This White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe belongs in your recipe file of favorites!

Not only does it have a wonderful white chocolate flavor, but its creamy consistency is perfect for piping. It is the perfect choice for so many cake and cupcake flavors.

What I love most about this frosting recipe is that the white chocolate flavor really shines through.

The recipe calls for white baking chocolate (we really prefer this over white chocolate chips or candy melts). You are going to love the flavor.

Table of Contents

How to Make White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

*You can find the full, printable recipe card further down in this post. Here is a quick rundown of our steps!

This easy-to-follow recipe involves combining the melted white chocolate with the usual key players...butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and milk (or cream).

Cut/chop the white chocolate into very small pieces, put into a microwave safe bowl and add 4 Tablespoons milk or cream. Chopping the chocolate into small pieces will help it to melt more quickly and evenly.

Microwave the chopped white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl for 15 seconds and let sit for a minute, stir and microwave again 15 seconds letting it sit a minute to soften further, stir. (Repeat heating in small increments as needed).

We do it this way so that we do not accidentally overheat or burn the white chocolate. The heated chocolate will continue to melt as it is stirred. The melted chocolate should not be hot when added to the mixture and so allow to cool as needed.

Beat the butter until softened and smooth, add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add the white chocolate and milk mixture. Add vanilla and salt. Add another Tablespoon milk if needed. Beat on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes and it will become smooth and creamy.

This recipe makes 5 cups frosting, which is enough to frost a 2 or 3 layer eight inch cake. If you will be doing a lot of decorative piping, you will need additional frosting.

What Cakes Pair Well with White Chocolate Frosting?

This luscious, white chocolate frosting is a heavenly complement to so many cake flavors. It's perfect with fruity cakes, chocolate cakes, and more! Here are a few favorites:

Strawberry Sour Cream Cake with White Chocolate Frosting

White Chocolate Raspberry Cake

White Chocolate Cranberry Cake

White Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Classic Chocolate Cake

Is this White Chocolate Frosting Good for Decorating?

Yes! This white chocolate buttercream is not only delicious, it pipes perfectly!

As an added bonus, this frosting recipe develops a slight crust, making it perfect for smoothing using the Viva Paper Towel Method of Smoothing for those of you who prefer this technique!

If you've ever had Grainy Buttercream, Read this!

** We’ve had great results with Domino’s confectioner’s sugar in our frostings. Some brands of confectioner’s sugar don’t work as well with buttercream frosting recipes. If a package doesn’t say pure cane sugar, it contains beet sugar which is more likely to give you a grainy outcome.

In addition to that, we’ve noticed that even some brands that say “Pure Cane Sugar” will give a grainy consistency. So frustrating! One example is Dixie Crystals (although it used to work great for us a few years ago.) Something has changed…it’s a mystery. Anyway, this recipe should not be grainy, and so if it is, experiment with a different brand of confectioners sugar.

Here's our White Chocolate Buttercream in action, as the frosting for our White Chocolate Raspberry Cake!

More White Chocolate Cake Recipes

We've made several white chocolate cakes over the years! Here are just a few of our favorites:

Enjoy the Recipe!

Thanks so much for stopping by! If you give this white chocolate buttercream a try, we would love for you to leave a comment below!

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This white chocolate buttercream has a nice white chocolate flavor, is smooth, creamy, and, pipes beautifully!

Ingredients

3 sticks (339g) unsalted butter, softened (do not soften in the microwave)
8 ounces (227g) white baking chocolate (I used 2 Ghirardelli Premium Baking Bars)
5 cups (575g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon (4g) vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (42 g) milk or cream
½ teaspoon (3g) salt - optional to cut the sweetness

Instructions

Cut/chop the white chocolate into very small pieces, put into a microwave safe bowl and add 4 Tablespoons milk or cream.
Microwave for 15 seconds let sit for a minute or two, stir and microwave again 15 seconds letting it sit a minute to soften further, stir. Be careful not to over heat the chocolate. The chocolate will continue to melt as it is stirred. Let the chocolate cool down before using.
Beat the butter until softened and smooth, add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add the white chocolate and milk mixture. Add vanilla. Add another Tablespoon milk if needed. Beat on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes and it will become smooth and creamy.
Makes 5 cups frosting. Makes enough to frost a 2 or 3 layer eight inch cake. If you will be doing a lot of decorative piping, you will need additional frosting.

70 Comments

Ok, thank you. In that case I might use this for the crumb coat and a crusting buttercream for the second coat. I need to paint on it so need it to be reasonably firm.
Thanks again. x

I made a practice cake today and the buttercream didn't necessarily form a crust but I'd did become nice and firm after being refrigerated, probably thanks to the chocolate in it. I'm pretty confident that I will be able to paint on it ok. x

Maria, Thank you so much for your follow up information on the frosting, very helpful!

Hi! I just made this white chocolate buttercream and it is delish! It seems a little soft to pipe ruffles or rosettes. Any suggestions? This would be perfect pairing for white cake/ raspberry filling, thanks in advance

Hi Laura, Try adding a bit more sifted powdered sugar.

Hi, can you please tell me is this can be made in advance and refrigerated? Will the chocolate soften when brought back to room temp and rewhipped?

I've tried several variations of buttercream frosting, and this one is the best, but . . . . Don't serve it immediately after making it!

Immediately after you make it, it tastes good. But--refrigerate it overnight, take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature naturally . . . . . then it tastes amazing! I think maybe the flavors need time to blend (?) The butter flavor wasn't very prominent right after I made the frosting, but the next day, there was a deep buttery flavor behind the bright white chocolate flavor.

I think a lot of people won't identify the white chocolate flavor unless you tell them the frosting contains white chocolate . . . . . it just comes across as a deeper, more interesting version of a buttercream frosting.

Hi Chad, I am happy you enjoying the recipe. Thanks so much for posting your review of the recipe.

This is the best frosting. I use Nestle white chocolate!! Love it!!

Hi Lin, Your cupcakes look terrific!! Thanks you for your nice comment!

Hi am making a chocolate cake and need white frosting for the theme I want to try this just concern if the cake gets light crust whether it will still taste a bit grainy/crusty?

Hi Shwaiba, This recipe will form a light crust because of the amount of powdered sugar in the recipe. If you are have a grainy taste with your buttercream it is because of the brand of powdered sugar. First, the bag or box must say pure cane sugar. If it does not, it means that the powdered sugar is made from beets. We have found 2 products that do not produce a grainy buttercream, Dominos and U.S. confectioners sugar. The U.S. brand is sold at Costco, I am not sure of other locations it might be found. The Dixie Crystals brand states that it is pure cane sugar and we once used it with no problems. It then became grainy so Melissa and I can only assume that they changed their formulation with the amount of cornstarch in their product. When you buy confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) you can check it before using it in buttercream. Just wet your fingers and rub a small amount of the powdered sugar between them. If it is grainy, you will feel it. This has been a frustrating problem for many bakers.