Super Easy Drip Cake Recipe (Canned Frosting Hack!)
How to make drip icing? Can I use canned frosting for drip cake? I’ve seen these questions 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 a Super Easy Drip Cake Recipe (Canned Frosting Hack!)
Originally published January 2020, updated January 2024.
It wasn’t too long ago that I hadn’t even heard of using canned frosting to do cake drip. So when I saw it suggested in my cake group, All Things Cake, I was quite intrigued.
➡️ Click here to join my Facebook group All Things Cake!!
Those who use this drip cake method were saying it was super easy, even fool-proof, and well… I’m all about an easy solution to a cake problem.
And after trying it on the colorful drip cake above, I was hooked! This little secret hack has become a tried and true solution for me and the best way to make drip cakes!
Not that creating drip cakes was a problem; but it is certainly not always foolproof. Having tried candy melts and chocolate ganache drips (with chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream) and white chocolate 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.
Read more about this Gold Drip Cake with Sugar Magnolias & Strawberries here.
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…
Ingredients for the cake and frosting
For the Cake:
- White Cake Mix – Pillsbury is my favorite brand, but I’ve also used Duncan Hines with good results!
- All Purpose Flour
- Eggs
- Water
- Oil
- Sour Cream
- Instant vanilla pudding mix (or use white chocolate pudding for a whiter cake) – use the dry mix, do not make the pudding!
For the Frosting:
- Butter – I use Great Value brand salted butter for almost all of my frosting, but you can also use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt to the recipe.
- Shortening – Crisco is my preferred brand!
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla Extract – I always use homemade vanilla extract, but any good quality vanilla will work. You can also use clear vanilla, but the flavor is not as good.
- Butter Extract – optional, but so good!
- Milk, water, or heavy cream – use to thin the frosting to the desired consistency for frosting the cake. Milk is my go-to but I’ve used both water and heavy cream in a pinch and they’re also great.
Find the full instructions in the Drip Cake Recipe here.
Ingredients for the Cake Drip:
To do the drip, you’ll need two things…
- Canned White Frosting – you could also use vanilla frosting or cream cheese frosting – any flavor of canned frosting that is also white
- Gel Food Coloring – I wouldn’t recommend anything other than gel colors, but I have seen others use powder colors with success
- Oh. And a spoon 😁
Chocolate Drip Cake
As an alternative, you can absolutely use canned chocolate frosting for a chocolate drip cake or even dark chocolate frosting! Everything is the same except you don’t need any gel coloring, obviously.
For this Gluten-free, Soy-free, Egg-free & Dairy-free Chocolate Cake and Frosting recipe, I melted the homemade chocolate frosting and also had fabulous results, so if you want to try that with homemade chocolate buttercream, it works!
How to Make a Drip Cake
Start with a chilled, cold cake. More specifically, you’ll need to have your cake already baked, and the layers cooled.
Then stack, fill and frost the cake layers, first with a crumb coat if that’s your style. Next place it on a cake board in the refrigerator or freezer. For this cake, I used a 6-inch vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream.
You really want the frosting to be very cold and firm so that the drip doesn’t get away from you. I like to chill in the fridge for around an hour.
Melting the Canned Frosting
Next, 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, and smooth. You want it warm enough to easily pour over the cake (although we won’t be pouring it). You don’t want it so hot that it starts to have air bubbles.
If you like more precision than that, I like to use my Thermapen (mine is pink ;)) to check my frosting and my goal is to have it around 100°F-102°F after it’s stirred.
I used a butter knife to stir mine so I could get into the corners and it worked perfectly.
Coloring the canned frosting
I was making a pink drip cake, so immediately after it got to the right consistency and it 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 vibrant color you want.
Spoon the Frosting on to Form Drips
The spoon method is my preferred method for making a drip cake, so that’s what I’m sharing today.
When the frosting is warm and your cake is chilled, place the cake on a turntable and you’re ready to start decorating the birthday drip cake!
First thing, I like to start with a test drip on the back side of the frosted cake to make sure it’s not running too much. I like long drips but not too long.
The length of the drips is really a personal preference but I don’t like the drips to go all the way to the bottom of the cake.
Then using a spoon, gently add a small amount of the frosting near the top edge of the cake (but not on the edge).
After that, using the edge of the spoon, gently push a tiny bit out and over the edge of your cake until it starts to run down the side of the cake. Then using your cake turntable, turn a tiny bit and repeat.
Note: If you get big drips, you can push less. You can adjust the amount you push over the edge until you get perfect drips.
You’ll keep working around the sides of the cake, adding drips approximately one inch apart. If you find the drips are not 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 and you have drips around the entire cake. 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.
You could also pour frosting in the center and then spread it around with a spoon. Just be careful to not add too much!
Then go back and clean up the edges if there are places you 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.
Drip Cake Ideas
Here are a few trendy cakes I’ve done with canned frosting drip along with one from my friend, Holly!
My friend, Holly, at Once Upon a Cupcake used white canned frosting (without coloring) to make this gold drip cake. She let the drip completely set, then painted the drips gold with great success (see pic above!!)
I’ve also made a rose gold drip cake! For this cake above, I used white canned frosting, then painted it after it set using this Edible Rose Gold Luster Dust mixed with lemon extract. It was gorgeous!
Note: See how I paint with gold in this Unicorn Horn tutorial!
You can also leave the canned frosting white and use it for what would otherwise be white chocolate drip cakes. The canned frosting looks just like the best white chocolate drips, but so much easier!
As you can see above, it works on everything from an elegant naked cake for a baby shower to a very colorful buttercream rainbow cake for a birthday.
Drip cakes are especially fun if you add the elements of candy and sprinkles! Both of these bright cakes above are perfect for Birthday Drip Cakes!
Need colorful drips? I’ve got you. I divided up a can of frosting and made several small bowls of different colors to decorate this layer cake.
But you can also use this drip cake recipe for weddings… here are a couple of my favorite wedding cake drip cakes:
Finishing the cake…
In addition to using the canned frosting hacks, you can continue to dress up a drip cake with sprinkles and piping! 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!
Equipment Needed:
- Cake Pans
- Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- Mixing Bowls – to make the cake batter and frosting
- Bench Scraper – to smooth the cake
- Spoon or small offset spatula – to apply the drip
- OR a Squeeze Bottle – this is an alternative way to do the drip.
- OR in a disposable piping bag – yet another way to apply the drip
- 1M tip for piping the border
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FAQ
If by regular frosting, you mean homemade buttercream frosting, then the answer is yes. And obviously, if you consider canned frosting to be “regular frosting”… also YES!
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, ganache is amazing and my favorite, but I like the ease and consistency of this SO MUCH!
Ultimately, it’s a personal choice, but if you don’t hate the taste or you think your clients won’t hate it, I think it’s a great solution!
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.
How to Make a Drip Cake Ahead of Time
I’ve mentioned before that I use boxed cake mix recipes for my cakes, so if you’re doing that and using my recipes below, you can make this cake up to 3 days ahead of time. Keep it in a box or covered cake plate in the refrigerator until an hour before serving.
Pro Tips
- A drip cake is beautiful on its own, but you can dress it up more with candy, sprinkles, piping, dipped strawberries, and more!
- The drip will set up completely within 10-15 minutes in the refrigerator. If you want to keep it at room temperature, assuming your cake was cold when you started, it should be completely set in 30 minutes. But if you’re going to paint the drip, I highly recommend refrigerating vs room temperature.
- In addition to using a spoon or small offset spatula for your drip effect, another option is to use a plastic bottle. Simply pour your warmed and colored frosting into a cheap plastic squirt bottle and go around the edges the same way as you did with the spoon.
Storage
- Refrigerator – store the finished cake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It’s best if covered in an airtight container or cake box.
- Freezer – if you want to keep the cake longer, you can! Place the UNWRAPPED cake in the freezer (in a box or on a plate). Allow it to freeze overnight, then take it out of the freezer and wrap in a few layers of plastic wrap. Place the cake in a box and back into the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Unwrap the cake BEFORE thawing so the drip doesn’t stick to the plastic wrap and pull off the cake. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Check out these other popular cake tutorials:
- How to Smooth Frost a Cake and How to Get Sharp Buttercream Edges {Video Tutorial}
- Messy Ruffles Cake Decorating Video Tutorial
- How to Use a Silicone Pearl Mold
- How to Sell Paint-Your-Cookie Sets (the ebook!)
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Super Easy Drip Cake Recipe (Canned Frosting Hack!)
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
Description
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 a Super Easy Drip Cake Recipe (Canned Frosting Hack!)
Ingredients
Cake Recipe
- 1 (15.25 oz.) White Cake Mix, I prefer Pillsbury*
- 3 oz. extra cake mix or 3 oz. all purpose flour
- 3 Whole Large Eggs (or 2/3 cup of egg whites)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
- 1 small box (3.4 oz) of instant vanilla pudding mix** (or use white chocolate pudding for a whiter cake)
- *Be sure to read my post on adjusting recipes for smaller cake mixes!
- **Use the DRY pudding mix – do not actually make pudding!
Vanilla Buttercream Recipe:
- 2 sticks (8 oz) salted butter
- 1 cup (7.2 oz) vegetable shortening
- 7 cups (2 pounds) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp butter-vanilla (optional)
- 2–3 tablespoons milk, water or heavy cream
For the drip
- 1 can store-bought white or vanilla frosting
- gel food coloring
Instructions
For the cake:
- Thoroughly mix all ingredients together.
- Divide the batter between two 7-inch or two 8-inch prepared pans.
- Bake at 325° for about 38-45 minutes just until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then flip out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
For the frosting:
- First, add the butter and shortening to the mixing bowl and cream together. Scrape down the sides to be sure that it’s completely mixed together.
- NOTE: I put my bowl on the scale, zero it, then add the shortening and weigh it. I do this for 2 reasons – it’s more accurate than trying to measure messy shortening in a measuring cup AND it’s one less greasy cup to wash!
- Add the vanilla and butter flavors and mix again.
- Slowly add in the powdered sugar, a little at a time until completely incorporated. This will take time and might make a mess. I like to drape a damp towel completely over the top of my mixer to “catch” the powdered sugar dust. Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl often. UPDATE: Now that I use a Bosch mixer, I don’t have the huge mess or need the damp towel. It’s all kept in the bowl … YAY! See my post about that here.
- When all of the sugar has been added, start adding tablespoons of milk or cream to “thin” the frosting to the desired texture. I usually use milk unless I happen to have cream in the frig, but either works just fine. I make a fairly thick icing to cover and fill cakes and make it slightly thinner to decorate.
- You can use this immediately or keep in the fridge in an airtight bowl for up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen for several weeks. If you’re using it out of the fridge, make sure its completely thawed and rewhip, adding milk as needed to get the desired texture again.
Assemble the cake:
- Place the first cooled cake layer on a cake board or cake plate,
- Add frosting to the top of that layer, then place the second layer of cake on top.
- Frost the entire cake, then smooth it with a bench scraper and small offset spatula.
- Chill the cake for at least an hour, or 30 minutes in the freezer.
For the drip:
- Open the can of frosting and remove the foil seal.
- Microwave in 10-second intervals and stir in between each until the frosting is pourable.
- If you have a food thermometer, it’s best to get the frosting to 100°F-102°F.
- Using a spoon or squeeze bottle, apply the frosting to the top edge of the thoroughly chilled cake.
- Decorate with piping, candy, sprinkles, etc.
Notes
- It is crucial to use a fully chilled cake when making a drip cake. Chill it in the fridge for an hour or in the freezer for 30 minutes before applying the canned frosting drip.
- A drip cake is beautiful on its own, but you can dress it up more with candy, sprinkles, piping, dipped strawberries, and more!
- The drip will set up completely within 10-15 minutes in the refrigerator. If you want to keep it at room temperature, assuming your cake was cold when you started, it should be completely set in 30 minutes. But if you’re going to paint the drip, I highly recommend refrigerating vs room temperature.
- In addition to using a spoon or small offset spatula for your drip, another option is to use a squirt bottle. Simply pour your warmed and colored frosting into one of these cheap squirt bottles and go around the edges the same way as you did with the spoon.
- Refrigerator – store the finished cake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It’s best if covered in an airtight container or cake box.
- Freezer – if you want to keep the cake longer, you can! Place the UNWRAPPED cake in the freezer (in a box or on a plate). Allow it to freeze overnight, then take it out of the freezer and wrap in a few layers of plastic wrap. Place the cake in a box and back into the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Unwrap the cake BEFORE thawing so the drip doesn’t stick to the plastic wrap and pull off the cake. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
- Prep Time: 30
- Assemble & Decorate Time: 45
- Cook Time: 35
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Do you have any other questions? Leave me a comment!
I have to ask, how does it taste? My personal opinion is, that right out of the can that stuff is horrible tasting. Maybe eating it with a bite of your buttercream and cake masks the taste, but I’m skeptical. I’m all for easy, but if it doesn’t taste good it ruins the cake. Just my 2 cents worth.
I don’t hate the flavor and I use a lot of buttercream on my cakes, so it’s not a deal-breaker for me. Also, I doubt most clients would be as critical of canned frosting as we are. But if you’re totally opposed to it, then certainly skip this idea!
Hi can the whipped canned frosting work just the same as the white frosting you used? My daughter is lactose and that’s the only frosting that doesn’t upset hurt tummy.
I haven’t tried the whipped frosting so I can’t say for sure, but it would certainly be worth a trial run!
Can this be done with homemade buttercream? Or only the store bought?
Some readers in my Facebook group said it can be done with homemade frosting. You can check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AllThingsCakebyRoseBakes/permalink/1458496007659167/
Eating it with the cake does make a difference. Adding a flavor also helps I have used on a lemon bundt cake and added lemon to it and it was great. I use the chocolate mostly and after it is heated I add about a tbl spoon of butter and let it melt. That should keep it’s shine
Hi interesting, can’t wait to try. I wonder if adding a little bit of flavor could mess the perfect drip.Thanks!
I doubt a small amount would hurt anything, but I’d keep it to a minimum.
Hi Rose! Thanks for this info! So helpful!! I LOVE the cake! Were you able to add the sprinkles to the drip after it was set or did you add them before?
I added after it had been in the fridge for about 5 mins. So it was a little set, but not completely.
I have been leery of using canned frosting, but oh wow! Next drip I do I will be using it for sure!!! I do have one question. How is the flavor of the canned icing with your buttercream and cake? Does it “override” the buttercream?
It’s not bad! I use *a lot* of buttercream on my cakes, so I don’t feel like it was overpowering at all.
I used the choc fudge can icing on my choc buttercream wedding cakes in the mid nineties – so easy. Nice to see it come around again!
That’s so cool to know!
So, I have a question- if you can use canned frosting for the drip- why couldn’t we use our homemade buttercream and use the same technique? I think it would work and then there would be no worry about”canned “ icing flavor! Just a thought! Also I appreciate you posting this! I do the ganache method and I just want it to set hard, which it never seems to do! Thanks again!!
You know that very thing crossed my mind but I haven’t tried it yet. Maybe…
Hello..can you use the already colored canned frosting for the drip??
Thanks in advance for your response.
I haven’t tried anything but white but I don’t see why colored frosting wouldn’t work!
Does the drip frosting also work on fondant cakes? Or does it run right off?
Thanks!!
No, I don’t think it would run off of fondant, but I haven’t tried it yet.
Hi Rose,
This is genius time saver idea. I use ganache and hate waiting for it to set. Definitely trying this on my next drip cake.
How long does the cake need to sit in a refrigerator before it’s ready? I’ve been wanting to try a drip cake for a long time, and this seems so easy!
Usually 10-15 minutes is good.
Great, I love super easy ideas but things like canned frosting are not readily available where I stay. Can i use royal icing for drips on buttercream?
You may be able to use royal icing on a buttercream cake, but I would recommend doing a ganache drip instead.
Hi there. Can you use any type of colour in the canned frosting or does it hve to be gel colour
I would recommend gel or powder. I think the liquid would change the consistency.
Pls I’m new here and I believe I will learn a lot from Rose Bakes
Hi, how long did you let the icing cool after melting it, before adding the drips?
Can you do this to a bare cake to ice the whole cake? I am doing a shaped cake and thought this would be a quicker and easier way to ice the whole cake.
I’ve seen others cover a whole cake with this method. I would do a smooth crumb coat first though.
I’m excited to try this, but I’m wondering — it seems like there’s a fair bit of frosting left over in the can after you do the cake. Can you save it and reuse it later? Does it resolidify, and if so, is the quality affected if you melt it again? I just hate the idea of wasting so much!
Yes. I often save the frosting and refrigerate it for another cake.
Thanks for that information, I wondered how and if can frosting would work for drips!
Do you think this would work on a cake that’s frosted but without using a scraper to smooth it? I did my best and the frosted cake is now in the freezer. I’m going to decorate next week. This would be a fun decoration but I wasn’t sure if my hand smoothing would be enough for the drips to run nicely.
I do! As long as the drip is warm enough – it should run just fine!
Thanks for this great tutorial! I tried it on a small practice cake and the drip looked great, so I put it back in the fridge overnight after doing the drip. It has continued to drip a little more overnight, so all of my shorter drips are down to the cake board now or are all longer. How do you get it to stop dripping and set?
Was your cake cold when you did the drip? That will help it set up quicker!
I had the same problem as Susan – and yes, my cake was cold when I put it on. It was great as long as it was in the fridge. I took it to a birthday party (fortunately for a relative so they didn’t care) and once it had set out for a while, the drips continued to drip and the room temp was under 70 degrees. When we cut the cake, the cake was still cold, but the drips were puddled onto the cake board.
Y’all I started my cake adventures by following Rose back when she was coupon blogging. I bake everything from scratch and was impressed with her candid “I use boxed”. Years later she’s using canned icing for drip. I love it! Thanks for all the years of sharing. ❤
Loved the recipes and drip!
LOVE this hack, Rose, and your cakes are STUNNING! We will be featuring you starting Wednesday at the Creative Crafts Linky Party! Pinned and shared!
Creatively, Beth
I’m very excited to try this for my sons birthday. I do have a question regarding the buttercream icing. I’ve made cakes in the past and every time I make buttercream frosting, and put it onto the cake, I can never get it to look smooth. Any tips or tricks to spread it on and make it look smooth?
Thanks
Check out this post for tips on how to get smooth frosting: https://rosebakes.com/how-to-smooth-frost-a-cake-and-how-to-get-sharp-buttercream-edges-video-tutorial/