Homemade Marshmallow Frosting recipe – great for cakes and cupcakes! Just a few ingredients including marshmallow fluff, butter, vanilla, & powdered sugar make this icing a hit!
This marshmallow fluff frosting can be used to top vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, or any flavor cupcake you like! You could even use it to make s’mores brownies with some crushed up graham crackers.
No hassle, just quick & easy!
For the most recent cupcakes I made, I decided I wanted to use Marshmallow Frosting. I did a few google searches but found only ones that involved egg whites and decided I needed a quick and Easy Marshmallow Frosting.
I had remembered I saw one on Pinterest one day. It was from Just a Pinch. I usually modify all recipes, but this one was already nearly perfect—I just added a little vanilla. 🙂
It only required a small handful of ingredients, and the finished product was so tasty. It’s a really nice texture too—not too thin and “whipped”, but not too dense like some buttercream frostings. I’ve used it on multiple flavors of cupcakes already!!
Just 4 ingredients!
This recipe is so easy because it only uses 4 ingredients (and egg whites is NOT one of them!!):
- butter (make sure it’s at room temperature)
- marshmallow fluff
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract (extract, not flavoring)
If you’re having a hard time finding the marshmallow fluff, check in the baking isle of your grocery store. The label might also say “jet puffed marshmallow creme”. This works the same! If you still don’t have any luck, Amazon is always on option. 😉
When you’re mixing the ingredients together, make sure the powdered sugar and butter are completely creamed together before adding anything else. There should be no visible clumps of powdered sugar.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape any stray clumps from the side of the bowl, and to mix in the fluff by hand (rather than using a beater/electric hand mixer).
Tips, tricks, and troubleshooting
How much this frosting will cover depends on how you use it. If you’re piping it on, or being really decorative, this recipe makes enough frosting to cover 12 cupcakes. If you are spreading it on with a knife, it will cover several more.
You can use it to frost a cake, however you might need to double the recipe for a 9×13 cake, or for a double layer 8 inch round cake.
I’ve had several readers ask if you can use a kitchen torch to brown this frosting (kind of like a toasted marshmallow). Although I have never tried, one reader said it does work if you use really high heat up close. If you’re too far away, the frosting will melt before it browns.
Make ahead and store? Because this recipe is more of a buttercream type frosting, and doesn’t have egg whites in it, you can easily make it in advance and store in the fridge for several days before using. As long as it is kept cool, it will stay in good condition.
You can even frost your cupcakes a day or two in advance, and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
If your frosting is too runny, you might need to add a bit more powdered sugar to stiffen it up. I wouldn’t add more than a couple tablespoons at a time, and then mix well to see how it affects the consistency.
Areas that are warm or humid might affect the consistency of your frosting as well. Put it in the fridge for a while to see if that does the trick.
This recipe was soooo easy and was so yummy!! It’s definitely a new favorite, and I can’t wait to make it again.
For more delicious frosting recipes, check out:
- Berry Buttercream Frosting
- Chocolate Chip Frosting
- Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
- Strawberry Frosting
Marshmallow Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 7 oz Marshmallow Fluff
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Beat butter and powdered sugar until fluffy and well mixed.
- Mix in fluff and vanilla by hand and mix well.
- Add to piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes.
I haven’t made this YET but I am so excited to use it for my daughters 13th “fire pit and smore’s” themed party!
My question is, do you use salted of unsalted butter?
How fun! I use unsalted 🙂 Hope everyone has fun!
Can I use this as a filling between layers? Afraid of it not holding up to the layers.
It should hold up pretty well in between layers of cake since it’s more of a buttercream type frosting. You might need to double the recipe for a 9×13 cake, or for a double layer 8 inch round cake though. Hope this helps!
Can I torch/brown the icing for ‘roasted marshmallow’ flavour? Or will it just melt due to the butter?
I have never tried to torch the frosting but one reader said it does work if you use really high heat up close. If you’re too far away, the frosting will melt before it browns. Hope this helps!
Hi! I’ve made this frosting in the past and it was great, thank you. Can this frosting hold a food coloring? Thank you in advance
Yes, it should hold a color just fine!
Should it be refrigerated ? and for how long ? Thanks in advance
You can easily make the frosting in advance and store in the fridge for several days before using. As long as it is kept cool, it will stay in good condition. You can even frost your cupcakes a day or two in advance, and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Hope this helps!
Delishus
Yummy
Thanks so much for trying it!
This frosting is a keeper! I made chocolate cupcakes then topped them with this frosting, added crushed graham crackers and a piece of Hershey’s bar!
That sounds like the perfect dessert to use the marshmallow frosting with… especially for summer! Thanks for sharing!
I made this frosting this past weekend, for an ice cream cake. I was looking for something to compliment the chocolate peanut butter ice cream I was using, and this icing did work nicely. Everyone who had some of this ice cream cake said the icing was delicious, and I agree! It was quite sweet but very marshmallow-y, which is what I was looking for!
However, just as a warning from what I have learned from my experience: this frosting (or any other marshmallow fluff-based recipe probably) does NOT play nicely being spread onto a cold surface! Trying to spread this icing over the ice cream cake was a disaster, as it would start hardening almost immediately and was just too sticky to handle. It sort of stuck together in globs and would slowly run off the sides of the cake. But all of this was more my fault than the icing’s, and I would ABSOLUTELY make this icing again for regular cakes or other baked goods, because it really was delicious! I feel like it would go great with some not-super-sweet dark chocolate cupcakes, because the icing itself is very sweet but I know there are places where that could be balanced out!
Full disclosure, I will say I did end up basically doubling the marshmallow fluff and only used a single amount of the powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. Marshmallow fluff is just SO sweet on its own that after tasting the icing as a single batch, I felt it needed more marshmallow flavor and that’s why I ended up doubling the marshmallow fluff but left the rest of the measurements the same. That may have played into my consistency problems when it came to spread it over the ice cream cake, but I do honestly believe the source of the problems was just with how marshmallow fluff reacts to cold surfaces.
Anyways thanks for sharing this recipe, I am looking forward for an opportunity to use it again soon!
This topping just oozes and gets everywhere. It didn’t hold its shape at all
Thanks for your feedback. Sorry to hear you didn’t have a great experience with the frosting.
Can this frosting be swirl piped on cupcakes ans still hold it’s swirl shape ?
Yes, absolutely!! If your frosting does end up being too runny, you might need to add a bit more powdered sugar to stiffen it up. I wouldn’t add more than a couple tablespoons at a time, and then mix well to see how it affects the consistency. Areas that are warm or humid might affect the consistency of your frosting as well. Put it in the fridge for a while to see if that does the trick. But that’s only if it seems runny. Should be just fine! 🙂
I had the same issue as another reviewer. Mine was soupy 🥺
Made this frosting this past weekend to go on peanut butter cupcakes to mimic a New England snack called a fluffernutter. It was easy to make and it’s a tasty frosting, just wished it tasted a little more marshmallowy (not sure that’s a word). I’d make it again.
Thanks for your feedback. I have heard of fluffernutters before! What a fun idea to add this frosting to recreate that.
This was super fast and easy, my family loved it. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you found it was fast and easy too. One of my favorite frostings!
i love this frosting and i thot it would puff up but it didint
Glad to hear you enjoyed the frosting!!
Can I use regular mini marshmallows and melt the marshmallows?
I would recommend using the actual marshmallow fluff. Or perhaps finding a copycat recipe of marshmallow fluff to substitute. Because melted marshmallows are a different texture than the marshmallow fluff in the tub, it might cause the frosting to be a lot runnier/not the right texture for frosting.