My grandmother was quite the baker. She taught me to bake a lot of goodies, as well as this cream cheese frosting recipe. Now, whenever I use this frosting, every baked good I put it on gets finished by the time I put it all on the kitchen counter.
This easy cream cheese frosting takes about 5 to 10 minutes to make, and you will only need 4 ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen. Also, this tangy frosting is very creamy because of the cream cheese, which is also where it gets its slightly tangy flavor. And the powdered sugar adds to its sweetness. You can use this powdered sugar frosting on anything, like red velvet cakes or cupcakes, carrot cakes, and any kind of cupcake.
Today, I will dive into how you can make this yummy frosting within minutes, some variations I have tried, and how you can store it.
Why You’ll Love This Cream Cheese Frosting
- You will love this smooth and creamy frosting because of its thick, smooth texture.
- The powdered sugar adds sweetness, and the cream cheese adds a tangy flavor, which together create a balanced taste in this frosting.
- Making this frosting is so easy that it will take you about 10 minutes.
- This pipeable frosting is very easy to spread and pipe on your baked goods.
What Is Cream Cheese Frosting?
Cream cheese frosting is a smooth, creamy frosting made primarily from cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. It has a lightly tangy flavor from the cream cheese, which balances the sweetness and makes it less sugary than traditional buttercream.
When you make this homemade cream cheese frosting, you’ll notice the difference between the traditional buttercream and the cream cheese frosting. This is because it is more velvety and less sugary than buttercream.
It pairs well with different kinds of desserts, like carrot cake, cupcakes, red velvet, etc. And this frosting for red velvet cake is very dense and silky, which makes for a richer flavor compared to buttercream.
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream Cheese: You should use a block of full-fat cream cheese. Just make sure it is soft and at room temperature when you’re making the frosting.
- Butter: If you want to stabilize cream cheese frosting, it needs butter.
- Powdered Sugar: It’s not only for sweetness, as it also gives the frosting its thickness.
- Vanilla Extract and Salt: This will make the whipped cream cheese frosting richer in flavor.
Tips For Frosting Consistency
- If you want your cupcake frosting to stay thicker in consistency for piping, you need to make sure you use enough powdered sugar.
- To make the frosting consistency softer for spreading, you can add heavy cream or reduce the amount of powdered sugar.
- If the frosting is too sweet, add a bit more salt. And if it is too stiff, add a bit of heavy cream.
- To make sure your frosting is ready, you can do one of two tests: the spoon plop test for spreading or the spatula peak test for piping.
How to Use Cream Cheese Frosting
- You can use this frosting for carrot cakes, cupcakes, red velvet cakes, vanilla cakes, chocolate cakes, or any cake you want.
- If you make pumpkin cookies or even banana bars, you can use this frosting on them.
- Serve different quick breads with this frosting, like zucchini bread, banana bread, lemon bread, etc.
- You can also layer cakes with this frosting or even make sandwich cookies.
- Try making cinnamon rolls with this frosting.
Storage & Make-Ahead Tips
- This is the best cream cheese frosting recipe for storing in the fridge. It will last about 3 days in the fridge.
- After you make this frosting, you need to chill it in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours before bringing it back to room temperature.
- When you want to rewhip the frosting after chilling, you can start whipping it in low speed and go up from there.
- The best way to store this frosting is to place it in an airtight container.
Variations You Can Try
- Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting: Add a bit of lemon juice for a lemon frosting version.
- Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting: You can add a bit of cinnamon powder to make the frosting a bit spicy.
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting: Add cocoa powder or melted chocolate for a chocolate version.
- Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting: Make a lighter frosting by whipping it with cold heavy cream until light and fluffy, resulting in a softer, airier texture that retains the creamy cheese flavor.
The Best Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- ½ cup / 115 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 4 cups / 480 g icing sugar
- 1 cup / 227 g cream cheese
- 1 tsp / 5 ml vanilla essence
- ¼ tsp / 1.5 g salt
Instructions
Bring Ingredients to the Right Temperature
- Bring the butter and cream cheese to the right room temperature before you start whipping.
Beat the Butter and Cream Cheese
- Now, beat the butter, vanilla extract, and cream cheese with a hand mixer or a stand mixer for 3 to 4 minutes.
Add Powdered Sugar Slowly
- Add the powdered sugar and start whipping for about 4 minutes till you see soft peaks.
Adjust Flavor and Texture
- Taste the frosting and adjust the flavor and texture accordingly.
- Chill the frosting in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours before serving with your baked goods.
Recipe FAQs
Can I use spreadable cream cheese?
Yes, you can use spreadable cream cheese, but I recommend using block cream cheese instead.
Why is my cream cheese frosting runny?
Not adding enough powdered sugar can make your cream cheese frosting runny.
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