How To Create A Cake

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You've seen them across the internet, flooding your Pinterest and Instagram feed: cakes finished with all hues of gorgeous drip frosting, pouring delicately down their sides. Want to know a secret? That beautiful drip detail is incredibly easy to make at home. Whether you want to upgrade a store-bought cake or really put a show-stopping finishing touch on a homemade layer cake, a pretty waterfall of frosting down the side of your cake is just a few steps away.

What Is a Drip Frosting or Drizzle Frosting?

Cake drizzle, also known as drip cake frosting or waterfall frostingn uses a chocolate ganache-style frosting to create a drip frosting effect on cake. Ganache, whether white, tinted a color, or dark chocolate, is made from chocolate and cream and is preferred for this technique, thanks to its ability to set without bleeding into other frostings.

Important Tips for Beautiful Drip Cake Frosting

A Few of Our Favorite Layer Cake Recipes

Mastering this Pinterest trend at home is way easier than you think.

alcohol-free
egg-free
kidney-friendly
fish-free
peanut-free
low-potassium
vegetarian
shellfish-free
pork-free
pescatarian
gluten-free
tree-nut-free
soy-free
wheat-free
low-sodium
red-meat-free

Per serving, based on

servings. (% daily value)

Calories 247
Fat 19.8 g (30.5%)
Saturated 12.1 g (60.6%)
Carbs 18.3 g (6.1%)
Fiber 0.9 g (3.5%)
Sugars 16.9 g
Protein 2.0 g (4.1%)
Sodium 25.6 mg (1.1%)

Ingredients

Option #1: White chocolate or colored drizzle

4 ounces
white chocolate (not white baking chips or morsels), finely chopped
1/2 cup
heavy cream
Gel food coloring (optional)

Option #2: Dark chocolate drizzle

4 ounces
semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup
heavy cream

Equipment

Measuring cups
Microwave-safe bowl
Whisk
Small serving spoon

Instructions

Combine the chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Place the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl and stir to combine.
Microwave for 1 minute. Microwave the chocolate-cream mixture for 1 minute on HIGH.
Stir to combine and let cool about 5 minutes. Whisk together the chocolate and cream until smooth. Set aside until just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.
Spoon the drizzle onto the edges of the cake. Use a small serving spoon to pour the drizzle onto the top edge of the cake until it drips over the edge.

Meghan Splawn

Food Editor, Skills

Meghan is the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.

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