here? If that’s the case, then you’re totally in the right place. You shouldn’t even bother looking for another recipe until you’ve tried this one. I can guarantee you, you’re not going to regret it. In fact, you’re probably gonna want to make this frosting any occasion you get.

While I can’t say that it’s the absolute easiest chocolate frosting recipe there is out there (whoa, wait! where’ you going? don’t leave! I never said it was hard to make, I just said that it was not the easiest), I can most definitely affirm that it’s one of the best that I’ve ever eaten. This thing is truly, INTENSELY chocolate-y, super rich, thick, smooth and craaaaaazy FUDGY!

One of the secret weapons that I used to make this frosting so insanely delightful is a can of sweetened condensed milk. The divinely thick, sweet and sticky nectar confers an utterly smooth and super rich texture to the finished product.

Then, to make my frosting really dark and deeply, intensely chocolate-y, I added a generous amount of melted unsweetened chocolate to it, on top of the habitual cocoa powder.

I’m telling you, the combination of the two resulted in a chocolate frosting that’s so ridiculously good, it’ll have your brains do back flips and your taste buds jump for joy!

So while this recipe makes a rather large batch (you will have plenty to generously cover and decorate a 3-layer 9-inch cake) I’m sure that you won’t mind having a little bit leftover. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be more than happy to eat it by the spoonful…

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS & PICTURES

The first thing you gotta do to make this frosting is to melt the chocolate.

To do that, place the finely chopped unsweetened chocolate in a bowl and melt in the microwave for 1 minute.

Allow the chocolate to rest for 1 full minute and then stir with a spatula for 1 minute.

If there are still lumps of unmelted chocolate left after that, repeat the process as many times as necessary, but for no more than 30 seconds at a time.

The chocolate should be completely melted but should not be allowed to get hot. If necessary, let the melted chocolate cool until it barely feels warm to the touch.

Next, in a separate large mixing bowl, combine the the butter, sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream and vanilla extract;

Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until super light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Sift the cocoa powder and powdered sugar together and add them to the the creamed butter mixture.

You remember what I just said about the importance of sifting cocoa powder, right? If you don’t, take another quick look at that picture. Want that in your frosting? Yeah, I thought not… 

Beat on low speed until all the ingredients are well combined, about 1 minute, then progressively increase the speed all the way up to high and beat for an additional minute.

Now for some added richness! Add the melted chocolate…

…and resume beating at high speed until smooth and evenly combined, about 2 minutes.

Yeah, I know! We’re not quite there yet, but I thought this was a really pretty sight, what with the beautiful swirls and all, so I couldn’t resist slipping this one in for a little bit of extra “drool-worthy-chocolate-frosting-action” porn.

You forgive me, don’t you?

Okay, so like I was saying, beat the frosting until well combined!

As it stands now, your frosting would be way too soft to be used up, so you want to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula and then send your frosting for a short trip to the refrigerator.

Give it about 10 minutes to firm up, and then beat it again until it becomes smooth and fluffy and has just the right consistency for spreading and piping.

Note that the frosting will firm up rather quickly in the fridge, so make sure you don’t leave it in there for too long. Check on it often: it should feel really firm around the edges but still remain very soft in the center.

If you’re not planning on using the frosting right away, cover it and keep it at room temperature until ready to use, providing that it’s not 2 million degrees out! Buttercream is extremely delicate and will melt if left in the pantry during the really hot months of summer.

But if the ambient temperature is nice and cool, don’t hesitate to let your frosting sit for up to a day before you use it. In fact, it’ll only get darker and richer as it ages, so it would totally benefit from this little rest.

You could very well use it right away though. Fear not, it will get just as dark and rich even after it’s been spread all over your cake.

Just you wait until we get to the third part of this project and actually put together that spectacular chocolate cake I was telling you about. You’ll understand exactly what I mean!