Perfect Chocolate Frosting

This is my master, no-fail, go-to recipe for chocolate frosting. It is smooth, and has the perfect balance of butter, cocoa, icing sugar, liquid, and flavoring. This icing may turn out slightly different each time it is made, depending on how accurately the ingredient proportions are measured, but it always tasted good. It is good for frosting and filling cakes, as well as squares, brownies and cookies, and is also good for decorations. I used it for my cake featured yesterday.

Perfect Chocolate Frosting
1/2 cup butter or hard margarine, melted
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
3 cups icing (powdered) sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir cocoa into butter until smooth. Stir in icing sugar gradually, alternating with milk. Stir in vanilla. Add a little extra milk or icing sugar to achieve desired spreading consistency.

VARIATIONS:

• The amount of cocoa may be increased or decreased to alter the color tone, as well as the chocolateness and sweetness of the frosting.
• Replace milk with cold, strong coffee.
• Use chocolate milk for an extra boost of chocolate.
• Increase the amount of liquid slightly to use as a filling.
• Replace vanilla with mint extract for a mint chocolate frosting.
• Melt the frosting briefly in the microwave to use as a drizzle or ganache.

Here is a picture of the frosting in two different tones. The dark tone is as listed above, the light tone used for piping only has a touch of cocoa and much more icing sugar.