Skip to Content

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Thanks for sharing!

This white chocolate buttercream frosting recipe is one of my all time favorites and I LOVE frosting, so I don’t say that lightly.  It is so creamy, fluffy and fun and the white chocolate flavor really carries through!

Vanilla cupcake with swirl of white chocolate frosting on top.

If you are a fan of white chocolate, you are in the right place. This delicious buttercream is fluffy, flavorful and perfect for using to decorate cakes and cupcakes.

This frosting is sooooooooooo good.  No really, it is.  

You would think adding chocolate to the buttercream would weigh it down and make it heavy, but it doesn’t!  It is so light and fluffy and has a perfect white chocolate flavor.

My sister-in-law, Jess, makes delicious from scratch cakes.  She is a self taught cake artist who makes the tastiest masterpieces.

Her husband, Anthony, is the pie guy.  Last year he did a year of pies, a different pie for every month of the year.  This year she decided to do (at least) a cake for every month.

piece of frosted peanut butter sheet cake being lifted out of pan.

She has been using this white chocolate frosting as a base for her fondant rather than using a classic buttercream and it knocked my socks off.  I just knew I had to do something with it.

So, I frosted one of Little Dude’s birthday cakes with it.  Just imagine, peanut butter sheet cake with a nice thick layer of white chocolate buttercream.  Oh yeah!

Mixer beater filled with fluffy white chocolate buttercream.

I made the frosting and immediately considered canceling the party.  That way I could be left alone with my bowl of frosting and not have to share!  

But alas, I couldn’t do that to poor Little Dude.  So, share I did.

Updating a few years later to tell you that this is still one of my favorite frosting recipes.  I have used it a number of times over the last couple of years.  

We used it on a cookies and cream layer cake I made for my sister’s baby shower.  It was soooooo good. 

Then we used it to decorate fun bunny cupcakes for Easter. It added that flavor pop that made them extra special.

But you don’t have to just take my word for it.  Mollie over at Frugal Hausfrau made it for her Raspberry Filled Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream and she agrees!

round layer cake iced with white chocolate buttercream and red laces to look like a baseball.

If you aren’t a fan of super sweet frostings, this recipe has a bonus for you.  The powdered sugar to butter ratio is much lower than most American buttercream recipes.

The addition of the white chocolate helps give it the stability without needing all that powdered sugar.  So it is much less sweet than a lot of frostings.

It goes with pretty much any cake flavor and is perfect for spreading or piping. It is a family favorite that always gets rave reviews.

Tips and Tricks

Start with good quality white chocolate. You can find bars in the baking aisle or in the candy aisle. Make sure it is actual white chocolate made with cocoa butter.

White chocolate melts at a lower temperature than darker chocolate and it scorches easily too. So microwave it it short 10 second intervals, stirring after each one, until it just stirs smooth.

Melt the white chocolate before you start anything else. That will give the melted chocolate a chance to cool before you add it to the buttercream mixture.

You are going to want to make sure your butter is at room temperature before you start.  If the butter and sugar mixture is still cool when you add the white chocolate, you increase your chance of getting little bits of congealed chocolate in your frosting.

close up of group of bunny cupcakes with piped buttercream and marshmallow ears.

If your butter is brought all the way to room temperature and your white chocolate is cooled but still liquid, it should incorporate nicely. Just keep the mixer going and drizzle it in!

If you need to store your frosting, place it in an airtight container.  You can leave it on the counter for several hours or even overnight.

For longer storage you can refrigerate it for up to a week or freeze it for up to 3 months.  Just bring the frosting back to room temperature and rewhip before using.

mixer bowl filled with white chocolate buttercream, ready to use.

If you are a frosting fanatic like me, check out my Frosting 101. It goes through the different types of frosting and links to all sorts of delicious recipes!

Yield: 24 Serving

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Vanilla cupcake with swirl of white chocolate frosting on top.

This delicious white chocolate buttercream recipe is based on a classic American buttercream recipe, but has good quality white chocolate mixed in. The flavor is amazing and it is fluffy as can be. It is the perfect buttercream to use as a base for fondant and it also holds its shape well for piping. It is great on layer cakes, cupcakes, sheet cakes and more!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 12 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces high quality white chocolate bars*
  • 1 1/3 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream (a bit less if you are planning to pipe it)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave by cooking for thirty seconds, then stirring. Continue to microwave in ten second increments until the chocolate is smooth. Set aside.
  2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the softened butter on medium speed for about a minute.
  3. Add powdered sugar and mix on low until incorporated.
  4. With the mixer still going on low speed, drizzle in the melted white chocolate. Once it is completely added, turn the mixer back up to medium-low speed and beat for two more minutes.
  5. Add half of the cream, vanilla and salt and beat for another minute or so. Add more cream as necessary until you get the perfect consistency.
  6. Frost your cake!

Notes

You want to use actual white chocolate, not almond bark, candy melts, or vanilla chips. I usually use a bar or Lindt, Ghirardelli or Baker's.

The paddle attachment is ideal for making buttercream. It add enough air to make a fluffy frosting without incorporating too many air bubbles.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please view my disclosure page for more information.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 204Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 39mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 0gSugar: 18gProtein: 1g

All nutritional information is estimated and will depend on the exact ingredients you use.

Did you make this recipe?

I'd love to see it! Share a picture on Instagram or Pinterest and tag me @carleecooks to let me know how it went!

This white chocolate buttercream Frosting recipe is one of my all time favorites and I LOVE frosting, so I don't say that lightly. It is so creamy, fluffy and fun and the white chocolate flavor really carries through!

Thanks for sharing!

Tags

Rachel

Friday 15th of July 2022

What temperature does the white chocolate need to be before adding it to the buttercream? I am so worried about adding it when it is too hot and causing it to seize. Thanks.

Carlee

Saturday 16th of July 2022

I've never taken a temperature, which I know isn't very helpful. So I am sorry about that. White chocolate has a lower melting temperature than regular chocolate. So you want to be careful when melting it so it doesn't scorch and seize at that point. I melt the white chocolate before I start anything else, then let it cool while I get everything else ready. So it probably sits for about 10 minutes by the time I get back to it. It should feel maybe lukewarm, but not at all hot. The good thing is, if you either drizzle it in or add it in small bits, the volume of warm chocolate to the rest of the ingredients is low and with the mixer running it will cool quickly. Using that method I've never had it melt the butter or form little chunks of white chocolate in the frosting. If everything is pretty close to room temperature, you should be in good shape! If you are really worried, you could add some of the heavy whipping cream to the white chocolate when you melt it and basically make a white chocolate ganache to add to the frosting.

Unknown

Sunday 4th of October 2020

Is it possible to provide the ingredient list with gms as the measurement unit?

Carlee

Sunday 11th of October 2020

I wish recipes were easily converted. I don't cook in grams often, so I'd have to use a calculator to convert it. I am not sure how accurate those are, so I'm hesitant to do it.

LaraQ

Sunday 28th of May 2017

It looks and sounds delicious. I'd like to give it a try as soon as I get my hands on some white chocolate bars. :)

Carlee

Tuesday 30th of May 2017

It is really good! I just picked up some white chocolate bars to make it again. I need to figure out what I want to put it on this time!

Frugal Hausfrau

Tuesday 14th of February 2017

Carlee, I used this buttercream on my Raspberry Filled Cupcakes. It was divine. There's just no other word for it!! I did short the cream just a tad because I wanted to pipe so I wanted it just a bit stiffer and it looked (and tasted) gorgeous!

Thanks much for the recipe, and I linked my Cupcakes up to here for your recipe.

Mollie

Carlee

Wednesday 15th of February 2017

Isn't it amazing? You're cupcakes look awesome! Thanks so much, Mollie!

Anonymous

Wednesday 1st of February 2017

You made me laugh outloud - cancel the party, lol! This looks amazing!! Going on my MUST MAKE SOON list!!

Mollie

Carlee

Thursday 2nd of February 2017

I hope you love it!! It's so fluffy and yummy!

Skip to Recipe