How to change this frosting recipe to get a thicker result?

Question

Making chocolate cake and frosting per recipe below from Hershey's recipe. The frosting we made is a bit too liquidy to put on the cake, more like icing. is there a way (or even hack) to make it thicker, short of adding a cup of powdered sugar to cut the ratio of the liquid ingredients?

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.

Add small amount of additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Is it solid enough, once set, that you could just apply multiple layers on top of another? — rackandboneman, May 10 '15 at 15:18

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered May 10 '15 at 15:00

2

Cream Cheese.

Whip in as much as you need to...

It won't be perfect Le Cordon Bleu, but it will be pretty good.

Bon Appetit

answered May 10 '15 at 15:00

Jolenealaska

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My 10 y/o went with this FTW, and Mother's Day was saved. – prototype May 11 '15 at 15:33

Little White Lithe · Answer 2 · 2015-05-11T14:38:51.637

As with most things, when adding ingredients to correct a problem, do a small test batch and slowly incorporate the ingredients until your desired consistency is achieved. After you've found a ratio that satisfies you, then mix up the whole batch.

Here are my favorite add-ins for frosting thickness:

Dairy Alternatives:

Goat Cheese

Strained sour cream /creme fraiche (strain for 12+ hours; save the whey and use it for making biscuits later!)

Strained super-thick greek yogurt (same note as above)

Cream Cheese (Jolenealaska already suggested, see above)

Powdered milk

Powdered whey protein

Nutella

Dry Pudding Mix

Non-Dairy Alternatives:

Non-dairy Dry Pudding Mix

Peanut Butter/Almond Butter/Sunflower Seed Butter/ etc

these obviously may change the flavor profile if utilized, especially peanut

Avocado

Strained coconut cream - use a nut milk bag to strain/press out liquid...this can be a pain

Powdered plant protein powders(hemp/soy/pea/bean)

when using these, be aware that many of them impart a beany/grassy flavor if used in quantity...just depending on what you select

Black Beans

I use about 1 T of canned beans without added salt when I do this...but I also run it through my Vitamix, so this solution may not be for you unless you have a powerful food processor/blender

Xanthan/Guar/Locust bean/Methylcellulose/Gelatin

Use these sparingly, on the order of a few grams...these can be difficult to find if you are not in an area with specialty food markets (like Whole Foods/Trader Joe's)

I think this will live long as the definitive answer! Thanks so much — prototype, May 11 '15 at 15:33

How to change this frosting recipe to get a thicker result?

2 Answers2