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!
Will it work if i make the coconut milk at home? Thanks in Advance
I made this frosting to go on the chocolate cake recipe from your cook book. I layered the chia seed jam, (i used raspberries) also from your cook book, in between the cake layers. http://ohsheglows.com/2012/06/26/magical-blueberry-vanilla-chia-seed-jam/
This dessert was rich and decadent and all the recipes tasted so goooooood together! A nice splurge for my husband’s birthday cake.
Hi Angela,
Have you ever tried to freeze this frosting? It’s my daughter’s bday this w/e and we’re going camping to celebrate. I was thinking about making the cupcakes, frosted, ahead of time and freezing them so that they travel more easily. Any ideas or tips?
I was wondering if you use dairy free chocolate because regular chocolate won’t mix with the coconut cream properly or due to dairy sensitivity? Thanks in advance it looks amazing
Yup, I always use dairy-free chocolate – Enjoy Life for chips and for chocolate bars I use dark varieties (generally over 70% do not contain dairy but check the label)
This looks so easy! …and insanely delicious! I’ve printed the recipe and will use it when I have to make cupcakes in a few weeks. Thank you for sharing! xo
Instead of whipping to make the frosting roll them into little truffles add flavor and dust with cocoa powder..YUM!
Hi Angrla, quick question-I tried making this using white chocolate and it never hardened even after being in the fridge overnight. It was super runny and no amount if whipping could help it. Any advice? Thanks in advance!
This recipe is a take on a whipped ganache. I’m not sure if I’d like the coconut flavor in the frosting. You could substitute heavy cream for the coconut milk. I always melt the chocolate and cream in the microwave. Depending on the ratio of chocolate to cream, you end up with a thick ganache – to make truffles, a medium ganache, or a thinner ganache – for a poured glaze. The ratio for the thicker ganache is 1 to 1, for truffles or a whipped frosting.
Hi,has anyone tried to make a cream cheese frosting with the canned coconut milk?
Yum! This is awesome! :)
Do you know if it’s ok to freeze the leftovers? Because the batch of frosting was more than I needed and I don’t want it to go bad in the refrigerator. And I don’t want to gain back the 25# I just lost :)
I’m sorry I’m not sure as I have not tried freezing it before.
Is 18.8 % fat considered full fat? Here in Israel there is coconut liquid and cocnut cream. I’m assuming you mean the latter.
Thanks,
Shoshana
Native Forest— coconut milk from Thailand didn’t separate :( I’m crossing my fingers and chalking it up to Mercury being retrograde. I will try again because this recipe looks too good!
Awesome recipe! It is a shame that vegan chocolate costs more than regular chocolate. It will cost me $7 just to make this frosting. Yikes! Any recommendations for other vegan, possibly cheaper brands?
I found coconut and coconut butter, and coconut milk but not coconut cream?
Are oil and butter the same thing as the cream?
Thanks
Hi Nichole, Actually what you want to get is the FULL FAT canned coconut milk. Refrigerate it for 24 hours, open can, drain off water, and only use the remaining white cream portion. Hope this helps.
So i made this, and it was so thick more like fudge, delicious fudge, but i was wondering if i buy the small can of premium coconut do i need 1 or 2 of them for this recipe??
umm can i use coconut cream instead of coconut milk? If so how much more or less would I use and what differences would there be to the method and the final outcome?
Hello,
I was recommended to your site for a couple of recipes. I’m not sure how to email you so I hope it’s okay to comment here!
I was told this recipe is amazing and it certainly looks to be, but I was wondering if there’s a “white” version as I want to make a white icing. I read the recipe for the coconut whipped cream but I would really like to make more of a traditional frosting. Please let me know if you have any recipes for white icing using coconut milk (or I’m open to other suggestion as well). Thank you!
can you plz email me where to buy native forest full-fat without guar gum organic coconut milk in a can plz?
This recipe was a huge fail for me. I’m super bummed because these chocolate chips aren’t cheap and it took a lot of steps to make it…for it to just be runny. I’m really disappointed. :(