How to Make Homemade Chocolate Icing

Everybody knows that the best part to any cake or cupcake is the icing. Everybody also knows that homemade icing wins over those sold at stores. That is why every cook should have their very own homemade chocolate icing recipe to whip up on a moment's notice. Once you have this basic chocolate icing mastered, you can play with it a bit to make variations like mint chocolate, mocha coffee, and more!

This simple and basic chocolate recipe will surely be a favorite of yours for years to come. The only things you need are a saucepan, a stove, a mixer, and a few quality ingredients.

First, start with the following ingredients:

Granulated sugar - 1 cup

Cocoa - ¼ cup

Butter - ¼ cup

Milk - ¼ cup

Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon

For best results, always use quality ingredients. They make a big difference in a simple recipe like this one because there are so few ingredients. Try to use real butter, real vanilla, real cocoa, and whole milk if you can. It will taste the best this way.

If you absolutely need to cut calories, you can substitute the sugar for splenda, margarine for the butter, and use skim milk. The result will be slightly less creamy, but still tasty.

In a big bowl, mix all of the ingredients except for the vanilla. Transfer mixture to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for one minute then remove from heat. Add the vanilla extract after.

Let it cool partially for a few minutes, but be careful not let it cool all the way. You will need it a bit warm for the next part. For about three minutes, beat the mixture. You can do this manually, with a hand-held electric mixer, or a table top electric mixture, whichever you have available or prefer. You will want to continue until the icing is spreadable in texture.

Now you can move on to icing your cake, cupcakes, brownies, or cookies. This recipe for icing usually results in a thicker, creamier icing perfect for cupcakes and Brownies, but use it for whatever you like. No one will judge you if you only want to eat the frosting by itself. If you want to try the variations, add the flavoring like mint, coffee, hazelnut, etc. to the mixture at the same time you add the vanilla. The possibilities really are endless with this simple chocolate icing recipe.