Chocolate Frosting

• 1/2 cup margarine (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 or 5 tablespoons milk
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• Good dash salt

Soften or melt the margarine first. I usually melt it in the microwave, because that is easiest for me. Add the cocoa, vanilla, and 4 tablespoons milk. Using electric beaters or a whisk, beat these ingredients together until they are good and smooth. Add the powdered sugar, about a cup at a time, and continue beating the frosting. After you have added all four cups of powdered sugar, you may need a little more milk to give the frosting spreading consistency. If you think you need more milk, add it a teaspoon at a time. If too much milk is added, you will end up with runny frosting. Fix this by adding more unsweetened cocoa, or more powdered sugar, or both. If desired you may replace the milk with strong coffee and end up with a very tasty grown up mocha flavor. I don't give this to the kids because they are wired up on the chocolate and sugar already, they don't need caffeine on top of it. This recipe is supposed to make enough for a layer cake. Depending on one's skill in frosting layer cakes, this may or may not be true. If you have a child who wants a chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting for their birthday, this is the one to choose. I use it to frost my Chocolate Cake recipe, and always get good results.