I made my regular buttercream and I love it, well I wanted to try and make the chocolate butter cream, and THe recipe says all I have to do is add cocoa. So I added the hersheys baking cocoa and I am not sure if I like it. It tastes like sweetened cocoa and not even like buttercream any more. Is it supose to taste this bad???? 
I put it on the cake and I hope the my friends will like it. I am afraid to serve it though. What is a good chocolate icing recipe that I can use to decorate with?
When I've made the chocolate buttercream with the cocoa, I've always thought it tasted better than regular buttercream, but then I really love chocolate. Could you try cutting back on the amount of cocoa? Or do you think it was maybe not incorporated enough into the icing? There are chocolate ganache recipes out there that say they will thicken to a spreadable consistency and I think they would taste good but I have to admit I have never tried it. If you don't mind experimenting try melting chocolate chips, or candy melts or baking chocolate squares and mixing it into the buttercream in place of the cocoa.
I know this is not much help but maybe someone else out there has a good chocolate buttercream recipe, have you tried looking in the recipe section here on cc?
Happy frosting making!
I like melted chocolate in my chocolate buttercream better than cocoa. Not that the cocoa tastes bad, it just doesn't have the same taste as the melted chocolate.
I use hershey's cocoa in mine. But I much prefer the dutch processed dark cocoa instead of the regular.
It may not be mixed properly and you're actually tasting the cocoa powder. Cocoa has a fat content, which means it doesn't mix well with liquid (that old "oil and water" deal). I get better results when I mix it with the p.sugar (or with the regular sugar when I'm making fudge). It's like the sugar 'coats' the fat particles and somehow this enables a better mix.
Sugar, on a microscopic level is quite jagged. It actually cuts into the fat molecules. Thats the science behind creaming together fat and sugar in many recipes. If you let your mixer run for a bit and sugar will just rip the fat to shreds, er uh, cream the fat until its smooth.
Just wanted to offer up my recipe. I add the cocoa and vanilla after blending the shortening and butter, and I use half and half to make it creamier and some corn syrup to give it some elasticity. I love it, it's like eating milk chocolate! It will crust after about 10 mins. and it doesn't need to be refrigerated.
Recipe:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-5583-3-My-Chocolate-Buttercream.html
Latest cake using it:
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=983443
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