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!
This recipe is a real game changer for me in the frosting world, I detest icing sugar! I made it today, so I didn’t have any cold coconut milk to separate. Being the daredevil that I am, I went ahead and used a can of coconut milk right out of the cupboard and left the cooked mixture in the fridge for a couple of hours (brand was Thai Kitchen premium coconut milk). When I whipped it up it became a little stiff, but I popped it in the microwave for about 15 seconds and whipped it again, and it was the perfect consistency for spreading on my banana cake. What a beauty, wish I could share a photo of it. Thanks for the recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it Lisa!
I made this to slather on my son’s first birthday cake and everyone loved it! So easy! So delicious! Thanks for providing the perfect frosting recipe!!!
I made this over the weekend and put it on your gluten free vegan browines. Absolutely delicious. Raving reviews from everyone. I put a couple in the freezer last night that I will sample one tonight. I need to make more for a fundraiser this weekend and I’m hoping that I can make them ahead of time and freeze them. Have you had any success with this?
Hey Tracey, I’m so sorry but I don’t think I’ve tried freezing them yet! Will have to try that sometime. I hope it works out for you…let me know if you end up trying it out.
Hi Angela,
I tried it and it was good! I found that for some strange reason it seemed to be creamier and chocolatier once it thawed. I had put it on your vegan, gluten free brownie recipe and they froze/defrosted nicely as well. The recipe makes more than I can put on the brownies but my brother-in-law finishes the icing off on its own calling it his “chocolate fudge”.
Hi! Have you tried using Coconut Creme? They have it at Trader Joe’s and I am wondering if that would work without having to separate it out and all that?
Hey Nicole, I’m sorry I haven’t tried it! Let me know if you do. :)
Thanks for this!! My little one cant have milk so Ive been looking for a yummy not too sugary icing to do his cake smash with! This sounds perfect!!
I was just wondering if you think it would work with white chocolate so I could colour the icing? I know white chocolate is different composition to chocolate, but it works fine in ganache?
Hopeing someone knows!!
Cheers from Australia :D
I just purchased case of Native Forest Coconut Cream so no more worries about the milk not separating for me! It will be perfect for this recipe. Thanks!
Hi! I just had to stop by and let you know that I used this frosting on my mom’s 50th birthday cake this past weekend. Everyone loved it! We had a some attendees present that are hostile to healthy vegan cooking, and even they couldn’t offer anything but praise.
That’s so great to hear! Thanks Charity. HBD to your mom!
This is delicious! :D
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_milk
“When refrigerated and left to set, coconut cream will rise to the top and separate out from the milk. To avoid this in commercial sold coconut milk, an emulsifier(s) and a stabilizer(s) have to be used.”
So look at the ingredients and find coconut milk with no added emulsifiers or stabilizers.
You might be able to just buy the coconut cream directly. I wonder how this product would work in the frosting:
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/coconut_cream_concentrate.htm
I can’t stop licking my laptop screen!
Hi – Can I make this in the morning, keep it for a few hours in a Ziploc and then ice the cupcakes at the party destination (I don’t want to frost the cupcakes and then travel with them…sounds high risk!)
Thanks
I contacted Native Forest for the same problem with the coconut milk not separating. They told me they are using a different formulation which won’t separate and they refunded my money as well as sent me two complimentary tiny cans of the coconut cream. A product they are going to start marketing soon. I suspect it may be why they changed emulsifiers. Now you have to buy the cream And the milk
Thanks for the info Diana! I will add this to my post :)
Snna.. you say you used a dud can and it worked? I just opened my chilled can and it was not separated at all, but still rather thick. When you say dud, do u mean you used a runny can of coconut milk ? Wondering what your consistancy was before chilling the frosting ?
Ummm….it’s my understanding that leaving food out for more than two hours is a health risk. You left the chocolate cream out all morning??? That’s pretty gross! It’s obvious your not trained or qualified to be writing about food preparation!
Hi Sinead,
The reason it was left out on the counter is because it was very, very cold all morning (my fridge is a bit wonky and has the tendency of freezing things at the back!).
By the way, I’m actually trained in food safety so I do take caution with these things.
What is wrong with you?
My food is out all the time, sometimes even overnight. And I’m fine. coconut has nothing in it, that has to be chilled, unless you wnat it chilled.
Besides of that, you can generalize. My oven cooked meals stay in the oven, when I couldnt eat them all.
You should rethink a) your behaviour and b) your living tendencies.
Third world people.
This looks great! Does it freeze well for use at a later time or in smaller batches? Thanks!
Oh, this is so good. I will be using this recipe over and over again for sure. I added a little powdered sugar because I wanted the frosting a bit firmer and sweeter; and a dash of salt wouldn’t hurt, but it wasn’t necessary. I used this frosting on vegan Samoa cupcakes, and they rocked! Thanks!
I made this recipe for frosting and mine is watery thin. Only difference is I used coconut milk which is organic by So Delicious dairy free. This is in a carton not a can. Any suggestions?
hello! just wanted to say that i made this frosting today using one full 13.5 ounce can of sprout’s brand coconut cream (no added sweeteners) and 10 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips and it was completely delicious! thank you for posting the recipe. the frosting ended up being more of a heavy whipped cream than a thick frosting, but i loved the consistency. it was just right on the quinoa chocolate cake i topped it with. thank you!
Hi Angela. I love your website! I’m new (sort of; tried it briefly a year ago) to being a vegan and really enjoying trying new recipes. I’ve quickly become a fan of coconut milk. It’s amazing what it can do! I have the last of my icing sugar to use up on some black bean brownies today and would like to try your frosting for my next batch. Do you know if it freezes well? I prefer to spend a day or two cooking and baking and then freezing most of what I made.
Happy Easter! :)
Best. Frosting. Ever. Just made a gluten-dairy-egg-free banana cake for my husband’s birthday– and used this delicious frosting on top. Genius. Thank you so much!