Fruity Pebbles frosting is fun, pretty, and nostalgic! It’s also not too sweet, so feel free to pipe it on cupcakes, spread it over a batch of brownies, sandwich it between French macarons–whatever your sweet tooth desires!
Fruity Pebbles Frosting
I developed this cereal milk-infused frosting specifically to be used as a filling for my fruity pebbles macarons (recipe coming very soon, like, tomorrow), but after the first taste it was clear it needed its own space in my frostings library. Fruity pebble frosting is fun, colorful, and slightly unexpected. Here’s what’s to love:
Why you’ll love it:
- Unique and nostalgic. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill vanilla. The milk is infused with fruity pebble flavor that’s potent and instantly recognizable.
- Subtly colorful with tiny specks of confetti-colored cereal (and you can bump up the vibrance with food coloring, if you’d like!) and so fun for birthday cakes and kids desserts.
- Not too sweet! I take a unique approach to today’s recipe in order to keep it from being tooth-achingly sweet… using my white chocolate frosting as the base allowed the fruity pebble flavor to shine without adding a ton of sugar. I tried many different methods with this recipe and found a classic buttercream base was just too sweet, but it turns out white chocolate was the ticket!
- Pairs well with so many desserts. Swirl it over vanilla cupcakes, smear it around a white cake, or sandwich it in macarons.
What You Need
You need six ingredients to make my fruity pebbles frosting, most of which won’t surprise you. Here’s what you need–and what you don’t!
- Fruity pebbles. Obviously (I hope). Make sure to grab regular fruity pebbles and not the marshmallow kind. We’ll use two separate amounts here; one for making a cereal milk concentrate and one for pulverizing into the frosting at the very end.
- Butter. Use unsalted butter (we are adding salt separately later!) and make sure it’s softened beforehand. Don’t let it get too warm though, or your frosting could end up greasy.
- Powdered sugar. This recipe requires just two cups of powdered sugar, which is quite a bit less than most other buttercream frostings, like my vanilla frosting. NOte that if you want your frosting to be stiffer or sweeter you can add more sugar.
- White chocolate. Use a premium white chocolate for best results (like Ghiradelli). You can use either chopped white chocolate bars or premium white chocolate chips. Make sure to let the chocolate cool completely after melting; however, do not let it re-solidify.
- Milk. We will use this to create a fruity pebbles concentrate. I recommend whole milk, as a thinner or lower fat milk could make this already soft frosting even softer.
You may also notice that I don’t use any vanilla extract in this recipe. This is intentional! I found that the vanilla bullied the fruit flavor of the cereal, which should be the star of the show.
SAM’S TIP: Melt your chocolate slowly! I share a few tips on how to do this properly in my post on how to melt chocolate in the microwave. If your chocolate starts to look grainy and thick, it’s been overheated and you will need to start over.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Fruity Pebbles Frosting
- Prepare the cereal milk! Pour whole milk over Fruity Pebbles cereal in a small dish. Make sure all of the cereal is submerged, that way you can infuse as much flavor as possible. Let this soak for at least 20 minutes.
- Strain the cereal and milk through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup, pressing as much milk out of the cereal as you can (I use a spatula to squeeze the cereal). Discard the soggy cereal and set the milk aside for later.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl until smooth, then set aside to cool, make sure it’s not at all warm to the touch before drizzling beating butter until creamy and stirring in the melted chocolate.
- Gradually add powdered sugar to the butter/chocolate mixture until smooth and combined, then add the salt.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the strained cereal milk into the frosting and stir on low until incorporated. If you have extra cereal milk, just discard it. Adding too much could break the frosting or make it too runny.
- Pulverize fruity pebbles into fine crumbs then stir into the frosting. If you’re going to be piping the frosting, make sure the crumbs are powder-fine or the frosting will get stuck in the piping tip.
SAM’S TIP: This is a soft icing; however, if it’s too soft for your use, you always can make it stiffer by adding more sugar.
Frequently Asked Questions
This frosting can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can store it longer in the fridge; up to 5 days.
Note that if you store your frosting in the fridge, you will need to let it soften to near room temperature before you’ll be able to spread or pipe it.
Yes! This icing has a slightly colorful from the crushed fruity pebbles, but you can always add your favorite food coloring too (I like Americolor gel food coloring). I’d recommend adding it when you add the salt.
This recipe makes 2 cups of frosting, which is enough to generously cover 12 cupcakes, an 8″ or 9″ 2-layer cake, or a 9×13″ cake. For cakes, this recipe will make just enough frosting to cover your layers, so if you’d like to decorate the top, I’d suggest increasing the recipe by 50%.
You can also use this recipe to fill 40 macaron sandwiches, which I’ll be doing very soon in with recipe for fruity pebble macarons!
SAM’S TIP: I used the Ateco 846 piping tip for the frosting in my photos, I’ve linked to it in the recipe card below.
With its pastel, rainbow-colored flecks, this frosting would be so adorable for a baby shower cake or cupcakes!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Fruity Pebbles Frosting
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (18 g) + 2 Tablespoons Fruity Pebbles cereal divided
- ⅓ cup (78 ml) whole milk
- 4 oz (113 g) white chocolate
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Recommended Equipment
- Ateco 846 tip optional
Instructions
- Place ⅓ cup of cereal in a small bowl and pour milk evenly overtop. Allow to soak for 20 minutes.⅓ cup (18 g) + 2 Tablespoons Fruity Pebbles cereal, ⅓ cup (78 ml) whole milk
- Meanwhile, chop white chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then return to the microwave, heating in 15-second increments and stirring well in between until melted and smooth. Allow to cool until no longer warm, but still melted.4 oz (113 g) white chocolate
- Place butter in a separate, large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until smooth and creamy. Once chocolate is cooled, drizzle it in with the butter and stir until smooth and well-combined.1 cup unsalted butter
- Gradually add powdered sugar, stirring until completely combined.2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
- Add salt and stir well.⅛ teaspoon salt
- Pour the cereal and milk through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup. Use a spatula to squeeze out as much milk as you can and discard cereal.
- Measure out 2 Tablespoons of milk and add to the frosting bowl. Stir on low-speed until smooth and incorporated.
- Grind remaining 2 Tablespoons of fruity pebbles into fine crumbs (I use my small food processor). Add to the frosting and use a spatula to stir in until smooth and well combined.
- Pipe or spread frosting as desired over cooled baked goods.
Notes
Serving
This recipe makes 2 cups of frosting. It will cover 12 cupcakes, or will cover a two 8” or 9” layer cake or 13×9 cake (without extra for decorating). It will fill approximately 40 macarons.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temp for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5. After refrigerating you will need to let it soften to near room temperature before you’ll be able to spread or pipe it. Note that this is a soft icing and it won’t hold up well to heat.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Brandi
I made this frosting, it was yummy, however, I didn’t think the flavor of the cereal came out much, so I added some lemon extract. I also added a white chocolate disk sprinkled with fruity pebbles atop the frosting. It made it a bit more fancy.