Thick, smooth, creamy, and decadently rich, these chocolate frosting shots are a chocolate lover’s dream dessert!
Dark chocolate frosting shots
Whip up this super easy, four ingredient recipe in under five minutes!
Use the thick chocolate frosting to top cakes, cupcakes, or brownies. Or serve in elegant glasses and eat it by the spoonful.
Oh yes, creamy chocolate frosting with nothing else to get in the way.
After all, how many times have you eaten a cupcake and thought, “I really wish this cupcake had less cake and more chocolate frosting”?
Also try this popular Chocolate Mug Cake
Enter the frosting shot.
A small shot glass is filled beyond the brim with swirls of luxuriously smooth and rich dark chocolate frosting.
And the best part?
This homemade chocolate frosting calls for just a few basic ingredients, yet party guests are always impressed at the recipe.
The chocolate frosting shots are equally beautiful and delicious.
Chocolate dessert recipe video
Above – watch the step by step video how to make chocolate frosting shots
In the months since I first made this recipe, vegans, non vegans, healthy eaters, and people who are used to traditional desserts have all gone completely wild for the easy-to-make, smooth and rich chocolate frosting.
It is highly recommended!
Ways to use this chocolate frosting
Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate frosting shot ingredients
Coconut Milk: Look for full fat coconut milk, not lite coconut milk. Refrigerated coconutmilk beverage will also not work here. It must be the canned type.
Cocoa Powder: Your chocolate mousse shots will be as good as your cocoa powder, so choose a high quality brand if you can. For best chocolatey flavor, I like to use a fourth cup of regular unsweetened cocoa powder and one tablespoon of Dutch cocoa to make up the five tablespoons called for in the recipe. Raw cacao powder also works.
Pure Vanilla Extract: It is important to use pure vanilla here. Do not buy imitation vanilla, which has an artificial aftertaste. You can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean or one teaspoon of vanilla bean paste if desired.
Sweetener: The chocolate frosting shots will be thickest with either powdered sugar or powdered no sugar sweetener. If you do not mind a result that is not quite as thick and fluffy, you may also use stevia, pure maple syrup, honey, or agave.
The easy chocolate dessert recipe can be raw, keto, paleo, soy free, dairy free, gluten free, egg free, tree nut free, and sugar free.
For a vanilla version, use this recipe for Coconut Whipped Cream.
How to make the fancy party dessert
Either refrigerate your coconut milk overnight, or open the can and freeze for about ten minutes. I always store a can in the fridge so the recipe is almost instant.
Once chilled, open the can and add only the thick coconut cream to a mixing bowl. Discard the coconut water or save it for a different recipe.
With either a stand mixer or hand beaters, whip the coconut cream until it is thick, smooth, and ultra fluffy.
Add the cocoa powder, sweetener, and vanilla extract.
Whip again to incorporate all of the ingredients. Stop whipping once the texture resembles chocolate mousse.
Serve in bowls, jars, or shot glasses.
If you want to be extra fancy, you can add the coconut chocolate frosting to a piping bag and pipe it out with an icing tip.
Tips and troubleshooting
While it is rare, you may encounter a can of coconut milk that is either rock hard and chalky or watery and not firm at all.
I like to always keep two cans from different brands on hand just in case one of the cans is a dud.
If you do not own a stand mixer or hand beaters, you can technically stir everything together by hand with a lot of arm strength. The results will not be as fluffy but the taste is still rich and chocolatey.
Try the recipe as frosting for my Keto Chocolate Cake or Vegan Chocolate Cake.
Store leftovers very loosely covered in the refrigerator. This chocolate mousse frosting will get even thicker the longer it sits.
Chocolate Frosting Shots
Ingredients
- 1 can coconut milk or coconut cream
- 5 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- sweetener of choice to taste (Use powdered sugar or sugar free powdered sweetener for thickest results)
Instructions
- Refrigerate the coconut milk can until cold. Once chilled, open the can and transfer only the creamy part to a bowl, discarding the water. Whip with beaters or a stand mixer (or a lot of arm strength and a fork) until thick and fluffy. Add the other ingredients, and whip again. Serve in bowls or glasses. Stored very loosely covered in the fridge, it will get even thicker. *While it's rare, you may find a can of coconut milk that is either rock hard and chalky or watery and not thick at all. I recommend keeping two cans from different brands in the refrigerator at all times just in case.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Dessert Dips & Frostings
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Healthy Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip
Yum! I made this today. It is more dip/pudding consistency because I incorporated the liquid stlll in the bowl. I think if I had drained that off then added cocoa powder, etc, it would have been more the consistency of frosting like in your gorgeous photos! Either way it tastes delish!! My kids think it tastes coconutty, but I do not. It is just yummy!!!
I just made this and I used a can of cream of coconut and the liquid part stayed at the bottom of can,so I was able to just scoop out the top half and use it. Its delicious! My question is I hate to throw away the liquid part,any ideas on what it could be used for?
Put it into a smoothie or shake, or drink it straight up! 🙂
Hello coconut milk, where have you been all my life? I cannot believe how AMAZINGLY yummy this is, or that I had never even held a can of coconut milk in my hand before…I am greatful to be able to still have desert even though I am changing my lifestyle and eating healthy. Your blog is the first place I go when I want something sweet! =)
Okay, now I’m truly a fan. As a recovering sugar/flour addict, frosting was my “drug” if I didn’t have anything in the house. Just spoons of it. (horrible, yes?) So, this recipe is going to be tried SOON!
How many calories/fat grams are these?
This recipe is sooooo good. Even our 4 year old couldnt get enough of it. Just wanted to say Thank you!
Can you use the kind in the carton?
I don’t think so.
This looks divine, but do you think if would be possible to further lighten this recipe up by incorporating an agar base like in your vegan whipped cream? I haven’t tried either recipe yet, I’m guessing it would make the frosting less thick, but for me that wouldn’t be an issue. Do you think it would work?
Hey, why not try? Edible experiments are always fun ;).
Oh what a find! Loving your website and adding coconut cream to the shopping list for tomorrow to give this a go!
WOW! This is just what I was looking for. I’m on a total cupcake frenzy right now and making them healthier would be JUST the thing! Thank you!
Katie, I just wanted to say “Thank you” I started the Bariatric program a few mths ago and keep finding myself craving chocolate and stuff that’s just not good for the body. Today I tried your “frosting shots”. I can’t believe how wonderful it is and it’s safe for me to have. I will be trying more of your recipes soon. Also, on this diet protein is very important and I hate red meats & most other meats however with your recipes I think it will be easy to incorporate protein into my diet. Once again, thank you very much from a soon to be much healthier person in Southern Indiana! Dawn
I was looking for a coconut milk icing for my daughter’s birthday cake and found this on Pinterest. I made a practice run with it tonight and it turned out fabulous! I love that it isn’t nearly as sweet as regular frosting. I used about 1/4 cup organic cane sugar and it was just the right amount of sweet I was looking for. All of the other coconut frosting recipes I looked at were a lot more complicated than this, so thank you for such a simple and healthy recipe.
Found via Pinterest and tried tonight.
I bought a can of Thai Kitchen (original) and placed it in the fridge more than overnight (maybe about 36 hrs?); I did not open it, just put it in the fridge. Followed the recipe exactly, but used real granulated white sugar. (Start at 2T for real granulated and continue to mix, taste, add, mix, taste, add until you reach your preferred sweetness is my suggestion if you use sugar.) I also think next time, I will use powdered sugar. I could have this time but wasn’t thinking. Anyways, it was a cross between super thick pudding and mousse, which got softer the longer it was not refrigerated. My toddler and I loved it. He is autistic and lactose intolerant. You could only taste rich chocolate, no coconut, which I enjoyed. We usually do the whole ‘chocolate avocado pudding’ thing, but now we also have this…thanks for sharing it’s truly a delight and I can’t wait to make it again.
You will not want to keep this out of the refrigerator for long periods of time. Like cream, it will spoil.
Is there a difference between canned coconut milk and the coconut milk in a carton? I used So Delicious brand of coconut milk without a good result. The milk had thickened, as you suggested. Perhaps not long enough?
There is a huge difference between the canned and in the carton (So Delicious or any other brand). You have to use canned and it it has to be full fat, meaning not Lite/Light! you can use canned coconut cream, but not light! (Even some cans will not give good results. I got hold of one the last time I made it. I had VERY thin pudding. Still tasted good, and I still ate it!!! But not mousse. I don’t think of it as frosting, I think of it as Mousse!)
You should have some good chocolate milk there!
No matter how long you chill the So Delicious, it won’t thicken enough for this recipe.
Note: I always mix mine with my mixer like I’m making whipped cream. I can’t imagine getting as good of results just stirring or mixing with a fork. If you have a good can of “milk”, it really whips up nice & fluffy. (My last can was very runny, and as I said above, resulted in a thin pudding,,, after adding some cream to it. It was good tho, just thin. Probably the brand. I’d never even seen this brand before. Can’t remember now what the name was.)
hey katie, i tried this tonight, but the coconut milk turned rock solid in the fridge. is that normal? should i let it unthaw a bit and then try to mix it? right now it’s just like ice..
Hmmm… was it in the back of your fridge? It sounds like your fridge is too cold! Every now and then, things freeze in the back of my fridge…
uhm nevermind, i put it in the freezer and not the fridge ;D will try again 😉
I transferred it to a bowl but I mixed in the water at the bottom. I just saw that you wrote not to shake the can. Will it still thicken mixed?