This chocolate or white frosting recipe is one you’ll want to commit to memory! The recipe is so simple and takes the cake for being a go-to, makes-everything-better frosting you can pipe, smooth or write with!
How Do I Frost A Cake (and Make It Look Good!)?
To achieve a super smooth frosting, spread one layer of this recipe of this homemade chocolate or white frosting on your cake. This first layer is called a “crumb coat.” Don’t worry about it being pretty, just make it fairly smooth.
If it’s in the summer or fairly warm in your kitchen, or if you’re using all butter, put the cake in the fridge for about 30 minutes to help the frosting set. Check out my video to see this technique in action!
After it has set — meaning that it is a little bit crisp to the touch — you can apply the top layer of frosting. If needed, mix another recipe of frosting for this second layer.
If you’re looking for the smoothest application of frosting, a pro tip is to use Viva brand paper towels. These paper towels are like cloth, and no other kind of paper towel works the same for this smoothing technique. It doesn’t work with store-bought icing!!!
Place one paper towel on top of the cake and gently smooth by rubbing your fingers along the paper towel, then lift up. It’s amazing to see how totally smooth your cake will be! Repeat all over the surface of the cake for a completely crisp finish!
The result is the wonderfully smooth chocolate or white frosting look of the chocolate cake picture above!
What are Some Other Frosting Flavors I Can Make?
If you’d prefer a lemon-y twist, check out my dairy-free lemon buttercream frosting recipe instead!
Or for another flavor, try this Bourbon Buttercream Frosting that really took the cake at my brother’s wedding! These wedding cupcakes were a hit, and stood up to the Virginia heat in the late summer, too.
If you choose to use butter (not dairy-free) or vegan butter, the results are a luscious buttercream flavor. If you use shortening instead, the frosting is more like the traditional birthday cake frosting we remember from our childhoods (or maybe that’s just me!?). Shortening also helps the frosting stay more stable in hotter temperatures.
Either way, this frosting recipe is a winner: easy, quick, dairy-free and delish!
Basic — But Essential — Chocolate or White Frosting Recipe
Chocolate or White Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter or non-dairy alternative softened, OR coconut oil OR shortening, especially if you plan on piping or using it to make designs (I like Spectrum® Palm Oil Shortening)
- 2½ cups confectioner’s sugar sifted
- 1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder (for chocolate)
- 1½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- up to 1/4 – 1/2 cup milk of choice dairy or non-dairy (for chocolate frosting, may use chocolate milk, if desired, not necessary)
Instructions
- Cream the sugar, cocoa (if making chocolate frosting) and butter/shortening together with an electric mixer.
- Add the vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk, beating well to combine, and additional milk (if and only as necessary) to achieve a spreadable consistency, beating for several minutes at the end until light and fluffy.
- Note:*Depending on whether you use butter, vegan butter, coconut oil or shortening, you may not need much or any milk to achieve spreading consistency.
- White FrostingUse recipe above, and omit cocoa powder. Reduce milk to 1-2 Tablespoons, adding more only if needed to achieve the desired consistency.
Video
Notes
** Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.
I can’t wait to see what beautiful cakes and cupcakes you make with this easy frosting recipe!
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Excellent recipe! I tried it successfully on the GF cake, will try now on Christmas cookies 🤞
So glad you loved it! Isn’t it amazing how easy it is to make delish homemade frosting?! Why bother buying preservative-laden cans of frosting at the store for more money when homemade is so easy?!?
~jules
Absolutely! Never buying frosting again! And I can now confirm that this recipe works well on Christmas cookies too! Sadly we were so happy that we ate them all and forgot the picture…oops. Happy Holidays!
Nothing sad about it! Photos next time, happy tummies this time!!! 🙂
~jules
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Don’t usually use butter cream, but needed something special for a gluten free friend. This more than fitted the bill. As you said it was easy and quite quick
Can you write the ingredients to the frosting in grams cause I’m Italian?
Can you write the ingredients in grams cause I’m Italian?
If I’m making a two layer cake is this enough frosting or do I need to double it the recipe?
Hi Cindy, it really all depends on how thick you like your frosting. I usually can get away with one recipe for a two layer cake, but if I’m covering a chocolate cake with white frosting, for example, I either make 1 1/2 of these recipes or I double it. Hope that helps!
~jules
Do you use salted or unsalted butter in your recipes for cake and frosting?
Perfect cake! Easy to make and delicious.
If you use coconut oil in the frosting, would you need to keep the frosted cake in the fridge so the icing doesn’t melt?
Hi Sandy, not at all. Coconut oil is a solid at room temperature, so it’s more stable than using butter. Anything will melt if the temps are super high, but coconut oil will be fine in frosting at average room temperatures.
~jules
Say no to palm oil and find another alternative. Palm oil is having devastating affects on the environment.
Hi Iris, thanks for your comment. There are some better palm oil choices out there. The brand I like is Spectrum Organic. It’s certified Fair Trade, Rain Forest Alliance Certified and Roundtable on Palm Oil certified. Hope that helps!
~jules
Hi Gina how do you make a white frosting with cream cheese not too sweet
Tk
Im planing to make your pound cake recipe I hope that I can do it right
Do you if regular food store will have the gf flower
Hi Ileana, great questions! Here’s my cream cheese frosting recipe – I don’t find it too sweet, but you can always add the sugar slowly and keep taste-testing to get it just right for you! I hope you do try my pound cake recipe – it’s so yummy! You can buy my gfJules Flour here on this site and we deliver right to your door — so easy! Here’s the link to the shop: https://shop.gfjules.com/
~jules
I’m so glad I found you.
My family has changed our way of eating and my grandsons can not have gluten. I tried this frosting recipe (long time cake decorator) and was a little nervous about how it would turn out.
Best frosting ever.
Today we are making another gluten free cake and I look “onward” to a lifetime of using this delightful recipe.
Thanks again!
Hi Gina, thanks so much for taking the time to let me know that my blog and recipes have been helpful! I hope you put lots of my recipes to good use for your family. Happy baking!
~jules
Sounds yummy. I’m trying the cupcakes right now.
OOoh I can’t wait to hear what you think!
~jules
Can you tell me how to make homemade confectioner’s sugar?
Hi – to make homemade confectioner’s sugar, just use whatever granulated sugar you have on hand — you’ll need about half as much of that sugar as you will the final measurement of confectioner’s sugar. Pour 1 cup granulated sugar into a blender or food processor and add 1 Tablespoon cornstarch. Blend until it is fine and fluffy. Hope that helps!
~jules
Just tried this frosting it was really good. I think I added too much milk because it was runny. I had a box of gluten free cake mix from Aldi’s that used the frosting for. The cake was kinda dry, but good. I can’t wait to make a cake with your flour. My birthday is in Feb and so is my son’s but he isn’t gluten free,but my daughter’s birthday is in April so I have to prefect my cake making. Lol
Good that you’re practicing now! Lots of bdays coming up so you’ll have it down to a science by then! As for running frosting, you could switch the fats and use shortening too – that always helps give the frosting more body. Also, add less liquid than called for and let it whip for a bit before adding more, by the tablespoon. If it’s still too runny, then just whip in some more confectioner’s sugar. Happy (early) birthday!
~jules
I cannot have the sugar. What could I use that would taste pretty good?
What sugar substitutes can you tolerate?
~jules
We use coconut oil in place of butter all the time. Here in the Caribbean it’s liquid at room temperature.
(When we lived in Seattle it was always hard) If you live somewhere warm like we do and need to replace melted butter then it’s ready to go. If you need it to be more firm I measure the amount I need and put it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. This makes it more firm but still slightly soft. Tastes wonderful!
If you are going to substitute coconut oil, how much would you use? Would I compare the size of a softened 1/2 cup of butter and use coconut oil in its soft, but not quite liquid state in about the same size or should I use liquid coconut oil? If using liquid, would the amount of oil be the same as the amount of butter?
Is there a confectioner’s sugar alternative I could use in this recipe?
Maggie – what is your goal? Are you trying to cut sugar? Don’t have confectioner’s sugar on hand? What do you need help with? Obviously, in this recipe, the confectioner’s sugar is a pretty critical ingredient, but there are other frosting recipes I could suggest if I know what you’re looking for.
My hubby is intolerent to cane sugar. He can have honey, agave, stevia (which I think is awful), coconut crystals and similar. We try to stay away from splenda and other artifical sweetners.
Maggie – can he do beet sugar? Either beet sugar or coconut crystals can be made into homemade powdered sugar!
Do you just grind up the coconut sugar a bunch?
Are you asking how to make confectioner’s sugar with coconut palm sugar? If so, you would take 1 cup of the unrefined coconut palm sugar and add to it 1 Tablespoon starch like cornstarch, potato starch or arrowroot powder. Grind in a Blendtec or coffee grinder for best results. Hope that answers your questions!
~jules
Any other ideas for a tastier alternative to the Earth Balance, I can still always taste the “veggie” taste when I bake with it. Thanks!!!
I would suggest using coconul oil (it’s solid at room temperature). It has a lovely, subtle flavor that’s definitely not “veggie.” Otherwise, palm oil shortening will work well.
Vegan buttery sticks would probably work well too.
Yes, the Earth Balance Buttery Sticks do work well to produce a softer frosting.
~jules
Try Smart Balance Light