I have some incredibly versatile icing recipes on this website. My Paleo Chocolate Frosting is an all time reader-favorite (with only three ingredients), and those who can eat dairy say that my Cream Cheese Frosting recipe is simple and deliciously addictive on my healthy Carrot Cake. I’ve been working on a frosting recipe for my Paleo Sugar Cookies however, for quite some time.
I’ve tested dozens of batches of icings in order to create one that is light in hue, so that it could easily take up food coloring and look gorgeous on cookies, cakes, and cupcakes. My experiments using coconut sugar for this icing were miserable failures, and didn’t taste that great either. I’m happy with the recipe below as it is close to a conventional buttercream frosting, and it both looks and tastes fabulous on my healthy desserts.
I based this White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting recipe on my original Chocolate Frosting recipe from 2008. The science behind that recipe is basically an amazing combination of two ingredients –cacao butter and coconut oil. I translated that recipe into one without any coconut (I did not want a coconut flavor in my icing) using butter as the primary oil here instead. The principle behind this creation is the use of a creamy fat, a light clear sweetener, along with one of my favorite ingredients, cacao butter, to stiffen up the aforementioned ingredients and give them some additional flavor and body. Add in natural vegetable based food coloring and you have an incredibly rich, real buttercream icing made from five ingredients.
Most icing recipes have an ingredient ratio of around 3:1, butter to sugar. I wanted a healthier recipe that had more creaminess and less sweetener. While I wouldn’t say this recipe is healthy, it’s definitely healthier, with a 1:1 ratio of butter to sugar, so it’s a little easier on blood sugar levels of those folks cutting back on simple sugars and other carbohydrates.
When you make this homemade frosting recipe, be sure to grind your sugar into a powder in a high speed blender or coffee grinder. I have tried to make the recipe with plain cane sugar and it did not work, it was very granular and did not have the texture of frosting. While it would be convenient to use powdered sugar, unfortunately, I’ve read that most powdered sugars available on the market today contain cornstarch. And corn is definitely not on the menu for me! Making your own powdered sugar is more work, but you end up with a corn-free icing, and one that is GMO free. Corn is a crop that is often genetically modified, just one more reason to be corn-free and avoid corn completely!
For those of you that are dairy-free, stay tuned for my upcoming dairy-free buttercream frosting recipe.
- ½ cup organic cane sugar, ground into powdered sugar in a vitamix
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 ounce cacao butter
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature, cut into 6 pieces
- ¼ teaspoon natural red food coloring
- In a saucepan over high heat combine sugar and water and bring to a boil
- Reduce heat and simmer until sugar is completely dissolved, stirring frequently
- Remove pan from heat for five minutes to cool
- Melt cacao butter into warm (not hot) sugar mixture
- Stir in butter until melted, then stir in food coloring
- Refrigerate pot for 30 minutes until mixture is solid
- Using a hand blender, cream frosting until smooth
- Serve over Paleo Sugar Cookies or Paleo Strawberry Cupcakes
This icing recipe is perfect on my Paleo Sugar Cookies and makes a lovely gluten-free dessert for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and other holidays. It is also amazing on my Paleo Vanilla Cupcakes. It can frost around nine cupcakes if you spread the icing over the cupcakes in a slim layer. If you want to pipe mountains of frosting over your cupcakes, make a double batch of this recipe. I’ll be experimenting with using this icing on other healthy Valentine’s desserts since my younger son loves all things vanilla and white chocolate.
If you are a beginner cook wondering how to make frosting with real butter, this is the recipe for you. My children and their friends devoured this icing and loved the gluten-free sprinkles
Abbey says
Hi! How much powdered sugar do I use?
Elana says
Abbey, use 1/2 cup organic cane sugar that is ground in a blender :-)
Abbey says
Thanks! Sorry, read it wrong
Elana says
No problem :-)
Mo says
Hi Elana. This looks fantastic.I was wondering if I can sub coconut oil or avocado oil (which has a less strong taste) instead of the butter in this recipe? Trying to make it slightly less bad for kids!
Elana says
Mo, I haven’t tried that so not sure.
Aurora says
Hi! I love your recipes. I’m super curious about subbing out the sugar at times. What’s your thought in using something like stevia or Zylitol in a recipe like this?
Elana says
Aurora, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do please let us know how it goes. So glad you are enjoying the blog!
Poppy says
This. Is. Amazing. I added a pinch of sea salt and 1/4 tsp. vanilla powder the 2nd time around, this gave it an almost caramel-like salty sweet vibe on top of the already heavenly white chocolate goodness. Both were delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe, it was exactly what I needed!!!
Elana says
So glad you enjoyed this Poppy!
Jennilee says
Is the 1/2 cup measured before or after creating powdered sugar?
Elana says
Hi Jennilee, we measure it before we put it in the vitamix.
Sasha says
Could I substitute the sugar for maple syrup?
Elana says
Hi Sasha, unfortunately I don’t think that would work.
Judy Stone says
You have saved me. I went gluten free over a year ago. I am from a long line of bakers. My great uncles owned a bakery in Boston in the early 1900’s. Your recipes have inspired me to take some of my own and revise them, I am also sugar free, so this has been quite a challenge, but your recipes have shown me how all,is possible. Thank you, Judy
Elana says
Judy, so glad to hear that!
Shani Gallagher says
I made a similar frosting recently that was sugar-free and dairy-free, by using powdered xylitol and Nutiva shortening. Excited to experiment with the cocoa butter. Thank you
tracy says
were all of the people who ate the frosting with powdered xylitol “used to” having xylitol? i always wonder about serving people xylitol who haven’t had it regularly (i use it every day in my tea) for fear of the “straight through you” effect. just curious. :)
Tom @ Raise Your Garden says
We substitute xylitol is all our recipes and no one complains or notices the difference. And my wife is going to love this buttercream frosting to use on our daughters birthday cake tomorrow!
Ju says
Tracy, on behalf of your guests I thank you. I was served cupcakes with xylitol in it and had the runs for the next three days, I think it’s an acquired tolerance lol.
Tricia says
It isn’t one of the sugar alcohols that cause the “straight thru you affect”
Laurie C. says
Xylitol is definitely a signal alcohol that can give you the runs! Erythritol doesn’t have that side effect, but it doesn’t work as well in frosting since it has a cool, minty taste sometimes.
amélie friedrich says
beautiful!!
Minnie@thelady8home says
Looks so so cute!!!
Archena says
Thank you Elana!