The perfect creamy, not-too-sweet White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, perfect for covering a cake or piping on cupcakes! Recipe includes a how-to video, and some of my favorite cakes and cupcakes to pair it with!
I’ll be honest, the first time I made white chocolate frosting I expected it to be much, much too sweet. White chocolate is already so sweet on its own and I rarely care for it when there’s real chocolate in the picture (unless it’s tempered with browned butter, sea salt, and nuts like in my white chocolate macadamia nut cookies).
When I set out to make a white chocolate buttercream, I was determined that it would have a distinct white chocolate flavor, without being tooth-achingly sweet. I’ve reduced the sugar, whipped in some cream (for a light and fluffy texture) and voila, here’s a white chocolate frosting that you can actually eat by the spoonful. It may even be less sweet than my classic buttercream frosting!
To give you an idea of how not-overly-sweet it is, this is often my filling of choice when I’m testing my macaron recipe.. It’s creamy, smooth, with a silky mouthfeel. It’s softer than my buttercream or cream cheese frosting, closer in consistency to ermine frosting, but as you can see in the photo you can still pipe it onto cupcakes.
Ingredients
- White Chocolate. You can use white chocolate bars (shown in the photo above) or white chocolate chips so long as they are quality/premium chips (I have had bad luck with generic chips and recommend Ghirardelli).
- Butter. I like to use unsalted butter and then add a pinch of salt at the end so that you have complete control over the flavor of the icing.
- Powdered Sugar. I use considerably less powdered sugar in this recipe than I do in some of my others. The chocolate helps to give it a firm texture once it’s cooled completely and whipping a bit of cream in at the end helps give it a fluffy consistency as well.
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt. As mentioned above.
- Whipping Cream. I highly recommend whipping a splash of cream into your frosting at the end. It makes it fluffier, silkier, and light.
As always, this is just an overview of the ingredients that I used. Please scroll down to the printable recipe below for amounts.
Can I Color White Chocolate Buttercream?
Yes! You can add food coloring to this recipe. Stir gel (preferred) or liquid or even powder food coloring after you have finished the recipe. Add as much as is needed to get the desired color. I love using gel food coloring anytime I’m coloring buttercream as a little goes a long way and the colors are so vibrant.
Tips
- Always melt chocolate slowly! If heated too quickly, it’s prone to seizing and will take on a grainy appearance. Heat in short bursts and stir very well in between.
- It’s important that you let your chocolate cool after melting. Set it aside and let it cool (stirring occasionally) until no longer warm to the touch (but not so cool that it’s re-solidified!). If it’s warm, it will melt your butter and leave you with a greasy mess instead of luscious creamy frostiing.
- Use butter that’s close to room temperature, but neither melty/greasy or too chilled. If the butter is cold, it will actually cause some of the chocolate to harden, leaving you with small chocolate clumps.
- I recommend whipping some cream into the frosting, but if you whip it very much you can end up with a frosting that’s almost too airy and full of air bubbles, making it difficult to spread smoothly over your cake. If that happens, just use a spatula to gently fold through the frosting, pressing it against the sides of the bowl and essentially deflating the excess air for a smooth buttercream.
This frosting is great on just about any cake recipe, but I especially love it on my marble cake, white cake, and a super fun cake recipe that I have coming for you later this week. It’s also good (though less traditional) on red velvet cupcakes!
Storing
I generally recommend using this frosting pretty quickly after making it. As it sits, the frosting tends to solidify a bit, giving the frosting an almost fudge-like consistency. However, it can be made in advance and stored. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap directly against the surface of the frosting. It will keep at room temperature for a day or in the refrigerator for up to a week. You will likely need to briefly re-whip the frosting before using.
White Chocolate Buttercream Goes Great With:
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Be sure to check out my video in the recipe where I’ll show you exactly how I make these in my own kitchen!
White Chocolate Buttercream
Ingredients
- 6 oz (170 g) white chocolate¹ chopped into small pieces
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter² softened to room temperature (but not so soft that it’s melty/greasy)
- 2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Place white chocolate in a small, heat-proof bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Stir very well, then return to microwave and heat in 15-second increments, stirring very well in between, until chocolate is completely smooth and melted.6 oz (170 g) white chocolate¹
- Set chocolate aside to cool for at least 15 minutes and no longer warm to the touch (otherwise it will melt the butter and you’ll have a greasy mess).
- While chocolate is cooling, place softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or you may use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer) and beat until creamy and well-whipped.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter²
- With mixer on low-speed, gradually add melted, cooled chocolate and stir well.
- Gradually add powdered sugar , scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl periodically to ensure that all ingredients are well combined.2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- Sprinkle in salt and vanilla extract and stir well.½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- With mixer on low-speed, gradually add heavy cream to frosting. Gradually increase speed to high and beat for 30-60 seconds or until desired consistency is reached (should be light, creamy, fluffy, and slightly increased in volume). If you beat too much air into the icing and would like a smoother frosting, use a spatula to cut through the batter and work out any air bubbles.2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- Pipe or spread frosting onto prepared, cooled baked goods.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Kourtney
Hi! Am making this to put on top of your funfetti cake for my sons 1st birthday tomorrow. I read your storage suggestions – if I frosted and did a drip frosting over to put in fridge overnight (doing cake for breakfast) do you think it won’t hold up well? Should I just wait until the morning? Thanks so much!
Sam
Hi Kourtney! This should hold up well, honestly I personally would probably leave the frosted cake at room temperature myself (in an airtight container) but if you prefer your cake cold refrigerating overnight will be fine (just keep it in an airtight container). I hope that helps!
Kourtney
Thank you so much! It’s delicious!
Casey
This frosting was my first recipe working with white chocolate and it turned out perfectly! So smooth and delicious, and pairs beautifully with my peppermint chocolate cake! Thanks so much for sharing this!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Casey! 🙂
Christine
Hi Sam! This looks heavenly! Did you add the heavy cream in room temp. Or is it still chilled?
Sam
Hi Christine! It’s usually still a bit cold when I add it, I think it would be fine either way in this particular recipe 🙂
Christine
Hi Sam! Thanks. I’m planning to try out your recipe this weekend!
Kasturi
Looks AMAZING! Will this work for drip cakes? Wasn’t sure if the consistency of this frosting was stable enough after cooling to pour dark chocolate ganache on top. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Kasturi! I would let the ganache cool a little bit so it’s not super hot, and then it should work just fine. 🙂
Hailey
For the rose piping on the cupcakes would you consider this a generous amount of frosting or more of a modest? Basically I am planning to use this delicious sounding recipe to pipe roses on 24 cupcakes… did you need to double this to pipe yours (first picture) ?
Sam
Hi Hailey! If you pipe it like is shown in the first picture you should be able to cover 24 cupcakes. 🙂
Vidya
That sounds delicious. Can I use this frosting under fondant?
Sam
That should work just fine. 🙂
Yuvi
Hii this is great recipe would just love to try it out, thank you so much also I just wanted to know if you should gel based food colors or candy colors to color this frosting
Sam
Hi Yuvi! Personally I always like to use gel food colorings. I hope you love it! 🙂
Yuvi
Thank u so much for the quick response !!!!
Maariyah Baksh
How many cupcakes does this frost?
Sam
Hi Maariyah! I actually talk about how much this covers just above the video before the ingredients. 🙂
Kendrick Ohare
My crowd on Google+ would love your post. Is it okay if I share with them?
Sam
Hi Kendrick! I only allow links or the photo with the link to be shared. 🙂
Anna
Made this for a macaron filling and it was incredible! You’re right, it really is not that sweet, but has a great thickness and flavor. There were a few clumps of white chocolate because it started to solidify before adding it, but otherwise it was delicious!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Anna! I really need to perfect my macaron skills. They can be so frustrating to make! 🙂
Rain
Is it ok to color the frosting? I don’t want to mess it up. I need it to be a grass green color. Thanks
Sam
Hi Rain! You can stir in the green coloring at the end and it will work just fine. 🙂
muthuselvi
Do we use confectionery sugar or just powdered sugar?
Sam
They are the same thing. 🙂
Nichol'e
Will this recipe five a two later cake???
Or should I double it???
Sam
This should cover a two layer 8 or 9 inch cake. 🙂
Sharon Schroeter
Thanks for another yummy recipe!
How’s your little one? They grow so fast!
Sam
Hi Sharon! He’s doing very well. Growing like a weed!!! He’s already crawling and he’s definitely going to be running around soon! Where does the time go?
Heloisa Vaurs
I love white chocolate frosting.
Anna
This looks so good! I can already taste it in my mouth, just need to get the white chocolate now!
Sam
I think you are going to love it! 🙂