Easy Tips & Hacks to Make Store Bought Frosting Amazing

Store-bought frostings are a quick and easy way to frost your cakes and other sweet treats but it doesn’t taste anywhere close to homemade frostings. But with some simple tweaks you can make it taste amazing.

Now their are 3 things you would have to adjust to improve your store-bought frosting you can:

1. Improve the Consistency/Texture
2. Add More Flavor and Taste
3. Alter the Color to Suit your Needs

1. Improve the Consistency/Texture

Now for me, the texture of store-bought frosting is usually very thick which makes it very difficult to spread on a cake. You are guaranteed to make your frosting more fluffy and smooth if you follow my guides down below.

How to Double the Volume of Store Fought Frosting

• First, to soften the mixture you need to thoroughly mix the frosting with a hand mixer or by hand.
• By thoroughly mixing the frosting it becomes more fluffy and doubles its size, this makes it easier to spread
• this increase in size happens because by mixing the frosting you will be adding air into the frosting and hence the frosting will get more volume.
• You can see how it’s done in the Video Below

How to Make Frosting Extra Spreadable and Fluffy

After beating the frosting with a hand mixer and it has doubled in size You can make your frosting extra fluffy and light by following one of these steps below :

1. Add a teaspoon of heavy whipping cream one at a time to get your frosting to a lighter and more fluffy consistency. If your frosting becomes too runny in consistency after doing this try adding one tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time and beat with a hand mixer. Check the texture after adding each spoonful.
2. Now you can also make the frosting more spreadable and fluffy if you can also add room temperature butter to your frosting and then mix well. This will also help cut the sweetness of the frosting
3. You can also add room temperature cream cheese to the frosting to get a richer, creamier texture.

How to Make your frosting more liquid in consistency

Now if you want to make your frosting to a more liquid and pourable consistency, you can add one tablespoon of milk at a time to soften the frosting whilst mixing it until you get the desired consistency. (You can also use water but milk adds a richness to the frosting).

Some people use store bought frosting as a glaze for donuts and you can use the method above to getting the frosting to a more liquid consistency.

2. Adding a Richer Flavor to Store-Bought frosting

For me, the taste of ready-made frosting can be too sweet, so it comes off as too sugary and artificial.

To revive your frosting and improve it’s flavor try one of these methods below.

I promise that by using one of these methods your frosting will be incredibly delicious and flavorful.

1- Cream Cheese Recipe

• Add an 8 oz package of cream cheese to a tub of frosting and mix well.
• Cream Cheese adds a level of creaminess to the frosting.
• It is also tart and takes away the excess sweetness. If the frosting becomes too tart for your taste try adding one tablespoon powdered sugar at a time until the taste suits your standard.

2- Marshmallow Fluff

Add Marshmallow Fluff for a decadent taste. Mix equal parts of frosting with equal parts of Marshmallow Fluff.

3- Nutella

Add Nutella or any hazelnut spread. This works best with chocolate frosting. Add 1/2 cups of Nutella to the chocolate frosting and mix well.

4- Peanut Butter

You can also add smooth peanut butter to chocolate frosting. The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is very scrumptious. Add one tablespoon at a time until you get the flavor you desire.

5- More Chocolate

To add a more chocolate intense flavor to your chocolate frosting try adding cocoa powder one teaspoon at a time to the frosting and mix well.

If you are adding unsweetened cocoa powder you might want to also add powdered sugar to add some sweetness to the frosting.

Also you may need to add one teaspoon butter or milk or for a bolder taste coffee to get a more spreadable consistency since the cocoa power and icing sugar will make the frosting thicker and less spreadable

6- Use Vanilla Extract

Add 1 teaspoon of food extracts such as vanilla or chocolate to your frosting and mix well. This adds increased flavor.

7- Add Syrups

Add 1 teaspoon of a flavored syrup such as caramel, raspberry, hazelnut, cherry, butter pecan, or mango whatever your preference to increase the taste

8- Whipped Cream Recipe

Add fresh homemade whipped cream to your frosting for a richer and airy taste.

Whipped Cream Recipe

• Add a cup of heavy whipping cream to a tempered bowl (your whipping cream should be cold)
• and then 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and then beat it until it forms stiff peaks (you can also do this by hand or by mixer)
• I would recommend using an electric mixer to save time. This would yield about 2 cups of whipped cream.

3- Adding Color to Your Frosting

Now there is an old saying that you eat with your eyes first. That’s true because if a cake has bright, beautiful colors it will look more appealing to you and to others.

Add food coloring into the frosting to intensify colors. 

Natural food coloring is better for you than artificial food coloring. You can use food coloring paste or gel or liquid food colors.

You can use one color or use multiple colors depending on your color choice. Mix a few drops of food coloring into the frosting by hand or with an electric mixer. Keep adding the coloring until you get the desired color.

One Hundred drops of liquid food coloring equals about 1 teaspoon. Mix well after adding each drop of coloring. Colouring does not usually affect the taste of the frosting but if you put a lot of certain colors you might get a mild bitterness. So be careful. Below is a guide on achieving certain colors.

• make pink food coloring by mixing 11 drops of red and 3 drops of yellow.
• make teal food coloring by mixing 8 drops blue and 2 drops yellow.
• make lavender food coloring by mixing 5 drops of blue and 5 drops of red.
• make Mint green frosting by mixing 3 drops of blue and 3 drops of green.
• make orange food coloring by mixing equal parts of red and yellow for example 6 drops of red and 6 drops of yellow.
• make black food coloring by mixing equal parts of red, blue, and green food coloring

How to Transform Store-Bought Vanilla Frosting

RECIPE

In this recipe, we will essentially be folding in homemade whipped cream into store bought frosting for a creamer, fluffier and more flavorful frosting.

Now if you find that store bought frosting is too sweet, this recipe allows you to change that to the frosting you can enjoy. We will also alter the taste to flavors that are bolder and less artificial.

Heavy Whipping cream usually doubles in size for example in this recipe we will be using half a cup of heavy cream but we will end up with one cup of whipped cream

Ingredients

• 1 can or jar 12 oz Store bought vanilla frosting. Here are some of the best and most popular brands –Duncan Hinds, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Baker’s Corner Rich & Creamy Vanilla Frosting (sold exclusively at Aldi) and Great Value Vanilla Frosting (a Walmart brand)
• Vanilla bean or extract
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbs powdered sugar or confectionery sugar
• Other flavor enhancers such as almond extract, grated citrus zest etc (optional)

Equipment

• a hand mixer
• bowl (for the store bought frosting)
• tempered glass bowl (think Pyrex) or stainless steel bowl so it retains the cold temperature (plastic bowls will not) for the whipped cream
• spoon

Method

• Pour the entire jar of room temperature frosting into a clean bowl.
• Beat the frosting with a mixer until it doubles in size (you can also do this by hand but it might take twice the time)
• In a separate bowl add half a cup of heavy whipping cream (your whipping cream should be cold) and 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar beat it until it forms stiff peaks (you can also do this by hand or by mixer)
• Gently fold it into the doubled store bought frosting
• Add the vanilla bean or extract
• You can also flavor it with other flavorings like orange zest or almond extract whatever your choice
• The frosting can now be tinted with food coloring (use paste or gel or liquid food color)
• Mix until the mixture has the suitable consistency and taste
• Try not to over mix the frosting you want the mixture to maintain its fluffiness
• Spread or pipe it on the dessert of your choice
• Add whatever toppings you like best e.g chocolate cookies, sprinkles, white chocolate chips, etc

Improving Store-Bought Chocolate Frosting

RECIPE

Ingredients

• One can of Store bought chocolate frosting my favorites are- Baker’s Corner Chocolate Frosting exclusively at Aldi, Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Chocolate Frosting, Duncan Hines Creamy, Home-Style Milk Chocolate Frosting, and Great Value Chocolate frosting, exclusively at Walmart
• 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoon unsweetened natural or dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 Tablespoons heavy cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Equipment

• An electric mixer
• A bowl
• A spatula for scraping edges of the bowl

Method

• Put room temperature chocolate frosting into a bowl
• Add the cocoa powder, heavy cream and vanilla extract
• Add the icing sugar one tablespoon at a time until the frosting has the right taste and consistency
• Spread or pipe it on the dessert of your choice
• Add whatever toppings you like best e.g chocolate cookies, sprinkles, chocolate chips or m&ms etc

Bonus Tips

If the mixture is too sweet try adding a couple of drops of lemon juice.

Now If the mixture is too runny add more powdered sugar a little at a time and mix well. You want a smooth frosting with no lumps.

If the texture is too firm and difficult to spread add a teaspoon of milk. Stop to check the consistency and taste of the frosting after adding each teaspoon.

The function of vanilla is not only for its flavor value but it also enhances the sweetness of the sugar. Increasing the vanilla allows you to use less sugar in the recipe.

Desserts you can Put Store Bought Frosting On

• cupcakes
• cookies
• donuts
• cakes
• pretzels
• fruits
• brownies