Coconut Oil Frosting Recipe: How to Create Dairy Free Frosting with Coconut Oil (2024)

FAQs

Can you use oil instead of butter in frosting? ›

This beautiful, pale green olive oil glaze comes together super quickly! It's great on cookies, cakes, and cupcakes. Plus, it's a great recipe to have up your sleeve to accommodate vegan diets (or when you've run out of butter)!

Shredded coconut (for coconut frosting) Add about 1 tbsp (6 g) of shredded coconut into your frosting and see if the consistency improves. If the frosting still seems runny, add another tbsp. Flour (for cooked frosting) Use flour for cooked frostings.

Butter, a product of churning milk or cream, is the best substitute for coconut oil, especially in baking. Apart from having a similar smoking point of approximately 300 to 350 degrees F, both butter and coconut oil are solid at room temperature. These two cooking essentials are also high in saturated fat.

Medium Consistency: Add 1 teaspoon of liquid (light corn syrup, milk or water) for each cup of stiff frosting.

Replacing Butter with Oil

Depending on the type of oil, it can add complex flavor and welcome moisture to your baked goods. A good rule of thumb is to replace about 3/4 of the butter in a recipe with olive, canola, or vegetable oil. (If the recipe calls for 1 cup butter, use ¾ cup oil.)

Similar to shortening, coconut oil is a hydrogenated fat that hardens at room temperature—plus, coconut oil is also vegan. Coconut oil makes a great one-to-one swap for shortening, but keep in mind that it might impart a subtle coconut flavor to your baked goods.

Dry/thick ingredients like cocoa powder, freeze dried fruit (powder,) and peanut butter will help thicken frosting, while vanilla and brown butter should be added sparingly to make sure it's the right texture. Storage Tips: Once you achieve the perfect consistency, store your frosting in an airtight container.

Always start with a firmer icing, then gradually add water to make it more liquid. Add water—a few tablespoons at a time—until the icing reaches a spreadable consistency to achieve a flooding-consistency icing.

Coconut oil contains less water than butter, so to replace butter with coconut oil in a recipe, do one of the following: Add ½-1 teaspoon of water per ½ cup coconut oil. Reduce the amount of coconut oil by 25%. So, if a recipe calls for ¼ cup of butter, use 3 tablespoons of coconut oil.

Is coconut oil healthier than butter? ›

There is no fast and set rule in the debate of coconut oil vs. butter that defines one winner over the other. While the argument can be made that there are more health benefits to consuming antioxidant-rich coconut oil than there are to consuming butter, both are still high-fat foods that you should eat in moderation.

I suggest using refined coconut oil, which doesn't have a coconut-y flavor. Unrefined (or virgin) will also work, but you'll be able to taste it in the cake.

Sugar is the most important ingredient in all types of frostings, providing sweetness, flavor, bulk and structure.

Shortening for a Sturdier Frosting

Shortening has a higher melting point than butter, making it more heat-resistant. While it may lack the flavor of butter, it can provide a smooth and stable consistency, perfect for detailed decorations.

Heavy Cream

Try thickening it with a bit of heavy whipping cream. You can add up to ¼ cup of heavy cream, depending on how much you need to thicken it. Then whip the frosting until it fluffs up. Heavy cream also works if the recipe instructs you to heat the frosting.

There are no surprises here: butter tastes better than oil in baking recipes. However, in recipes with other bold flavors – such as chocolate, coffee, or citrus – butter can sometimes compete with the other flavors and this is normally when a recipe calls for oil instead.

Butter is a magical ingredient for frostings because it pulls everything together into a creamy consistency perfect for smoothing onto cakes.