Decadent Chocolate Frosting

You may have noticed from other cupcake posts,

but I really love cream cheese frosting

So sometimes it's hard for me to understand why 

I would ever need to make any other kind

especially after this swiss meringue buttercream fail

But when I had two girls with birthdays in the same week

who both wanted some chocolately chocolate

I decided to try something new!

You see, buttercream frosting

even homemade

can be too thick or sweet or chalky

whatever

But this stuff. Oh.

This frosting is decadent and rich and bursting with flavor!

I definitely recommend you try it out.

And if you're not a double trouble chocolate fan

spread it on some yellow cake

You'll thank me later.

What You'll Need:

1 lb. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

6 tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa powder

6 tbsp. boiling water

3 sticks (1½ cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Pinch of salt

What To Do:

To make the frosting, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.  Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has melted.  Or be like me and microwave it in 30 second intervals, stirring between until all of the chocolate is melted. Let cool to room temperature, about 25-30 minutes.  

Meanwhile, combine the cocoa powder and boiling water in a small bowl; stir until the cocoa is dissolved.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.  Add the melted chocolate; beat on low speed until combined, 1-2 minutes.  Beat in the cocoa mixture until well blended.  

I spread this over my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe

(with a cup of chocolate chips mixed in)

although it'd be fantastic on yellow cake, or strawberry! 

I normally pipe frosting on in pretty designs, but this is so rich 

that I didn't want to overload the cupcakes so I just spread it with a spoon.

Frosting recipe adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook