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AIP Buttercream Frosting is a that wonderful frosting you’ve been wanting! Great for layer cakes, cupcakes, simple sheet cakes, cookies and more, this frosting pipes beautifully, tastes delicious and is wonderfully healthy and versatile. This Paleo recipe is dairy-free, coconut-free and refined sugar-free.
Lots of my AIP friends have complained within my hearing 😉 that it is hard to find a great AIP cake and even harder to find great AIP frosting! This recipe is my love-gift answer for you… 🙂
AIP Buttercream Frosting made with lard
Oddly for some, it’s made with lard. Bear with me. The frosting is lovely in flavor and texture. Lard has a very mild taste, it’s solid but not too hard at room temperature, and it’s high in vitamin D.
Animal fat is gentle, healing, versatile.
This frosting whips up beautifully.
Palm oil option
BUT if you are “scared” of using lard in frosting or don’t believe me 😉 that it’s super yummy, you can try to use the non-orange palm oil (Grain Brain brand, get it HERE). I’m optimistic that it will work quite well! (Leave a comment below if you try so we all know!)
Note: Do not use Spectrum brand palm oil. It needs to be this brand.
The other secret ingredient in AIP Buttercream
The other secret ingredient is gelatin. That bit of gelatin creates tiny air pockets in the whipped frosting, volumizing it and helping it to keep its beautiful shape.
If you love to pipe pretty shapes with your frosting like I do, then you will love working with this recipe.
How AIP Buttercream Frosting tastes …
The flavor? It’s like apple cinnamon, but really only cinnamon flavors it … and a bit of sea salt, honey and maybe magic? That gelatin really creates a light, whipped texture that allows us to taste the sweetness and spice.
I don’t eat this frosting out of spoon, though. It’s yummier ON the cake than all by itself.
Where to source lard
Where to get lard? I buy ours from a local farm or from Natural Grocers. We also render our own, when we can.
If you don’t live in an area that has farms with pasture-raised lard or a Natural Grocers there are many natural food markets that now carry it. Look for the cost to not exceed $6-8 per pound. You can find it for less, for sure, but not in all cities.
I have even referred clients to Etsy! Here’s one farm, for example, that sells leaf lard that’s organic and not grain-fed. Etsy apparently is a great option for sustainable animal fat at an affordable price! 🙂 I haven’t made this recipe with leaf lard yet (leaf lard is just the fat around the kidneys- extra smooth in texture and great for pastries); but I’ll update this post when I have, to be sure it works as well or better as regular lard.
AIP "Buttercream" Frosting!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place ¼ cup water in a small saucepan and sprinkle gelatin over its surface. Stir in with fork or whisk, allow gelatin to dissolve for 1 minute. Heat over medium heat, stirring the entire time, as the gelatin dissolves completely, about 2-3 minutes.
- Turn off heat and stir in honey to dissolve. Also stir in cinnamon and sea salt. Allow to cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes.
- Place the lard in a large metal bowl. Beat on high until creamy with hand beaters, about 1 minute.
- Add honey-gelatin-water 1-2 tablespoons at a time, beating about 20 seconds after each addition. Beat until frosting is smooth and honey mixture is incorporated evenly. Frosting will be aerated slightly and hold its shape as it's beaten.
- Frost your cooled cake at this point. (If you refrigerate the frosting before using it, simply melt it down slightly again, beat and refrigerate until you have reached the right temperature and texture. Or bring it to room temperature slowly, and beat briefly to loosen and soften.)
Notes
Nutrition
Cakes and cookies to make with AIP Buttercream Frosting
If you need cake for this frosting, here’s a pumpkin cake we love and serve to friends who aren’t on the AIP diet, very reliable, moist and lovely, great for making as a layer cake or in a casual casserole dish.
You’ll also enjoy these:
- Pear Cake (dice fewer pears into the cake instead of making it upside down, to frost)
- Cinnamon Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Cookies
- AIP Birthday Cake
If you need great herbal coffee with your cake and frosting, HERE’s my favorite Chicory Coffee recipe, just 1 ingredient! 🙂
Lindsey Dietz says
OMG! You know how excited I am about this!!!! Will definitely be trying!
Megan Stevens says
Yay!!! 🙂 🙂
Jean says
This looks amazing! My mom is AIP so I’ll definitely have to make this for her over the holidays.
Megan Stevens says
Oh how lovely! Yay and thank you!
linda spiker says
Fabulous! Love how well you can swirl it!
Megan Stevens says
Ha, it’s so much fun. Thank you! 😉
Renee Kohley says
Ohhh yay! I had to give up butter for full on dairy free this year and I can’t wait to try this! Thank you!
Megan Stevens says
I’m so glad!! You’re welcome! 🙂
Emily @ Recipes to Nourish says
This is so brilliant and especially perfect for those of us who can’t have dairy. So creative and oh my goodness I really wish I had a slice of your beautiful cake with extra frosting right now. 🙂
Megan Stevens says
I wish you did, too! Thank you!! 🙂
Yang@Yang's Nourishing Kitchen says
Wow! I almost never eat cake, but I want to put my face in this frosting right now – very intriguing recipe. You had me at the lard! My grandpa used to give me lard by the spoonful when I was a skinny little girl and I like how it tastes.
Megan Stevens says
Aw, I love that about you!!! Yay for your grandpa and lard and loving lard! 🙂
Callie Goode says
Wow, I have the burning desire to spread this on something. Great recipe.
Amanda Torres says
This is AMAZING!!! I love love love that you use lard – it’s such a staple in my kitchen!
M. Grove says
i wonder if anyone has used vanilla instead for flavor? Fabulous recipe btw!
Heather says
YUM, omg. I think this was exactly what I needed. Made some additions… instead of 1/4 cup raw honey I did 1/8 cup raw honey and 1/8 cup maple syrup. In addition to the cinnamon, I also added about 1/8 tsp cloves and a pinch of compliant vanilla powder. (I was pairing it with Gutsy by Nature’s Olive Oil Apple Cake, which has a very autumnal feel!) OH, and I used 1/2 cup leaf lard, 1/2 cup Spectrum brand palm shortening. (And if I hadn’t spilled it at the start of the recipe, I was also going to sub the 1/4 cup water for 1/4 cup fresh squeezed navel orange juice!) I couldn’t believe how beautifully it whipped up before my very eyes… just like the heavy whipping cream I used to love transforming!
Megan says
Yay!! Terrific! I know, right?! — The texture is so light, and it turns out so yummy and perfect. Your subs sound great!! Thank you for sharing!
Katie says
Amazing, thank you!! Doing AIP plus no coconut/palm and avocado, and have lots of birthdays coming up in the family. So excited to try this!
Lea says
Do you think beef tallow would work?
Megan says
Hi Lea, I definitely do NOT. 😉 Tallow has a really strong flavor and congeals. So, sorry, not a good option for this sweet recipe. Lard is a lot more like butter.
Gail mccomas says
Can you use pork lard?
Megan says
Hi Gail, yes.
Tara says
This is pretty good! I didn’t have any lard so I used coconut oil instead. I also used half maple syrup and half honey and no cinnamon. It was yummy on my carob cake. Thank you!
Megan says
I haven’t tried the recipe with coconut oil, so thanks for sharing that Tara! 🙂
Mama says
What do you mean by non-orange palm oil? Are you talking about the color? I have never had lard before and the thought kind of creeps me out. It doesn’t make it a savory vs sweet dish?
Megan says
Hi there, if the lard idea grosses you out, then it’s probably not for you. By nature, I’m super open-minded about all natural foods. I’m so glad the palm shortening is another option that will work well for you. Yes – re palm oils, don’t use the orange-colored one, instead see the link I provide, and use it (this one: https://amzn.to/2G57v7p). As mentioned in this post, this is not a frosting for eating off a spoon; it’s just wonderful as a frosting on cake or cookies etc.
Mama says
Thank you, I’m going to try it with the palm oil.
Megan says
Great! 🙂
eg222 says
Could you give more info on the Etsy farm where you found the grain-free lard? The link no longer works. Cant wait to try this. Thanks!
Megan says
Hi, thanks for letting me know that the link no longer worked. I’ve updated it. Here’s the new link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/213586812/leaf-lard-5-pounds 🙂 I still have not made this recipe with leaf lard specifically, only regular lard. So please let us know if you do how it goes. Thank you!
Amber says
I know this is for non coconut but I can only get coconut shortening in the country I am living in. Would that work for the recipe?
Megan says
Hi Amber, I don’t know, actually. It might work if paired 50:50 with another solid fat, like lard. The main thing that’s needed is a smooth, whip-able fat, and coconut oil is either chunky or melted. I haven’t worked with shortening made with it, so that’s the mystery.
milissa wasserman says
This looks fantastic! Do you think I can add carob to make a chocolate frosting with it?
Megan says
Hi Milissa, I haven’t tried that, but have you seen this recipe for AIP Chocolate Frosting? Made with carob: https://eatbeautiful.net/aip-chocolate-ganache-paleo/
Lisa says
Hi, wondering how long this icing lasts. I’d like to transport some to my sister who has Hasimotos
Megan says
Hi Lisa, it lasts great. I’d refrigerate it, then transport.
Mauri says
great recipe. I have made this with palm oil. the spectrum brand. It works fine and it seems to be fair trade and 100% palm fruit oil with no vegetable oils mixed in…
Megan says
I’m so glad it worked great for you, Mauri, thanks for sharing!