This is from the back of one of the cocoa boxes - Hershey's, maybe? Anyway - it's my favorite easy cholocate frosting, although I will say it is pretty sweet.

Becky

* Exported from MasterCook *

Chocolate Frosting

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Tested and Approved

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 cup butter or margarine -- melted
2/3 cup cocoa
1/3 cup milk
3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix cocoa with melted butter until well blended. Alternately add milk and sugar - beat on medium speed. Add vanilla. Add a little additional milk if needed to reach spreading consistency.

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I use that frosting as well. One son prefers that frosting on cake, the other prefers the Hershey's fudge frosting:
Fudge Frosting-hardens as it dries cup butter
½ cup cocoa
1/3 cup milk
3 cup confectioners sugar
1 t vanilla
Melt butter with cocoa in pan, stir til smooth. Add milk, stir til smooth. Keep heat on low. Remove from heat, add sugar slowly, beat til smooth and glossy. Add vanilla, frost cake while warm.

Here's Ina's chocolate butter cream frosting. I've made it a couple times for cupcakes. It's yummy.

CHOCOLATE BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

1 pound bittersweet chocolate
12 ounces semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup egg whites (4 to 5 extra-large eggs), at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 teaspoons instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1 1/2 teaspoons water

Chop the chocolates and place them in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
Mix the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Place the bowl of egg whites over the pan of simmering water and heat the egg whites until they are warm to the touch, about 5 minutes. Return the bowl to the electric mixer and whisk on high speed for 5 minutes, or until the meringue is cool and holds a stiff peak.
Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, while beating on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl, add the melted chocolate, vanilla, & espresso and mix for 1 minute or until the chocolate is completely blended in. If the butter cream seems very soft, allow it to cool, and beat it again.

/tricia

I use the one Becky uses...the Hershey one..
My boys LOVE IT!

Stacy I made this the other night for the hot milk cake I made and it was fantastic:
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
1 stick of butter (softened)
4 squares of unsweetened chocolate melted
1 box of 10x sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
A pinch of salt
2-3 Tbsps. of milk
Beat butter and sugar until creamy, add vanilla,and salt. Add milk a little at a time to get a good consistency. Add melted chocolate and mix till fluffy.
This is a dark, rich frosting!

Wow what a loser I am! I've never made frosting from scratch before; I usually buy it in that little container already made!

Next time I'm gonna try it, it sounds way easy!

Stacy? Please post a picture of the cake!!! Is it Will's birthday???

Just made a chocolate cake yesterday--with chocolate frosting.

Have been making my frosting the same way for over 50 years.

Melt 1 stick butter. Add 1 pound powdered sugar, 1-2 teaspoons vanilla, a pinch of salt, and several large tablespoons of cocoa (to taste). Stir and drizzle in milk or cream until the frosting is the consistency you want. it's rich and fudgy and not fussy--the amounts aren't all that critical. Just don't add too much milk all at once, or you'll need a lot more powdered sugar!

For the last 5 years or so, when I want a chocolate frosting I always make a ganuache.
I melt 2 cups of chocolate chips ( I use ghiradelli semi sweet) with 7 tablespoons of water in a frying pan on very low. Stir until completely smooth. Remove from heat.
Add 6 tab. of butter - one tab. at a time- until melted and smooth. You might have to put it back on the heat for a little bit.
Stir in a CHOICE of flavoring: 1 tea. vanilla, 2 tab. liquor (I like frangelico), 1/2 tea. almond extract, grand marnier....)

The frosting will be pourable. Let sit for 1-3 hours to firm up to make spreadable.

This is very delicious. I'll never go back to the powdered sugar frosting.

Stacy the icing for this cake is great. It is in the dessert chapter I sent you.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Sour Cream Chocolate Layer Cake
===============================
Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts

3 squares (s ounces) unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
. Adjust rack to center of oven andpreheat oven to 375°F. Butter two 9
inch round layer cake pans and dust both lightly with fine,dry bread
crumbs.

In a small heavy saucepan over low heat melt the chocolate with the
boiling water. Stir occasionally with a small wire whisk until smooth.
Set aside.

NOTE: I just poured boiling water over the chocolate and zapped it for
30 seconds in the Microwave.

Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and
salt. Set aside.

In large bowl of electric mixer, cream the butter. Add vanilla,
granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat well, scraping the bowl with
a rubber spatula as necessary to keep mixture smooth. Beat in eggs one
at a time beating well after each.

Stir sour cream and cooled chocolate together until smooth and add to
batter, beating only until mixed.

On lowest speed, add the sifted ingredients continuing to scrape the
bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat only until smooth.

Turn into prepared pans. With rubber spatula spread tops smooth and
then run the batter up on the sides a bit, leaving the batter slightly
lower in the centers.

Bake 35 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched and
layers come away from sides of pans

Cool in pans for about 5 minutes. Place rackes over the cakes and
invert. Remove pans. Cover with racks and invert again to cool right
side up.

Icing/frosting

3 squares (3 ounces) unsweetened chocolate)
2 TAblespoons butter
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound unsifted confectioners sugar.

In top of small double boiler over hot water on low heat, melt butter
and chocolate together. Stir until smooth and let cool completely.

NOTE: I place the butter and chocolate in a small bowl and microwave on
medium for one minute.

In small bowl of electric mixer at low speed, beat sour cream, vanilla
and salt just to mix. Gradually beat in the sugar, scaping the blowl
with a rubber spatula. When smooth, add cooled melted chocolate and
beat at high speed for 1/2 a minute or until very smooth.

Place four strips of wax paper around the edges of a cake plate to
protect it while icing cake. Place one layer upside down. Spread with
filling. Cover with second layer, right side up so that both bottom
sides meet in the middle. Cover the sides and then the top with
remaining filling and icing, smoothing it with a long, narrow, metal
spatula; then if you wish use the pack of a teaspoon to form swirls and
peaks all over the sides and the top.

Remove wax paper by pulling each strip by a narrow end.