You're 3 Ingredients Away From The Easiest Cake Frosting

Whether you need a satisfying dessert for a last-minute celebration or just have a midnight craving for something sweet, we have your back. All you need is cake mix and a few common pantry ingredients to whip up a dessert that tastes like it's made from scratch. After you've upgraded your ordinary boxed cake mix with milk or sour cream, you need something sweet to top it with. (After all, everyone knows that cake is usually just a vehicle for buttercream or stabilized whipped cream.)

That's where this foolproof frosting hack comes in. With just three ingredients, you can make one of the creamiest, most luscious frostings around — just blend any flavor of instant pudding with milk and whipped topping to watch the magic unfold. The secret here is in the pudding. These mixes contain thickening agents like cornstarch that help make your frosting fluffy and velvety. Milk makes the frosting super rich and creamy tasting, while the whipped topping serves the dual purpose of providing an airy texture and a touch of extra sweetness.

Though this recipe is fairly simple, there's one big pitfall to avoid when putting it together — accidentally using regular pudding mix instead of the instant variety. Instant pudding mix is specially formulated to become thick and creamy when mixed with cold ingredients, while regular pudding mix needs to be heated. Using the regular pudding mix will just turn your frosting into a grainy mess, since it's not made to react to cold ingredients like instant does.

Putting together this frosting truly is as simple as adding the ingredients to a bowl and whipping them together with a whisk. The key to getting the perfect consistency is using the right ratios. Most recipes call for about 1 cup of milk per packet of instant pudding, plus 8 ounces of whipped topping. If your frosting feels too stiff, feel free to loosen it by adding extra milk. Add about a tablespoon at a time to avoid making the mixture runny.

Additionally, if you double the amount of milk and pudding mix, don't double the whipped topping right away. Instead, add the initial 8 ounces, then increase the amount a little at a time until you get the consistency you want. This gives you more control over your frosting's texture, and helps keep the whipped topping from diluting the flavor of your pudding mix too much.

Other than its simplicity, one of the best things about this recipe is the myriad of possible flavor combinations. For instance, frosting made with chocolate milk and hot fudge pudding mix would be heavenly on a rich devil's food cake (pun intended). If you like lighter flavors, strawberry milk and white chocolate instant pudding could be a delicious complement for vanilla sheet cake. If you find yourself with leftover frosting, these (and lots of other flavors!) would be delicious as fruit dip or as a decadent addition to an ice cream sundae.