Frosting rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 57 recipes to cook with it.
Key Points
Frosting is the thick, spreadable cake coating; icing is the thinner, pourable kind.
Buttercream is butter beaten with confectioners' sugar; cream cheese and cooked styles add tang or gloss.
Keep butter at cool room temperature near 65°F (18°C), and frost only fully cooled cake.
A pinch of salt and real vanilla cut the cloying sweetness of plain sugar frosting.
Buttercream keeps a week chilled or three months frozen; re-whip to room temperature before use.
What is frosting?
Frosting is the sweet, spreadable coating that finishes a cake, and the word covers a whole family of textures. Buttercream is the workhorse: butter beaten with confectioners' sugar until it's light and pipeable.
Cream cheese frosting trades some of that butter for tang, and a cooked frosting like a boiled or seven-minute style sets up glossy and marshmallowy.
What separates frosting from icing is body. Frosting is thick enough to hold a swirl and stand up on the sides of a layer cake, while icing is thinner and pours or drizzles. If a recipe asks you to spread and swirl, it means frosting.
Most home recipes lean on a simple American buttercream because it's forgiving, but the category stretches from a quick canned tub to a fussy Italian meringue.
Working With Frosting
The single biggest factor is temperature. Butter should be cool room temperature, around 65°F (18°C), soft enough to dent but not greasy or melting. Too warm and the frosting slumps off the cake; too cold and it tears the crumb as you spread.
Let the cake cool completely first. A warm cake melts butter on contact and you'll end up with a sliding, streaky mess.
For a clean finish, spread a thin crumb coat, chill it for 15 minutes, then apply the final layer over the sealed surface.
Cream cheese frosting carries cakes where the tang matters, which is why it crowns a Banana-Carrot Sheet Cake so well. A glossy chocolate version finishes the Encore Cake, and a quick spread dresses the Wicked Cinnamon Rolls (Low Fat) while they're still warm.
Flavor and Pairing
Frosting is mostly sugar and fat, so its job is contrast as much as sweetness. Pair a rich chocolate frosting with a tangy or lighter crumb, the way a Viennese Dreamcake balances itself, and pair a tangy cream cheese frosting with a spiced or fruit-forward cake.
A pinch of salt and a real splash of vanilla cut the one-note sweetness that makes cheap frosting cloying. Coffee deepens chocolate, citrus zest cuts the richness, and peanut butter beaten into buttercream gives you the pairing behind Cola Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting.
The common mistake is overpowering the cake. If the frosting is sweeter than the crumb, the cake reads as dessert-flavored sugar. Taste as you build and stop adding sugar before it gets there.
Substitutes
If you're out of frosting or short on time, a few swaps work by use. A simple glaze of confectioners' sugar and milk pours over Bundts and cookies where a thick coat isn't needed.
Whipped cream, sweetened and stabilized, frosts a light cake but won't hold at room temperature.
Ganache, which is just chocolate and warm cream, sets to a spreadable or pourable finish depending on the ratio and gives a more grown-up result than chocolate buttercream. A dusting of confectioners' sugar or a quick dollop of marshmallow creme covers a cake in a pinch.
For canned frosting, a tub of buttercream substitutes one-for-one in most recipes. Warm it for a few seconds to make it spread more easily, or beat in a spoon of softened butter to improve the flavor.
Buying and Storage
Canned frosting lives with the baking supplies near the cake mixes, and one 16-ounce (450 g) tub frosts a 9-by-13 sheet cake or fills and tops a two-layer round. Check the date, since the oils can go stale and taste flat.
Homemade buttercream keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week, or frozen for up to three months. Bring it back to room temperature and re-whip it before using, since chilling makes it firm and a little grainy until the butter softens again.
A frosted cake holds at cool room temperature for a day or two under a dome. Anything made with cream cheese or eggs or whipped cream needs refrigeration.
Let a chilled frosted cake sit out 30 to 60 minutes before serving so the frosting softens and the crumb loses its fridge chill.
Types of frosting
Specific kinds of frosting and the recipes that use them.
Chocolate frosting is the soft, spreadable chocolate coating that fills a cake's layers and finishes its top. It splits into a few honest camps: American buttercream on butter and powdered sugar, ganache from chocolate and cream, plus cooked fudge frosting and the canned tub.
What separates them is where the chocolate comes from. Cocoa powder gives a leaner, more bittersweet frosting that stays matte. Melted chocolate or ganache gives gloss and a rounder flavor, because the cocoa butter sets as it cools.
Both work. They just behave differently under a knife.
Vanilla frosting is the pale, sweet, spreadable topping that finishes most cakes and cupcakes. It is essentially American buttercream: softened butter beaten with powdered sugar, a splash of milk or cream, and real vanilla. The canned tub from the baking aisle is the same idea, mass-produced and shelf-stable.
What makes it the workhorse of a home bakery is its neutral color. A white or near-white frosting takes food coloring cleanly, which is why it is the base under nearly every decorated cake.
Decorated sugar cookies use powdered sugar and a touch of almond extract for tender, rollable dough that holds intricate cookie cutter shapes. The classic Christmas cookie recipe.
A moist banana buttermilk cake layered with crushed pineapple and smothered in a billowy Bavarian cream frosting made with sour cream and whipped cream. Tropical, lush, and celebration-ready.
A moist, tender cake made with the richness of sour cream. This delectable dessert is perfect for satisfying your sweet tooth and impressing your guests with its irresistible combination of textures and tastes.
Southern-style chocolate cola cake loaded with mini marshmallows, made in a 9x13 pan and frosted warm with peanut butter frosting. A potluck legend that feeds a crowd.
A rich, fudge-frosted two-layer cake with a tender crumb from egg yolks and a splash of brandy. This Viennese classic brings old-world European baking right to your kitchen.
Peanut butter bears: cinnamon-spiced peanut butter cut-out cookies shaped like teddy bears with detailed dough faces. A holiday baking project that's as fun as the cookies are good.
Pumpkin-shaped Halloween cake made from two chocolate bundt cakes stacked together, frosted orange with a banana stem and fruit roll-up jack-o-lantern face.
A fun, kid-friendly chocolate sheet cake with sour cream for extra moisture and a creamy rum frosting you can decorate like a board game. Birthday party crowd-pleaser.
Halloween cookie pops made from refrigerated dough on wooden sticks, baked golden and decorated with frosting and candy. A fun, kid-friendly party activity with just 3 ingredients.
Christmas gift-box cake decorated with homemade red ribbon and holly leaves made from melted vanilla chips and corn syrup, dusted with edible glitter. A centerpiece-worthy holiday showstopper.
Three-layer German white chocolate cake with buttermilk, pecans, and coconut, topped with a cooked coconut-pecan frosting. A rich twist on the classic German chocolate cake.
Quick Valentine's Day cake using a boxed cake mix, white frosting, and chocolate candy hearts. A simple, festive dessert anyone can make with just 3 items.
Dairy-free overnight cinnamon rolls made with soy flour and mashed tofu in place of milk and butter. Pillowy yeast dough filled with brown sugar, raisins, and cinnamon.
Halloween pumpkin patch cake built from two devil's food bundts stacked face-to-face, frosted orange, with a green cupcake stem and candy corn jack-o-lantern face. Easy showstopper for kids' parties.
Easter basket cake built from stacked round layers with green-tinted coconut grass, a foil-ribbon handle, and candy-studded sides. A showstopping family Easter dessert kids help decorate.
Halloween spider cake filled with green Jello that oozes when sliced, frosted black with licorice legs and gumdrop eyes. Gross, fun, and unforgettable.
Witch hat Halloween treats made from chocolate cookies, sugar cones, and chocolate frosting with hidden candy inside. A no-bake kids' craft activity with a candy surprise.
Frosted diamond cookies with caraway seeds, topped with billowy White Mountain frosting and pink sugar. A vintage rolled cookie that's crisp, elegant, and surprisingly savory-sweet.
Toll House layer cake with chocolate chip cookie-style layers frosted with rich chocolate buttercream. A four-layer sheet cake made from classic Toll House cookie dough baked flat and stacked.
Heart cake without a special pan, made by cutting a round layer in half and setting both halves against a square layer to form a heart, then frosting it pink with strawberry frosting. A clever Valentine's trick.
Sugar and spice layer cake with cinnamon, cloves, brown sugar, and buttermilk in a tender two-layer round cake. A warmly spiced classic with buttercream frosting.
Touchdown football cake: a round yellow cake mix transformed into a football shape with milk chocolate frosting and piped vanilla laces. The Super Bowl party showpiece kids and adults both love.
Festive cocoa cards are large chocolate-molasses cookies cut into rectangles and decorated with frosting to look like greeting cards. A fun holiday baking project for kids and adults.
Tunnel of Fudge bundt cake with a gooey, molten chocolate center surrounded by dense cake and loaded with walnuts. The classic Pillsbury Bake-Off legend.
Coconut pecan brownies built on a boxed fudge brownie mix doctored with sour cream and a can of coconut pecan frosting stirred right into the batter. German chocolate cake meets brownie.
Preschoolers will love these delicious cub-shaped cookies, made with nutty butter and crispy graham crackers. You and the kids can even create these cookies together!
No-bake mini burger cookies made from vanilla wafers, chocolate mint patties, dyed coconut lettuce, and white frosting. A fun kids party treat that looks like tiny hamburgers.
A spiced sheet cake packed with grated carrots, mashed bananas, toasted coconut, and pecans. Warm cloves and mace set it apart from ordinary carrot cake. Cuts into 24 squares and freezes well.
Upgraded fudge cake mix recipe with whipped topping and butter flavoring for an extra-moist, tender crumb. Two layers of deep chocolate frosted all over for a showstopper with minimal effort.
Chocolate bar Easter cake made by melting real milk chocolate bars into the batter with sour cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Rich, moist, and ready for your favorite frosting.
Caramel banana nut loaves using cake mix and pudding mix for extra moisture, loaded with real mashed bananas and walnuts, topped with a homemade caramel frosting.
Classic chocolate sheet cake with cocoa, buttermilk, and a surprise touch of almond extract. Boiling butter and water poured over the dry mix creates an ultra-moist, fudgy crumb.
Three-layer moist chocolate cake with whipped egg whites folded into the batter for an airy crumb. Filled and frosted with mocha frosting for a classic from-scratch celebration cake.
Classic rolled sugar cookies with a buttery, tender dough that holds its shape when cut with pumpkin, leaf, or any seasonal cookie cutter. Sprinkle with sugar or frost after baking.
Layered chocolate ripple cake baked in a clay pot with a coconut cream cheese swirl through the center and a milk chocolate cream cheese frosting on top. Lightened with egg whites and nonfat cream cheese.
Black Russian bundt cake spiked with vodka and creme de cacao, doctored from a yellow cake mix with chocolate pudding, instant coffee, and cinnamon. Boozy old-school cocktail-inspired dessert.
Orange blossom spritz cookies made with butter, orange zest, and vanilla, pressed into decorative shapes and baked until firm. A classic holiday cookie press recipe.
Original German sweet chocolate cake with Baker's German chocolate, buttermilk, and folded egg whites in three layers. Frost with classic coconut-pecan frosting.
A light and fluffy cheesecake made with cream cheese, cottage cheese, and frosting mix on a cinnamon graham cracker crust. Topped with fresh strawberries for an easy, airy dessert that lives up to its name.
A brown sugar loaf cake studded with candied citron and chopped nuts, topped with a nutmeg cream frosting. Warmly spiced with nutmeg throughout, this vintage gem belongs on every holiday baking list.
Adorable brown sugar pecan cookies shaped like tiny turtles with pecan halves for legs and heads. Frosted and irresistible, these bake up in about 10 minutes.
A wild ribbon cake with melted Snickers bars swirled through box cake batter, orange zest in the other half, and a Snickers glaze drizzle on top. Fun, easy, unforgettable.
Jellyroll layer cake with spiced sponge strips rolled into a spiral and frosted with English toffee icing. Looks like a regular cake but slices reveal vertical swirl layers.
Vintage spice cake layered with sweet stewed figs and crowned with vanilla frosting and toasted coconut. This retro two-layer beauty transforms humble ingredients into pure nostalgia.
