• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Picnic Food
  • Recipes
  • Meal Plan
  • Shop
  • About

Mighty Mrs

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Picnic Food
  • Recipes
  • Meal Plan
  • Shop
  • About
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Picnic Food
    • Recipes
    • Meal Plan
    • Shop
    • About
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Desserts » Chocolate Sea Salt Buttercream Frosting

    Modified: Nov 18, 2023 · Published: Jun 19, 2018 by Angela G. · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Chocolate Sea Salt Buttercream Frosting

    512 shares
    Jump to Recipe

    This delicious and easy homemade chocolate buttercream frosting harnesses a secret ingredient for awesome flavor. Sea salt, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, butter and milk are whipped together for a light and fluffy topping for cupcakes and cake

    Easy Homemade Chocolate Sea Salt Buttercream Frosting
    Easy Homemade Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
    Zucchini Brownies with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
    Zucchini Brownies with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
    Easy Homemade Chocolate Sea Salt Buttercream Frosting
    Easy Homemade Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
    Zucchini Brownies with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
    Zucchini Brownies with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

    Homemade chocolate buttercream frosting is simple to make yet will upgrade your cake and cupcake game immensely! This frosting is seriously good enough to eat right out of the bowl and the recipe is so easy. It takes 5 minutes to make.

    Sea Salt for Added Flavor

    What makes this recipe extra special is sea salt. We are starting with unsalted butter and then adding sea salt for a bit of extra flavor along with the salt. The organic taste of the sea salt adds a subtle depth of flavor that will take your frosting to the next level!

    Homemade fluffy buttercream frosting is your new best friend.

    This frosting comes out fluffy, creamy and just the right amount of sweet with a hint of salt to really make the chocolate flavor pop. Do you like butter? How about chocolate? Like your food with a hint of salt? Good. You're going to L-O-V-E this recipe!

    Is homemade frosting really better than store bought?

    Yup. It's true. If you've never made homemade frosting before this, you'll be converted once you taste the different and realize how easy it is to make homemade! If you have made your own frosting and it involved cooking or milk or pudding or flour or other totally necessary ingredients (in my opinion), then you might enjoy how easy this is compared to your past experiences.

    Luckily, it's easier than you think.

    The 3-Ingredient Version

    You can really break this down to just three ingredients, or if you want to get fancy, four. The difference would be using unsalted butter or not. When you use salted butter here, you do not need to add any additional salt.

    The 4-Ingredient Version

    I really like how sea salt tastes paired with chocolate so, if I have it available, I'll make this chocolate frosting with unsalted butter then I'll add my own sea salt.

    Both versions taste great!

    Adding Milk

    You don't need to add milk, but if you like a softer, lighter frosting then you can add just a very small amount of milk or cream to change the texture. Just don't go too crazy with the milk or you might end up with a melty frosting. Two tablespoons max.

    Want to take your sea salt chocolate buttercream frosting to the next level?

    Start with homemade butter. Since butter is the main ingredient to this frosting, you can get a unique and fresh flavor by making your own butter. It's actually really easy to do! Get my recipe for 5-minute homemade butter here.

    Sea salt optional

    As I mentioned, if you're after that next level taste, without a lot of effort, sea salt really does the job. Since there are so few ingredients to this frosting recipe, going with unsalted butter and adding in sea salt really enhances the flavor in a simple way that it's worth the extra step.

    However, if you're short on time or don't have unsalted butter on hand—no worries salted butter works just fine, just leave out the additional sea salt.

    How to Avoid a Grainy Frosting Texture

    Frosting can become grainy two ways. First, make sure you're using powdered sugar not table sugar. Since frosting is not cooked, the sugar will not melt into the chocolate. So you want that super fine texture that comes with using powdered sugar.

    Next, when you are adding salt, especially sea salt which can tend to be more coarse than table salt, you will want to make sure it's finely ground. You can purchase fine sea salt or you can grind down regular sea salt using a  mortar and pestle. It just take a few seconds to do and the result will be worth it. Not only will your frosting texture be smooth, the salt crystals will be more spread out giving you a more even flavor.

    Grinding Sea Salt

    Helpful tools for making and frosting cupcakes:

    Are you making cupcakes? There are a few special tools I'd recommend the will get you professional-looking cupcakes:

    • Piping Bag and Tips - The secret to awesome looking frosting every time.
    • Cupcake Liners - Add some pizzazz or keep the look minimal just with your choice of liner.
    • Sprinkles - Is a cupcake even a cupcake without sprinkles? Well, of course, but themed sprinkles are just fun (and add some yummy texture).
    • Mortar and Pestle - This is one of those tool I use all the time! It's so handy and you'll need it to grind up your sea salt for this recipe.

    Use a cookie scoop to get the perfect amount of batter in each cup.

    Fill your cupcake liners ¾ full to get that perfectly rounded, not-overflowing height. It's so tempting to fill the cups with batter but don't do it! ¾ is just right. Use a cookie scoop to help you measure each cup. The scooping mechanism helps prevent a lot of dripping.

    Love sweets?

    Browse all my dessert recipes

    This chocolate sea salt buttercream frosting was featured on South Your Mouth!Fiesta Friday!

    Easy Homemade Chocolate Sea Salt Buttercream Frosting

    Easy Homemade Chocolate Sea Salt Buttercream Frosting

    Author: Angela G.
    This delicious and easy homemade chocolate buttercream frosting harnesses a secret ingredient for awesome flavor. Sea salt, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, butter and milk are whipped together for a light and fluffy topping for cupcakes and cake
    5 from 2 reviews
    Reviews
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Skill Level: Easy
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6 Servings
    Yield: Approx 6oz (Frosting for 6 cupcakes)

    Ingredients 

    • ½ cup unsalted butter
    • 3 tablespoon cocoa powder
    • 1 cup powdered sugar
    • ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
    • 1-2 tablespoon milk optional
    Shop ingredients at Walmart.comAdd ingredients, then choose Pick Up or Delivery.

    Mighty Mrs. is a #WalmartPartner.

    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Using a mortar and pestle, grind the sea salt to a fine powder.
    • Add unsalted butter, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and sea salt powder to a large bowl. If you prefer your frosting to be light and fluffier, add 1-2 tablespoon milk.
    • Beat using a hand mixer, starting at a low speed then gradually increase to a higher speed and ingredients begin to blend.
    • Once ingredients are well blended, beat on high for about 1 minute to whip the frosting to a fluffy consistency.
    • To make filling your piping bag easier, place the bag inside of a tall cup and fold the sides over the rim of the cup.

    Video

    Nutrition Facts

    Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 53mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 477IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg
    Follow Mighty Mrs. for more easy recipes!Find @MightyMrs on Pinterest

    Related:

    • Yule Log Cake made with Cake Mix
      Easy Cake Mix Yule Log
    • Yellow Cake with Marshmallow Filling
      Giant Twinkie Bundt Cake
    • Easy Piñata Cake
      Easy Piñata Cake
    • Cannoli Bundt Cake with Chocolate Chips
      Cannoli Bundt Cake
    512 shares

    Reader Interactions

    5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Leave A Comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Tried this recipe? Leave a review!




    The maximum upload file size: 1 MB. You can upload: image. Drop file here

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi! Welcome.

    Hi there! I'm Angela, a working mom of three. Life is crazy! But it's organized chaos — and I want to help you get and stay organized as you manage your own household.

    Be sure to grab my free printable dinner menu and subscribe to receive my printable chore chart for free, too.

    Reader Favorites

    • Sprouted Onion
      How to Plant a Sprouted Onion (7 Steps)
    • Easy Cinnamon Roll Casserole
    • American Goulash - Delicious and easy pasta dinner
      American Goulash
    • Yule Log Cake made with Cake Mix
      Easy Cake Mix Yule Log
    • Sprouted Potato - How to plant and regrow
      How to Plant a Sprouted Potato (6 Steps)
    • Printable Meal Planner with Grocery List
      Printable Meal Planner

    Picnic Foods

    • Pineapple Rum Punch
      Pineapple-Orange Rum Punch
    • Homemade Strawberry Toaster Strudels with Icing
      Strawberry Toaster Strudels
    • Magic Marshmallow Puffs with Chocolate Cream Filling
      Magic Marshmallow Puffs with Cream Filling
    • Pear Farro Salad
      Toasted Farro Salad
    • Giant Strawberry Pop Tart
      Giant Strawberry Pop Tart
    • Auntie Anne's Copycat Soft Pretzel Bites
      Soft Pretzel Bites

    Footer

    Subscribe

    Stay inspired with seasonal recipe ideas, plus get my printable dinner menu and weekly meal planner, FREE.



    Dinner Menu

    Spring Dinner Menu

    Printable Meal Planner

    Shop | Subscribe | About | Become a Sponsor | Privacy Policy | Terms | Accessibility

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram

    FEATURED ON:

    Buzzfeed | Parade
    Country Living | Good Housekeeping

    ©2025 Mighty Mrs. All Rights Reserved. Some links on this site may be affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Mighty Mrs. is a #WalmartPartner.

    Exclusive Member of Mediavine Food

    Need Groceries? Use Walmart Pick Up or Delivery. #WalmartPartner
    Shop Now

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings

    Something went wrong. Please try again.