How to Make a Drip Cake with Canned Frosting

Can I use canned frosting for drip cake? I’ve seen this question so many times recently and the answer is yes, you can use canned frosting for a drip cake! And yes, the results are fabulous!! So today I’m sharing how to make a Canned Frosting Drip Cake.

But first, a little background. It wasn’t too long ago that I hadn’t even heard of using canned frosting to do the drip on a cake. So when I saw it suggested in my cake group, All Things Cake, I was quite intrigued.

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Those who use it were saying it was super easy, even fool-proof and well… I’m all about an easy solution to a cake problem.

Not that creating drip cakes was a problem; but it is certainly not always fool-proof. Having tried candy melts and ganache, I knew it was a challenge to always get the drip “just right.” I even addressed this issue in my book, Cake Decorating for Beginners.

And the truth is, drip cakes are beautiful and trendy and popular… but also easy to mess up. Ask me how I know? 😉

But now, after finally trying the canned frosting to do a drip cake, I can say with confidence that canned frosting is by far the easiest way to add colored drips to the extremely popular drip cakes! So let’s get to it…

Canned Frosting Drip Cake

To do the drip, you’ll need two things… canned white frosting and food coloring. I wouldn’t recommend anything other than gel colors. Oh. And a spoon 😁

Start with a chilled cake.

Alrighty… you’ll need to have your cake already filled and frosted and chilled. For this cake, I used a 6-inch strawberry cake with vanilla buttercream. I filled it, frosted it, then chilled it so that it would be good and firm (and cold).

Melting the canned frosting.

To prep the frosting, I opened up the top, peeled off the foil cover, and placed it in the microwave without a lid. Then I warmed it for 10 seconds. I stirred and warmed another 10-seconds. And repeated one last time, for a total of 30 seconds.

The timing will vary based on the power of your microwave but basically you want the frosting melted, warm, smooth and pourable. You don’t want it so hot that it starts to bubble.

I used a butter knife to stir mine so I could get into the corners and it worked perfectly.

Coloring the canned frosting.

Immediately after it got to the right consistency and was melted through, I added a few drops of Electric Pink gel coloring and stirred again. I wanted the drip to be pretty bright so I ended up adding more drops.

The frosting won’t really change colors after it sets (like homemade buttercream frosting) so go ahead and get it the color you want.

Spoon the frosting on to form drips.

Okay – so when the frosting is ready, get your chilled cake and place it on a turntable. Then using a spoon, gently add a small amount of the frosting near the edge of the cake (but not on the edge).

Then using the edge of the spoon, gently push a tiny bit out and over the edge until it starts to run down. Then turn a tiny bit and repeat.

You’ll keep working around the cake, adding drips approximately one inch apart. If you find the drips are running down the cake as far as you’d like, you can push a little more over the edge.

I like to vary the amount so that the drips aren’t all exactly the same length.

Keep going until you get back to where you started. When you have all the drips done, then it’s time to fill in the center.

Use the spoon to add more frosting and smooth it as you go, until the center is completely covered with frosting. It doesn’t set really fast so you should be able to get it as smooth as you like.

I sometimes go back and clean up the edges if I see any places that I don’t like.

The finished drip cake:

I was so incredibly pleased with how easy it was to make a drip cake with canned frosting. It was easy to work with, easy to color, and super smooth and pretty.

I’m not sure I’ll ever use anything else to do drips! Before I did any more decorating, I placed the cake in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to set the drips. I’m also told they’ll set up at room temperature, but it’ll take longer.

My friend Holly at Once Upon a Cupcake has even used the white frosting (without coloring), let the drip completely set, then painted the drips gold with great success (see pic above!!)

See how I paint with gold in this Unicorn Horn tutorial!

Finishing the cake…

I didn’t photograph the rest of my decorating for this cake, but I can give you some details.

I used a 1M tip to pipe on the border and the little clouds of frosting on top of the cake.

Then I added Valentine’s sprinkles and called it a day. This cake was so easy to make and your clients will love it if you offer these for Valentine’s Day or change up the colors and do this design for any holiday!

And that’s it – a finished Valentine’s Drip Cake made with canned frosting!

Shop for Drip Cake Supplies:

Pillsbury White Frosting

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Electric Pink Gel Coloring

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Spoons

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Wilton 1M

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Valentine’s Sprinkles

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Bench Scraper

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But how does it taste?

Well, it tastes like canned frosting. Obviously, if you hate the taste of canned frosting, you will not want to use this on your cakes. Personally, it’s not my favorite (because ganache is amazing!), but I like it well enough to use it for sure.

Also, most of my clients aren’t nearly as picky or discerning as I am so I don’t foresee any complaints from them.

It’s like the difference between homemade pizza and Pizza Hut pizza. Clearly they’re not the same. I love homemade pizza way better – because it’s homemade. But that never stops me from tearing up a piece of Meat Lovers Pizza when given the opportunity. Or when I need a quick meal that I don’t have to cook. Know what I mean?

Ultimately, it’s a personal choice, but if you don’t hate the taste, I think it’s a great solution!

Can I use pre-colored canned frosting?

I’m gonna guess “yes”, but I only experimented with white, so I make no guarantees. You might ask in the All Things Cake group on this thread.

Do you have any other questions? Leave me a comment!