Best Ever Chocolate Frosting Recipe

This is a follow-up to the Chocolate Peppermint Mayo Cake.

The recipe is my mother’s, given to her by her late sister, Mary Ruth. It’s written out on paper in Aunt Ruth’s handwriting.

Aunt Ruth noted after the ingredients that she didn’t write down the mixing directions. She did note that this recipe is great not only for icing a cake but also for making chocolate piping icing and roses, etcetera. It became Mom’s favorite chocolate frosting and I can’t believe that I ever forgot about it and resorted to icing-in-a-can.

For the Chocolate Peppermint Mayo Cake that I made for my friend Pam a couple of weeks back, I used 1/2 tsp. peppermint plus 1/2 tsp. vanilla instead of the 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Good golly, Molly, but it was tasty!

I’ve given you two options for flavorings. You use what suits your taste and enjoy the recipe.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla (or 1/2 tsp peppermint extract plus 1/2 tsp. vanilla)
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup milk
3 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Method

Cream butter, syrup salt and vanilla. Carefully add cocoa, milk and sugar by alternating ingredients until done.

Remember to frost cakes and cupcakes only when they have cooled completely.

Photos

Ingredients lineup.

Butter, corn syrup, milk and vanilla--the wet ingredients.

Adding butter to other wet ingredients in the mixer. (My son made this photo.)

My son made this photo of me--and my eclectic, messy kitchen.

You'll want to add the cocoa and confectioner's sugar to the wet ingredients by alternating them. And watch out for what I call the "chocolate smoke." Mix slowly or you'll be engulfed by powder.