Recipes & Cooking Desserts & Baking Frosting & Icing 16 Homemade Frosting Recipes That Take Desserts to the Next Level There's nothing quite as delicious as homemade frosting. By Sheena Chihak, RD Sheena Chihak, RD Sheena Chihak is a registered dietitian, former food editor and current edit lead for BHG with over 17 years of writing and editing experience for both print and digital. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process and Sarah Martens Sarah Martens Sarah Martens is the Senior Editor overseeing food at Better Homes & Gardens digital. She has been with the BHG brand for more than 10 years. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on February 15, 2024 Close Photo: Rachel Marek. Food Styling: Annie Probst So many desserts are made better with the addition of frosting. Thick and luscious cream cheese frosting recipes and buttercream frostings or thinner icings and glazes all have their ideal uses as a topping for your desserts. If you need cake frosting, cinnamon roll frosting, or frosting ideas for cookies and bars, use this collection of our best frosting recipes to complete your dessert. 01 of 16 Buttercream Frosting View Recipe Kritsada Panichgul Buttercream frosting recipes are a classic choice for virtually any kind of cake. With the word "butter" in the name, you know the resulting frosting will be rich and luscious. Our recipe yields about 3½ cups of frosting total, which should be enough to cover the tops and sides of a two-layer cake (using 8- or 9-inch cake pans). 02 of 16 Coconut-Pecan Frosting View Recipe Jason Donnelly While we named it after the primary flavor components, you may also know this dessert topper as the German chocolate cake frosting recipe. Of course, that's a great use for this frosting, but that shouldn't stop you from using it on brownies and other cake flavors. 03 of 16 Creamy White Frosting View Recipe Andy Lyons This bright white frosting is almost the same as a buttercream frosting, with one exception: it uses shortening instead of butter. The yellow tint you'd get from butter is replaced with pure white shortening. To ensure you keep the bright color use clear vanilla extract in the mix not traditional vanilla extract, which is brown. Can You Substitute Shortening for Oil? Here’s What to Know 04 of 16 Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting View Recipe Give your homemade frosting recipe just a subtle tangy note with the addition of luscious sour cream. This easy frosting recipe uses an 8-ounce carton of the dairy product and only three additional ingredients, so it comes together in about 20 minutes. Try it on pumpkin or chocolate cakes. 05 of 16 Meringue Frosting View Recipe Just like a meringue you'd make for pie, the key ingredients in this frosting recipe are egg whites and cream of tartar. Those ingredients beaten with an electric mixer over a double boiler create a much fluffier frosting than frosting recipes that rely more on fat from butter, shortening, or oil. Try meringue frosting on a spice cake or berry-filled pound cake. 06 of 16 Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting View Recipe Andy Lyons Is there any cake out there that isn't improved by a cream cheese frosting recipe spread all over it? If there is, we have yet to taste it. This chocolate version includes 5 ounces of melted chocolate for deep chocolate flavor. 07 of 16 Powdered Sugar Icing View Recipe Andy Lyons A powdered sugar frosting recipe (aka icing) with its thinner consistency is perfect for drizzling on cookies, quick breads, or cakes that don't need much more sweetness added. This icing idea can take on all kinds of flavor twists if you swap in another liquid for the milk called for. Use orange juice (or any juice, really), bourbon, chocolate milk, eggnog, wine, or any flavor that pairs well with the dessert about to be drizzled. 08 of 16 No-Cook Fudge Frosting View Recipe Andy Lyons A full cup of cocoa powder and a full stick of butter go into this chocolate frosting recipe, so you know it's going to taste amazing on any dessert you pipe (or spread) it on. We love it on a yellow cake, spread on graham crackers and brownies, or as a decadent cookie frosting. 09 of 16 Easy Marshmallow Frosting View Recipe Jason Donnelly Our simplified marshmallow frosting recipe uses purchased marshmallow crème so there's no need for a double boiler to create the marshmallow fluff frosting that's ideal atop a s'mores cake. Just beat the four ingredients together in a bowl with your electric mixer and your cake frosting recipe is ready to use. 10 of 16 Caramel Frosting View Recipe Blaine Moats For a dessert that's extra sweet or indulgent, add this caramel frosting recipe. It's delish on chocolate cake, white cake, and especially cakes and bars studded with candy pieces. Use a piping bag to pipe the frosting extra high if you like. 11 of 16 Chocolate Buttercream Frosting View Recipe Karla Conrad If you love chocolate, a plain vanilla frosting recipe just won't cut it (even if it is buttercream). You need this homemade chocolate buttercream frosting recipe for your cakes, cupcakes, or other desserts. It's made just like the classic version, but with a ½ cup of cocoa powder added to the mix for rich chocolate flavor. 12 of 16 Chocolate Powdered Sugar Glaze View Recipe Rachel Marek This four-ingredient chocolate glaze is perfect for drizzling on cakes, cookies, scones, and more. You'll need powdered sugar, cocoa powder, butter, and water. As one reviewer shared, "I used this to coat my chocolate chip mini scones and it turned out really nice. The flavor is subtle...it made my scones taste like a chocolate covered doughnut." 13 of 16 Chocolate Glaze View Recipe Grant Webster This chocolate icing will set once it's spread or drizzled on donuts, cakes, and more. Using semi sweet chocolate ensures the flavor is the perfect balance of sweet and bitter. It also makes a great dip for fresh fruit and graham crackers. Best-Ever Chocolate Cake 14 of 16 Almond Frosting View Recipe BHG / Ana Cadena Just a 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract adds rich flavor to this buttercream recipe. It's fluffy, rich, and the perfect consistency for piping on cupcakes and cakes. See our helpful chart for exactly how much buttercream you'll need to frost a sheet cake, layer cake, and cupcakes. 15 of 16 Vanilla Sour Cream Frosting View Recipe Sour cream adds an unmistakable tang to this homemade frosting recipe. Round out the flavor with vanilla extract. Our Test Kitchen recommends thinning the frosting with buttermilk to echo the flavor of the sour cream. This makes a great frosting for cheesecakes. 16 of 16 Fresh Strawberry Buttercream View Recipe Jennifer Davick This fresh strawberry frosting is so good, you'll want to eat it with a spoon. That's what many of our recipe testers did! Puree fresh strawberries and add them to our take on a Swiss meringue. Use both vanilla extract and a fresh vanilla bean for the most flavor. How to Make the Perfect Fresh Strawberry Sheet Cake Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit