White Chocolate Pudding Buttercream Frosting
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I’ve never really been a fan of buttercream. Too sweet & too greasy. I use bare minimum on the cakes that I actually eat, or I’ll scrape it off if it’s served to me.
Now there is an even better way to make buttercream! So you’ve heard of pudding in cakes, pudding in cookies, but have you ever heard of pudding in buttercream frosting? I hadn’t, until I searched it & only found like one recipe. I adapted it to my liking & I loved the results! The texture is perfect: smooth & velvety, yet durable & holds it’s shape. You also use less powdered sugar while adding flavor (not just pure sugar) to the frosting. It’s genius! Or at least I think so! 🙂
Plus, think of all the flavor combinations…crazy amounts of pudding boxes waiting at the store for you to make frosting with! I just happened to have this white chocolate pudding in my cupboards & needed something to make with it, so this is what I did. And I like it!
White Chocolate Pudding Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 (3.56oz) box white chocolate instant pudding (the 4 servings size box)
- 1/2 cup cold skim milk plus extra for thinning
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup shortening (can use all butter if desired)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Whisk pudding with milk in a small bowl. Set aside in fridge or freezer until thick/solid; about 3 minutes; it's not very long.
- Meanwhile beat butter & shortening in a bowl with a hand mixer. Add vanilla & thickened pudding. Blend until combined.
- Add powdered sugar & blend again.
- Add additional milk, 1 Tbsp at a time until desired consistency is achieved. (I added about 3 to 4 Tablespoons. Fill pastry bag & pipe icing onto cupcakes or spread with a spatula onto a round cake.
- *Use promptly after freshly being made. If prepared beforehand: thin with additional milk to a spreadable consistency. Keep refrigerated.
Recipe Notes
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Recipe adapted from Cooking with Carrie
62 Comments on “White Chocolate Pudding Buttercream Frosting”
yum. pinned this for later 🙂
Genius!
Super cool! I’m definitely going to give this a whirl!
I’m a frosting liver, but ry isn’t Seems like this will be the best of both worlds. If I wanted to make choc frosting would I need to add cococo and pudding?
Brianna, if you want chocolate, just do chocolate pudding. No cocoa required. Should work the same!
Now I do love butter cream but my favorite is Swiss Meringue Frosting–to die for. But I am always open to something new and this looks delicious! Can’ wait to try it.
White chocolate is my favorite!
I like baking and making cakes, and this looks like it would be super yummy.
Hershey’s instant pudding? I’ve got to find myself some of that. Yummy.
Seriously, this looks SO good! I want to lick it right now!! Thanks for sharing!
Would this recipe be stiff enough to pipe onto cakes?
Yes, ma’am. The pudding actually makes it stiffer than typical buttercream. If it sits too long, you will need to add a little milk to make it easier to work with. It’s best to decorate right after being made.
I am a little delayed in my question, but can this be used to make flowers and other fancy cake designs? I am taking a decorating course and I just can’t stand to use the traditional buttercream week after week; I hate it!
Yes, but you will need to use it right away, because the longer it sits, the stiffer it gets. It will also need to be refrigerated after decorating. If it does get stiff, add additional milk 1 Tbsp at a time until you get the piping texture you want.
Can I substitute Stevia sweetener for the powdered sugar. I will use less than 1/4 cup…
The powdered sugar kind of gives the frosting body and thickness, along with the sweetness. The pudding does help thicken this recipe, so you could give it a try. I don’t bake with Stevia, so I can’t say for sure, but I don’t see why not.
Thanks for the quick reply! I wonder if anthem gum would help make up for that? I really commend people that experiment and create these recipes, because so much trial and error and wasted food is involved. I am making this for my birthday so my son who is on the LGIT for epilepsy can have a small slice. Thanks for sharing!!
I’m so sorry I couldn’t help you more! I really need to dabble in more recipes for those with diet restrictions so I can have a solid answer for questions like these. Please let me know if ends up working out!
Hi there! It was pretty sweet already without the extra bitterness of the Trader Joe’s Stevia, but I added about 2 tsp in to see how it tasted. Then I added the xantham gum in as well. About 2 tsp and it thickened it up nicely. I also had used too cold of butter and it looked all curdled but i ran it all in the blender and it smoothed out super nicely. I stored it in the stainless blender in the fridge and will process it one more time and then use it to frost the cake tomorrow and serve fresh. Thanks!
Glad it worked out! Thanks for sharing your alterations!
If I make this for cupcakes do the cakes have to be kept refrigerated?
I do because of the milk in the pudding. So, yes.
Does this have more of a yellow color to it?
It’s definitely off white, more ivory in color.
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I made your chocolate cake recipe. I’m making a 2 layer cake and filling with your White Chocolate Pudding Frosting. The outside is gonna be Chocolate Pudding frosting. My question is this cake is for Thanksgiving, so can I make both frostings now and keep them in the fridge til Thursday?
So you are prepping the frostings beforehand, storing them in the fridge and frosting the cake on Thanksgiving? If you are frosting the cake later, you will need to add additional milk to thin the frosting a little bit to a spreadable consistency. It thickens up like pudding does when refrigerated. If you are frosting it and refrigerating it, it should be just fine to slice and serve! Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m going to frost the cake Wednesday and keep it in the fridge til Thursday. Thank you!! i can;t wait to try your frosting!
I made the this frosting and to me it doesn’t taste sweet enough. Would you add more powdered sugar or another box of pudding?
I would do more powdered sugar to your personal tastes.
I’m having a problem. Mine looks like it is separating
Did you store in in the refrigerator before you needed to use it? I would just use a hand mixer and blend it all up again. It should come together.
I am 62 years old and have been in a kitchen since I was 20, but I don’t understand if you make the pudding according to the box directions, or make the pudding with the 1/3 cup of milk listed in the directions? Thanks in advance for your clarification.
Hi Barb,
Mix the pudding with the 1/2 cup milk listed in the directions. Then you will add the pudding to the beaten butter and shortening with the vanilla. Next add the powdered sugar and mix well. Then you can thin the frosting to your desired consistency by adding 1 Tbsp of extra milk at a time. Hope this helps!
Just made this frosting and was not impressed tasted it after doing exactly what the recopies says to do and all I could taste was butter… no thanks not on my cupcakes. trying to salvage it I started adding more powdered sugar and a little milk ended up using almost a whole bag of powdered sugar just to not taste just butter. And if I stop mixing it and it sits for a just a minute it starts to seperate.I personally wouldn’t make this again.
Hmm, interesting. Thanks for your review. I’m sorry you didn’t like it!
I just made this icing and I’m not impressed. It has a after taste. I was so hoping this was my miracle recipe. I tasted mainly butter and shortening. I ended up adding unsweetened cocoa and more flavor. Oh well I thought I would give it a try.
Okay, thanks for your review.
I am wondering what brand of pudding you used?
Just made this and I love it! Normally I use buttercream but have been trying to find something that is not so sweet. This is perfect. I am making a wedding cake and due to time constraints I am making it ahead and will have to freeze for a few days. I am wondering if the frosting will thaw well? Any idea? Have anyone ever tried freezing it?
Hi Valerie! If it’s only for a few days I would just refrigerate it. You will need to add a little bit more milk to get it to be workable again, because it thickens up like pudding, but you should be fine. Good luck!
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I made this icing with all butter, but find it to have a strange texture. Did anyone else have this problem?
I wonder if the shortening helps stabilize it. I didn’t think it would be that different doing all butter. I’m sorry it went all funky on you. 🙁
i tried this recipe i use 1/2 cup shortening and 1/2 cup of butter it has too much shortening flavor and is super greasy can i use less shortening more butter and add more powdered sugar? also does this crust?
You can definitely adjust it to fit your personal tastes. And I’m sorry, but I haven’t made it recently, so I can’t remember if it crusts. I hope you can get it to work out the way you want it to. 🙂
I used less shortening more butter so i can get that butter taste. It gets hard in the fridge so i guess it does or doesn’t matter if it does. I couldn’t tell either cause it went from the fridge to serving. i made this recipe for a b-day party came out really nice thick and fluffy! i loved the white chocolate, thank you this saved me such a nice way to use less sugar. Cant wait to try different pudding flavours!
Yay! I’m so glad you got it to work out! Thanks for the update!
I don,t like super sweet frosting. Do you think leaving out the powdered sugar would make a big difference?
You can always taste it first and then add powdered sugar to taste, but it may also effect the texture and pipe-ability of the frosting.
Thank you for your recipe!!! I think exactly as you when you said: “I’ve never really been a fan of buttercream. Too sweet & too greasy. I use bare minimum on the cakes that I actually eat, or I’ll scrape it off if it’s served to me.”
Do you know a “non buttercream” recipe that I could use with Russian tips, for flowers?
Thank you so much!!!
Adriana
I actually have made a buttercream I like. It’s half butter, half coconut oil. If you want to try it out, it’s the frosting for these cookies: https://www.dessertnowdinnerlater.com/the-best-sugar-cookies/
I make icing with cool whip and different puddings. Makes a nice base to add things like cookie crumbs or peanut butter too. Everyone loves my cupcakes.
Can I substitute coconut oil for the shortening or at least part of it?
Absolutely! Probably even for all of it. I substitute coconut oil for shortening all the time.
if i use instant pudding mix with sugar,,how much powder sugar should i use?same?also is it steady to make swirls?thanks
The pudding I used has sugar (not sugar-free) so follow the recipe as written. It makes swirls, just like in the photos. Very sturdy.
Just made this. Used cream cheese instead of shortening and added some melted whites chocolate. Taste is good, not too sweet. However, doesn’t look like enough to frost my layer cake. Thankfully I’m making a filling so I should be able to spread around the top and outsides.
Can I use white milk?
Any milk should be fine.
I was looking for a recipe that is heat stable. I am making this cake for a friend’s bday party at the park and it will be very hot this weekend. I am going to give this a try. I plan on making a chocolate cake with a raspberry jam and then the white chocolate variety of pudding frosting.
Sounds delicious! I hope it goes well for you!