If you are looking for the best chocolate frosting, then this bakery-style chocolate frosting is it. It takes only 5 minutes to whip and has the longest shelf life ever!! Tried and tested, it's a kids' favorite over any cupcake, cakes or cookies. This chocolate buttercream also works great in hot, humid weather, and can sit out for hours without any refrigeration required.
Table of Content
Do your kids love bakery treats, especially frosting? Mine too! At first, I'd be upset because I make amazing frosting at home, which my kids won't touch and then they go licking that bakery frosting with so much pleasure. The truth is they love sugar. Yup, bakery-style frosting is loaded with sugar, which is why kids are very attracted to it.
Next time you have a kid's birthday party, and you choose to make cupcakes, make a bakery-style frosting for those cupcakes. Chances are you will be a very popular mom who made the best cupcakes ever. And yet, don't feel bad if you will see cupcakes left behind with all the frosting gone.
Why make this frosting?
- First, the one very unique thing about grocery store frosting is that there is no milk or cream. And, by taking this one ingredient out of the recipe the shelf life of your buttercream now is ten times longer.
- It has a large amount of sugar which works as a preservative. This means you can keep that frosted cake on the counter for a few days and still enjoy it without the fear of it going bad.
- A typical store-bought frosting has a shelf life of over a year and that's because they use all vegetable shortening. Here we use half butter for that beautiful butter flavor. After all, it's homemade!
- If you like commercial frostings, use this recipe instead. You will get three times the amount for the same amount of money. And as a bonus, you save money and you have fewer preservatives.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Butter - I prefer unsalted butter so I can add just the right amount of salt to the recipe. If salted butter is all you have, go ahead and use it but remember to omit salt in the recipe. If you want you can substitute the butter for more vegetable shortening.
- Vegetable shortening - This is vegetable fat or ghee. Some famous brands would be Crisco, Short bright, Dalda, Trex. What's most important to know about these vegetable shortenings is to make sure you buy the ones that are high in saturated fat. I know!! And yet, with the amount of sugar that we add to this frosting the high-fat works best.
The low-fat ratio will have extra moisture which means your frosting will be way too soft. You want a light and fluffy frosting that will resemble whipped cream consistency. - Powdered sugar - Also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar.
- Cocoa powder - Regular Dutch-processed cocoa powder is all you need.
- Water - The method I use gives a light fluffy and melt-in-mouth kinda texture. Not grainy, almost like whipped cream. (See video below)
- Cornstarch - This creates a slurry that helps bring all the fats and sugar together without breaking or curdling.
- Vanilla - When it comes to frosting, always use a good quality vanilla extract, homemade or commercial.
Bakery style chocolate frosting
Makes enough to cover 2 x 8-inch cakes or 24 cupcakes
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or hand mixer cream butter and shortening for about a minute minutes, until light and fluffy.
Pro tip - the color of the butter will get lighter in color and will blend with the shortening completely. - Combine water with cornstarch, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. Add it to the creaming mixture and whip until smooth.
Pro tip - water will create a glue effect with the cornstarch when combined with the fat. It will also take away that starchy taste from the cornstarch - Next, start adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once all the sugar is in - whip the buttercream for a good three minutes until light and fluffy.
Pro tip - whipping for no less than 3 minutes will give a light and airy whipped cream consistency frosting. - This buttercream is ready to use. You can use it to frost cakes ad as well as cupcakes.
Pro tip - if you have air pockets while frosting the cake, use a paddle motion with a spatula when frosting. This usually will take care of the air pockets.
What can I do with this frosting?
You can use this vanilla frosting on cakes, cupcakes, and even cookies. For cookies, I usually make a soft consistency of icing. It doesn't dry hard as royal icing but it does crust and gives you a beautiful sweet cookie to eat.
This frosting is light and airy so it does not work for piping things like flowers or used with Russian tips. If you need to pipe flowers please use my stiff buttercream recipe for piping flowers.
Tips
- Ensure the butter is room temperature, not firm, nor melted. Firm butter will make a lumpy frosting and melted butter will not whip to light and fluffy
- For best results, use vegetable shortening with high-saturated fat.
- The cornstarch in the recipe helps stabilize the buttercream. When combined with the hot water it creates a rue kinda glue that helps blend the vegetable shortening and butter.
- Once all the powdered sugar is in, make sure to whip until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- This frosting has a long shelflife and can stay at room temperature for days but it still has butter so it can melt in hot and humid conditions.
More frosting recipes
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream or Italian Meringue Buttercream
- French Buttercream Recipe or How to make German Buttercream
- American Buttercream Frosting, Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- Caramel Buttercream Frosting or Butterscotch Buttercream Frosting
- Maple Buttercream Frosting, Eggnog Buttercream Frosting
- Ermine Frosting (Less Sweet)
- 30 + Buttercream Recipes - Frosting
Frequently asked questions
It really depends on the type of frosting you use and the weather where you keep the cake. This bakery-style buttercream frosting can be kept out for a few days (3 to 4 days at room temperature) even in humid conditions.
If you make extra buttercream, don't throw it away. Freeze it and it will last for months.
If you want a chocolate-based chocolate buttercream, I highly recommend my chocolate buttercream frosting made with real chocolate.
You either added too much liquid or the butter was too soft when you started it. Place the butter in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up.
You probably didn't whip long enough. Instead of adding more powdered sugar, try whipping first. Then if necessary add a tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time.
Printable Recipe
Bakery Style Chocolate Frosting
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Video
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
Makes enough to cover 2 x 8-inch cakes or 24 cupcakes
- 8 oz (226 g) Unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 g) Vegetable shortening
- 6 cups (720 g) Powdered sugar
- ¼ cup (4 tablespoon) Water
- 2 tablespoon (30 g) Cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon (15 g) Cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp Salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or hand mixer cream butter and shortening for about a minute minutes, until light and fluffy.Pro tip - the color of the butter will get lighter in color and will blend with the shortening completely.
- Combine water with cornstarch, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. Add it to the creaming mixture and whip until smooth. Pro tip - water will create a glue effect with the cornstarch when combined with the fat. It will also take away that starchy taste from the cornstarch
- Next, start adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once all the sugar is in - whip the buttercream for a good three minutes until light and fluffy.Pro tip - whipping for no less than 3 minutes will give a light and airy whipped cream consistency frosting.
- This buttercream is ready to use. You can use it to frost cakes ad as well as cupcakes. Pro tip - if you have air pockets while frosting the cake, use a paddle motion with a spatula when frosting. This usually will take care of the air pockets.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Ensure the butter is room temperature, not firm, nor melted. Firm butter will make a lumpy frosting and melted butter will not whip to light and fluffy
- For best results, use vegetable shortening with high-saturated fat.
- The cornstarch in the recipe helps stabilize the buttercream. When combined with the hot water it creates a rue kinda glue that helps combine the vegetable shortening and butter.
- Once all the powdered sugar is in, make sure to whip until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- This frosting has a long shelflife and can stay at room temperature for days but it still has butter so it can melt in hot and humid conditions.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Cake Shop Oldbury
Amazing recipe for chocolate frosting cake. I tried this recipe and turns into a delicious cake. Everyone appreciated me for such an amazing dish. Lots of love!!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Kervin. So happy to get your feedback.
Beth Ann Brick
My family really enjoyed the original Bakery Style Frosting so I tried the Chocolate one recently for a nephew’s birthday cake. It wasn’t quite chocolaty enough for me so I upped the cocoa powder to 4 tablespoons, added in a 1/2 teaspoon of instant coffee granules to the cornstarch mixture and folded in 4 oz of melted and slightly cooled Callebaut dark chocolate. It turned out as well as the vanilla version. The instructions for these recipes are well written and the pro tips help anyone achieve perfect results. Thanks for these great recipes!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you for the feedback, Beth Ann Brick. Happy you enjoyed these recipes.
Taylor
Finally! Just like the bakery! Bravo! ? and Thank You!
Veena Azmanov
You are very welcome, Taylor. Thank you for the lovely feedback.
Ann
Excellent recipe. Highly recommend. We were trying to make a bakery style cake from scratch and this frosting tastes good and held up well in humid weather as she indicated in the recipe. It does not have a strong chocolate flavor so may try adding more cocoa next time but that is a personal preference, no complaints about the flavor.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you for the feedback Ann. Happy you enjoyed it.