The best cake frosting is creamy, sweet, and perfectly spreadable. Cake frosting should glide onto a cake and have a light, glossy finish that begs you to sink your teeth into whatever you slather it on. It should be rich and flavorful without distracting from the main event: the cake. That being said, cake frosting should also be delicious eaten off a spoon (my favorite way to enjoy it).
We gathered up a ton of different brands, styles, and flavors of store bought cake frosting to find out which were birthday-level good and which should be left on the grocery store shelves. These are our favorites!
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- 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. Sporked managing editor Gwynedd Stuart 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.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
- Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Vanilla Frosting
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Who knew Pillsbury cake frosting was so much better than every other frosting company? I didn’t! And now that I do, I must share 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.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
- Duncan Hines Whipped Cream Cream Frosting
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Duncan Hines outshined Pillsbury in one classic category: cream cheese frosting. Their cream cheese cake frosting took the cake (sorry) in this taste test. It tastes like it is made with actual cream cheese! It has the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. It’s so smooth and rich. This would be phenomenal on a carrot cake. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Sorry, Pillsbury, you lose this round. Duncan Hines reigns cream cheese supreme with the best cream cheese cake frosting.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Pavilions
- 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.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Target
- Duncan Hines EPIC Post Fruity Pebbles Flavored Frosting
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If you like Fruity Pebbles, you will love this Duncan Hines EPIC Post Fruity Pebbles Flavored Frosting. It tastes exactly like Fruity Pebbles cereal. It’s not the best cake frosting. It’s definitely not the most versatile cake frosting. But I do think it would be great in one specific preparation: Fruity Pebbles cupcakes!!! I think these would be a huge hit at any kid’s birthday party (or any adult birthday party, for that matter). In fact, use this for my birthday.
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Instacart
Best of the Best
Best Vanilla
Best Cream Cheese
Best Unique
Best Unique Runner-Up
Other Products We Tried: Miss Jones Vanilla, Miss Jones Chocolate, Simple Mills Chocolate, Simple Mills Vanilla, Betty Crocker Chocolate, Betty Crocker Vanilla, Betty Crocker Cream Cheese, Betty Crocker Dunkaroos, Duncan Hines Vanilla, Duncan Hines Chocolate, Duncan Hines Cookie Dough, Pillsbury Cream Cheese, Pillsbury Salted Caramel
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