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Side view of chocolate sour cream frosting piped on top of cupcakes.
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Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting

This Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting is smooth and creamy, made with butter, cocoa, powdered sugar and full fat sour cream. It's simple to make and you don't need any melted chocolate for the deep chocolate flavor. Only cocoa is required! 
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Canadian
Keyword chocolate, cocoa, frosting, sour cream
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 12 servings
Calories 156kcal
Author Leanne

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1/2 cup full fat sour cream (I prefer 18% milk fat) room temperature
  • 1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar sifted if lumpy (more if desired)
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder Dutch-processed or natural
  • 2-3 teaspoons milk or cream optional if you need to thin out frosting
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • In a large mixing bowl, add the butter and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. (You can use a handheld mixer with beaters or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment).
  • Add in the sour cream and mix together on medium-high speed until creamy.
  • Add the powdered sugar and cocoa and mix on low speed until the sugar and cocoa are incorporated. (If you set the mixer to high, powdered sugar and cocoa dust will go everywhere). 
  • Increase the speed to medium-high and beat together until the frosting is smooth and turns a lighter color, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. 
  • Add milk (one teaspoon at a time) for a thinner frosting or add more powdered sugar for a thicker/sweeter frosting.

Notes

  1. The recipe makes enough to pipe frosting onto 10-12 cupcakes. For cakes, it's enough for a layer of frosting on a 13x9 inch cake or a generous layer on an 8 or 9-inch cake.
  2. If the butter and sour cream look curdled when you start mixing them together, don't worry. This is because the sour cream was too cold when it was mixed in with the room temperature butter. Once you start mixing in the cocoa and powdered sugar, the texture will smooth out.

Nutrition

Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 302IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg