This frosting is quite possibly one of the best to come out of my kitchen. It’s dangerous in the best way possible – creamy and rich without being overly sweet. I really don’t know how I was able to save enough for the chocolate cupcakes.
Best of all, it’s just two simple ingredients: Full-fat coconut milk and chocolate. That’s it.
Yes, you really can make a luxurious, creamy frosting without butter or shortening! Unlike regular frosting, there’s no fussing with icing sugar messing up your kitchen. Don’t you hate it when the icing sugar leaves a coating of powder over all your appliances and counter? I sure do.
With this recipe, the only thing that got messy was my face because I couldn’t stop eating it.
The flavour and sweetness of this frosting will vary depending on the chocolate you use. Most chocolate should work just fine, although I would caution against using a super bitter variety. Stick to under 70% cocoa and you should be safe. If worst comes to worst, you can always add a bit of sweetener if need be. I threw in a pinch of fine grain sea salt at the end to enhance the sweetness.
Insert face into bowl here.
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2-Ingredient Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Yield
1 and 3/4 cups
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
A luxurious fudge frosting with just two ingredients - no butter or shortening required!
Ingredients
- 1 can (400 ml) full-fat coconut milk
- 1 bag dark, non-dairy chocolate chips (approx 285 grams)
Directions
- Chill can of full-fat coconut milk in the fridge overnight. When ready, flip can over and open with can opener. Pour off the water (you can save it for a smoothie or discard). Scoop only the solid white coconut cream into a pot. Add the chocolate chips into the pot as well and gently melt the coconut cream and the chocolate chips together over low heat. Stir frequently and be careful not to burn.
- Transfer this mixture into a bowl (cover with wrap) and then into the fridge for 2-3 hours (or overnight) until it firms up enough to whip into frosting. You really just have to eyeball it as I expect the timing for individual batches will differ depending on how cold your fridge is. I put it in the fridge overnight and then left it on the counter for the entire morning until I was ready to frost the cupcakes in the afternoon.
- When it’s firmed enough to your liking, whip it with electric beaters until smooth and creamy. If it’s still too firm, you can leave it out on the counter for a bit longer. I didn’t need to add any milk to thin it out or any sugar to sweeten – it was just perfect as is! If your batch tastes bitter, you can always add a bit of sweetener to your taste. I also like to add a small pinch of fine grain sea salt to make the flavours pop.
Tip:
Note: On a hot day, this frosting could melt. Be sure to keep frosted cupcakes in the fridge until ready to enjoy.
Looking for a vegan cupcake recipe? Find my favourite chocolate cupcakes here.
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A note on coconut milk:
Many of you have had trouble making whipped coconut cream with certain brands because some cans don’t always separate. A reader let me know that Thai Kitchen has changed their formula so that it doesn’t separate anymore. Apparently they are coming out with small cans of pure coconut cream instead. Be on the look out! I used Native Forest with decent result, although I have had some duds.
Happy Victoria Day to my fellow Canadians!
Oh Dear God, this stuff could be dangerous! ;-)
I love using coconut milk or even avocado with dark chocolate for a quick frosting. Thanks for sharing your variation :)
i have had good luck with the GRACE brand coconut milk.
I’m not quite sure if it’s any healthier for you, but I have been making a frosting recipe from the new Engine 2 book (My Beef with Meat) and it only has three ingredients: Silken tofu, vegan chocolate chips and vanilla. It’s incredible! It doesn’t have the saturated fat of the coconut milk, but I know some people don’t love the idea of tofu (for whatever reason), so there is a place in the world for all variations of vegan frosting made with simple ingredients!
I made a chocolate cake last night and this frosting would have been amazing on it!! Next time for sure!
You had me at “frosting” Ang! But 2 ingredient…oh heck yes. I will make sure to try the right kind of cocount milk as I have tried dud cans before.
Thanks for sharing!! :) Match made in heaven!
Wow, I love the recipes. It’s tricky with kids to keep them loving food knowing that they are eating veggies too.
WOW WOW WOW! Looks like chocolate heaven if you ask me :D YEEES PLEASE!!!
THANK YOU Angela – great recipe! And so glad to hear that it is not just me with the coconut milk not always separating. I have made your cake balls a couple times (maybe the most loved recipe so far from the responses I get from anyone who eats them!). I also have to have several cans of milk on hand as it does not seem to work the first time (which can be a bummer since you have to fridge it overnite!). I will try the other kind once I am out of what the native forest I have now. Thanks for another great recipe
Well, this is brilliant! I can’t wait to try it. Now I just need an excuse to bake a cake.
LOL! This would NON be safe around me either :) oh the cupcakes that would go undecorated :o haha
oh wow…cannot wait to try this!!
I made this, and it definitely needs a good long time to re-set, but it is sooooo worth it! I almost couldn’t stop eating it off the spoon, it’s so good! I actually used a can of chilled Aroy-D coconut cream, which I buy at asian supermarkets here in Toronto. Much easier, imo.
You can buy coconut cream from Asian supermarkets. Then, you don’t have to worry about the coconut milk separating or not. I always go to a local Asian market to buy the coconut cream for coconut whipped cream or anything else I just need the cream for, and it works great! Doesn’t matter which brand so long as it says coconut cream on the front.
Thanks for the tip!
I’m glad i’m not the only one that had this problem with the coconut cream! Thanks for the suggestions, will try it again!
How strong is the coconut taste? I’ve had a can of coconut milk chilling in my fridge for about three weeks… was going to make thai food but I could try this!
I could detect the coconut taste but it wasn’t overpowering to me.
i too bought a can of coconut milk that was all liquid but bought 2 brands so now i know which one to get …….was the best icying i have ever made and not over sweet , fluffed up super…..thanks
I really want to try this… strawberry season is soon here in denmark, so do you think it will work just the milk with strawberry?? No chocolate. Thanks a lot
Hi, Angela – A few people have mentioned simply buying a can of coconut cream. If I did that, how much of the can should I use for this recipe?
Im not sure Ive never used it before – sorry! Maybe 3/4 cup or so?
Sarah,
I posted a reply on page 1 which may be helpful, however, I have not tried coconut cream either.
I tried 2 cans of Arroyo D and didn’t work either time