Gwynedd Stuart
Jordan Myrick
If you own a mixer, cake frosting is pretty easy to make from scratch. But real talk: Why bother coming face to face with the sheer amount of butter that goes into the stuff when you can buy extremely delicious cake and cupcake frosting at the grocery store? Seriously, this stuff tastes great and it’s good for your peace of mind!
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How we found the best frosting for chocolate cake, etc.
There’s a lot of frosting at the grocery store, so we bought all the big brands and tried a number of varieties. What we were looking for differed according to the variety, but in general we wanted:
- Authentic flavor. The best chocolate frosting tastes rich and fudgy. The best cream cheese frosting has the perfect tang. We wanted bold, discernible flavors, not just sugar and butter.
- Smooth, creamy consistency. Cake frosting should be nice and smooth, not clumpy, oily, or grainy. We wanted frosting that we’d be willing to eat directly off the spoon or spatula.
When we set out to find the best cupcake frosting and cake frosting, we found some novel flavors and some classics, too. Whether you’re making mini cupcakes or a multi-tier birthday cake, here’s frosting we guarantee will make them sing.
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- Philadelphia Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
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I’ll be the first person to admit that the substance inside this container looks exactly like margarine, but if you can get past believing it’s butter, you’re gonna love this stuff. It’s rich, thick, and has lots of lemon flavor without tasting bitter like extract. The authentic tang of the citrus fruit pairs perfectly with the tang of the cream cheese. It’s going to be great on a lemon cake, but it’s also perfect if you want to make a classic yellow cake more interesting. Honestly, I’d keep a tub of this stuff in the fridge just to snack on—it’s perfect smeared on graham crackers. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Dolly Parton’s Creamy Strawberry Frosting
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When we taste tested the full line of Dolly Parton Duncan Hines baking mixes and accoutrement, this strawberry frosting was a standout. It tastes like strawberry ice cream if you could eat it at room temp. Her chocolate frosting absolutely slaps, too, but it didn’t quite outdo our favorite chocolate frosting, which you’ll find down a few spots on this list. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Betty Crocker Cinnamon Toast Crunch Made with Cinnadust Frosting
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Betty Crocker was not my favorite in the cake frosting department. That being said, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cake frosting made it onto the best cake frosting list thanks to its innovative spirit. I don’t know what “cinnadust” is, but I now know that I like it. They managed to make this frosting have a granular crunch like Cinnamon Toast Crunch without the frosting itself having a grainy mouthfeel. Tasting a teaspoon of this cake frosting gave me so many ideas for recipes: Churro cupcakes! Frosted coffee cake squared! Extra cinnamon-y Cinnamon Toast Crunch cinnamon rolls! Feel free to take any of those for your kid’s next bake sale. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
- Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting
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It was so important to us that we find the best cream cheese frosting that we broke it out and did a full taste test of JUST cream cheese frosting. If you want cream cheese frosting that’s nice and rich rather than sugary and fluffy, go for Betty Crocker. It has an unbelievably creamy mouthfeel. It’s the best frosting for carrot cake, but don’t snooze on this stuff if you’re making red velvet cake, either. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Pavilions
- Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Vanilla Frosting
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Who knew that Pillsbury cake frosting was so much better than pretty much every other store bought frosting? I didn’t! And now that I do, I must spread the good word. If you are a diehard vanilla fan, buy the Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Vanilla Frosting. It’s definitely not as good as the chocolate version, but it is, hands down, the best vanilla frosting we tried. It has a wonderful, creamy texture and rich vanilla flavor. It tastes natural without tasting too natural. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
- Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Chocolate Fudge Frosting
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Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Chocolate Fudge Frosting was so much better than any other frosting we tried. Gwynedd and I just ate this out of the container like ice cream when the taste test was over. It is so chocolatey, sweet, and rich. The texture is silky smooth. There’s no artificial aftertaste. I would coat any cake in this frosting. This is the best cake frosting and it is the only frosting I will be buying from here on out. I love you, Pillsbury. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
Best Citrus Frosting
Best Fruity Frosting
Most Unique Frosting
Best Cream Cheese Frosting
Best Vanilla Frosting
Best Chocolate Frosting
Other cake frosting we tried
Miss Jones Vanilla, Miss Jones Chocolate, Simple Mills Chocolate, Simple Mills Vanilla, Betty Crocker Chocolate, Betty Crocker Vanilla, Betty Crocker Dunkaroos, Duncan Hines Vanilla, Duncan Hines Chocolate, Duncan Hines Cookie Dough, Pillsbury Cream Cheese, Pillsbury Salted Caramel
Jon Gutierrez
