I started with a recipe from Paula Deen – but it had only 3T of cocoa powder in it. It looked like chocolate, but it sure didn’t taste like it! So I doctored it up a bit, including the old trick of enhancing chocolate flavor with just a touch of instant coffee powder. Now I think it’s pretty good!
½ c + 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
10 T butter (1 stick + 2T)
1/3 c lowfat milk
1t instant coffee powder
1t vanilla
1 box powdered sugar (try removing a cup of sugar first, and add more as needed)
Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the cocoa powder and milk. Beat until smooth. Pour a small amount into a bowl and add a bit of milk – this thinner frosting goes on the cake first as your crumb layer. Then you can frost the rest of the cake more easily.
The frosting thickens as it cools, so if it’s a bit runny take it off the stove for a few minutes before trying to frost your cake.