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
It worked! I put the whole can in the fridge, and this morning all the water was in the lower half of the can. It only works if you dump out the water and just use the top thickened cream half.
I am on a program where I need to count calories. Any idea what 1 TB of this stuff would be calorie wise? The nutritional label on the can is for all of it mixed together, so wonder what it would be without the water.
Sorry, no idea. It also depends on each particular can.
Sorry, I can’t answer the calorie question, but I will say that it depends on the can of CC “milk” as to whether it only works with the cream half. I have made 2 or 3 successful “batches”, and I used both the cream & the watery liquid in each of them. (I’ve also made an unsuccessful batch, but it didn’t even have any thickened cream in it. It was all runny (and I had chilled it).
Each time I started out with just the thick cream, started whipping (I whip it in my mixer like whipped cream) & then started adding the watery liquid. (Could not do this with the “bad” can, it wouldn’t even separate.) With each of the good batches, I was able to add all the liquid & still have a good whipped cream/mouse consistency.
Just sayin!!
Hi Katie,
I tried to make this a month ago, but my milk didn’t get thick like you said. Can I use the coconut milk from a box as well?
No, it will be even thinner than the liquidy can!!
You will only get chocolate milk. It will not whip.
I tried this last night and it worked! Actually, when I opened the can, the mixture was already separated and thick – I used Thai Kitchen. I still put it in the fridge all day while at work. I used (dare I say it on this site) Splenda as a sweetener and also added mini chocolate chips. I’m not a big fan of coconut and this did have a bit of the flavor, but it wasn’t overwhelming. I’m motivated to try it again by all the comments on what other people added – peanut butter, instant coffee, mint!! The only thing holding me back is the amount of fat in one serving. 5 servings per can and (if I remember right) 14g of fat per serving. I’m not a fat-phobic person, but that is alot, especially considering I only separated it out into 3 servings before I realized it was supposed to be 5. This will definintely be a once in a while treat – it’s a good thing it only makes a small amount.
Hi Katie,
I used a ‘bad’ can that didn’t thicken up, so I added 2T of melted coconut oil with the cocoa, stirred and put it back in the fridge for 10 minutes. It worked PERFECTLY!
Good to know!!! Thanks!
I tried adding coconut oil to some that would not whip a while back. I added a LOT (and I do mean a LOT) of coconut oil, and it still never would whip. Yours must had a lot more fat in it already than mine did. Mine was VERY thin, and very little fat. (Yes it was the canned, but not much thicker than the carton type.) Just thought I’d let others know that that does not alway work. :>( Sure was hopeful!!!
I still had chocolate milk. I even added cream, to no avail. Finally added some chia seed, and let it stand. That became more like pudding, so a little easier to eat. I had already gone beyond chocolate milk!
I haven’t been able to get a can of coconut milk that will thicken but I froze them as fudgicicles and BOY ARE THEY DELICIOUS!
I live in China and can only find certain brands over here 🙁 That’s okay though, I continue to make them!
Wow, now I definitely want to try!
I used to live in China too… Shanghai. I miss it!
I bet that would be good on your single-lady cupcakes. How long will it stay good in the fridge? or Can it be frozen?
According to the person above you, it CAN be frozen :).
First, I love love love your blog, and have been having great fun creating fabulous treats for my allergy ridden family. I used this recipe to frost brownies and cakes recently, even leaving out the cocoa powder and adding vegatebale or fruit based food coloring as needed. This frosting makes pretty covering and is a hit with my taste testers. Thanks again for all you do for us readers!
what is the nutritional info on this frosting????
This has never worked for me. I’ve tried it 3 times now. Never gets thick.
As it says in the post, I highly recommend Thai Kitchen Organic for best luck getting a good can!
Just got a post on Facebook from Lucky Leaf Applesauce with your recipe featured — MAMMA MIA!!! This sounds AWESOME, and I’m delighted to have found your blog! Hubby and I are recent Stevia converts, and I can’t wait to try this recipe and MORE! Thanks so much for sharing ;D
Aw, I’m so glad you found me :).
I tried this recipe with coconut milk from a carton. It didn’t thicken at all, any suggestions?
So I’ve tried this 3 times now. My coconut milk does not get thick. I’ve tried 3 different brands. Help me!
You can stir in some melted coconut oil and put back in the fridge, I tried a few cans (in Australia) that didn’t work. But that fixed the bad batches for me.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I love this recipe and have made it a bunch of times since pinning it a couple months ago. I am sharing it and linking to your blog today at my blog Ever Never Again. Thanks!
This may have been addressed- but is there a difference with the canned coconut milk and the carton? I have been drinking coconut milk and have a carton in the fridge, but it sure doesn’t seem thicker since opening.
Thanks!
yes, fat content.
Sorry if someone has already asked this, but can you use lite coconut milk for this recipe? Thanks! 🙂
yum, yummy, yum yum!! i found this recipe on pinterest and just made it a few minutes ago (i randomly had a can of coconut milk sitting in my fridge for another recipe i found on pinterest).
i do not follow any sort of special diet and still love this dessert. when I made this, i used all the water in the bottom of the can and whipped it with a hand mixer. as i was hoping, it had the consistency of mousse. i flavored it with just plain old white cane sugar because that’s what i had on hand. i added somewhere between 2T-3T because it seemed a bit bitter for my taste with less. however, as i was enjoying it and reading the comments above, i ran across the comment to add salt. i re-whipped it with an added sprinkle of sea salt (really, a shake) and that really seemed to take any bitter away. perfect addition really. i’m sure if i would have added that earlier, i wouldn’t have needed as much sugar. even with the sugar and sea salt, it did not seem grainy to me. i also personally thought, unlike others, that it had a HINT of coconut but a perfect base for chocolate in my opinion.
thanks for the recipe!!
so my husband just tried it and he could not taste coconut. i forgot to mention i used golden star brand coconut milk. so far, this is the only can i’ve purchased and didn’t have any issues with it thickening.