Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream Cheese Frosting is a great icing to have in your baking arsenal because it is less sweet than American Buttercream. Additionally, it has a delicious tang from the cream cheese, which gives it a different flavor profile than meringue-based buttercreams (like Italian, Swiss, and French). It’s a fantastic frosting for desserts that are sweet because it helps to balance the sweetness-level.
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Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8oz (227g) brick of cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup or 1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ tsp (1.5g) salt
- 2 tsp (8.5g) vanilla extract
- 3¾ cups (454g) powdered sugar, sifted
Equipment:
- Digital scale (or dry measuring cups and measuring spoons)
- Stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or hand mixer with a large bowl)
- Silicone spatula
Making the Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment at medium speed until smooth and combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Pour in vanilla and salt and mix to combine.
Add sifted powdered sugar in 3 additions and mix well at medium-low speed after each addition until the powdered sugar is completely incorporated.
Increase the speed to high and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap touching the surface so the frosting doesn’t crust.
Do My Ingredients Really Need to Be Room Temperature?
For this recipe, it’s much easier to combine the cream cheese and butter if they are both at room temperature. It will not only take substantially longer if they are mixed directly from the fridge, but you will also have to scrape down the mixing bowl more frequently AND you run the risk of causing the liquid to separate from the butter and cream cheese. If your mixture looks broken (e.g., curdled or very wet), just heat the outside of the bowl with a torch or a hairdryer while mixing. This will help the fat re-emulsify the mixture before mixing in the other ingredients.
How to Store Cream Cheese Frosting
Because Cream Cheese Frosting has dairy in it, it can stay at room temperature for a maximum of 4 hours before needing to be refrigerated. Store frosting in an airtight container in the fridge. When using the frosting after refrigeration, allow the frosting to come to room temperature and then re-beat it to ensure a light texture. This frosting can last up to 2 weeks in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
Recipes that Taste Great with Cream Cheese Frosting
The most common recipes using cream cheese frosting include Red Velvet Cake, Carrot Cake, anything with pumpkin (e.g., pumpkin cupcakes, bars, or cookies), and thinned down to use as a glaze on Bundt cakes (like my Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake). If you want to level-up your frosting, you can add any of the following:
- White chocolate (like in my White Chocolate Cream Cheese Macarons)
- Cocoa powder (like in my Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting)
- Fruit (like in my Lemon Cupcakes with Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting)
- Spices (like in my award-winning Pumpkin Carrot Cake with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting)
Need More Frosting Recipes?
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Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- Digital scale (or dry measuring cups and measuring spoons)
- Stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or hand mixer with a large bowl)
- Silicone spatula
Ingredients
- 8 oz (227g) brick of cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup or 1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ tsp (1.5g) salt
- 2 tsp (8.5g) vanilla extract
- 3¾ cups (454g) powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
Making the Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment at medium speed until smooth and combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Pour in vanilla and salt and mix to combine.
- Add sifted powdered sugar in 3 additions and mix well at medium-low speed after each addition until the powdered sugar is completely incorporated.
- Increase the speed to high and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap touching the surface so the frosting doesn’t crust.
How to Store Cream Cheese Frosting
- Because Cream Cheese Frosting has dairy in it, it can stay at room temperature for a maximum of 4 hours before needing to be refrigerated. Store frosting in an airtight container in the fridge. When using the frosting after refrigeration, allow the frosting to come to room temperature and then re-beat it to ensure a light texture. This frosting can last up to 2 weeks in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
