Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe – Love and Lemons

February 29, 2024

22

Learn to make cream cheese frosting with simply 4 components! Candy, creamy, wealthy, and tangy, it is scrumptious on truffles, cupcakes, and extra.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe – Love and Lemons

Who doesn’t love cream cheese frosting?! This candy, tangy topping is the proper complement to simply about any cake or cupcake, to not point out cookies, bars, and fast breads. I’ve it on repeat round right here within the spring, when we now have carrot cake cupcakes for Easter, an precise carrot cake for Jack’s birthday, after which carrot cake cookies, effectively, simply because I like them. 🙂

My cream cheese frosting recipe requires 4 primary components, and it comes collectively in lower than 10 minutes. The following time you need to make a do-it-yourself baked good style extra-decadent and particular, all you need to do is whip it up!

Bowl of powdered sugar next to block of cream cheese, butter, bottle of vanilla extract, measuring spoons, and spatula

Recipe Elements

You solely want 4 components to make this recipe:

Cream cheese, after all! Skip the whipped or low-fat stuff and hunt down block-style, full-fat cream cheese. It offers this frosting the very best wealthy texture and tangy taste. Let it come to room temperature or soften it barely within the microwave earlier than making the frosting.
Unsalted butter – It offers the frosting buttery taste and a texture that’s thick sufficient for piping. Enable the butter to melt to room temperature earlier than mixing up the frosting. If it’s too agency, the frosting can be lumpy.
Powdered sugar – Aka confectioner’s sugar. It thickens and sweetens the frosting. Make do-it-yourself powdered sugar, or use store-bought.
And vanilla extract – For heat depth of taste.

Elective: season to style with a splash of salt!

Discover the entire recipe with measurements under.

Frosting in mixing bowl with powdered sugar on the sides

Find out how to Make Cream Cheese Frosting

My methodology for how one can make cream cheese frosting couldn’t be easier! Right here’s the way it goes:

First, mix the cream cheese and butter. Place them in a big bowl and use an electrical mixer to beat till easy. I like to make use of an electrical hand mixer to make this recipe, as a result of as written, it’s a bit small for my stand mixer. In case you choose to make use of a stand mixer, you could have to double the recipe.

In case you don’t have a mixer, you can also make this recipe by hand with a whisk. It’ll simply take some elbow grease!

Closeup shot of cream cheese frosting swirl

Then, add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Combine till the frosting is easy and creamy (take a look at that texture above!!). Cease and scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula as wanted. Tip: in case your powdered sugar is lumpy, sift it earlier than including it to the cream cheese combination.

Style and regulate, including a pinch of salt if wanted. That’s it!

Find out how to Thicken Cream Cheese Frosting

In case your frosting is runnier than you’d like, you’ve gotten just a few choices for how one can thicken it.

Add extra powdered sugar. Beat in a tablespoon at a time till the frosting reaches your required consistency. Remember the fact that including extra sugar will make the frosting sweeter.
Stick it within the fridge. The frosting will agency up because it chills.

Notice: Full-fat, brick-style cream cheese is crucial for thick frosting. Whipped, low-fat, or spreadable cream cheese will make the frosting runny. When unsure, select cream cheese that is available in a field, not a plastic tub.

Bowl of cream cheese frosting with spatula

Find out how to Use Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe yields about 1 1/2 cups of frosting. That’s sufficient for an 8- or 9-inch cake, a loaf cake, or a batch of 12 cupcakes. I like to apply it to these treats:

Double the recipe for a 9×13-inch sheet cake, or triple it for a layer cake.

Storage

Cream cheese frosting shouldn’t sit at room temperature for various hours. Retailer leftover frosting in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Baked items topped with cream cheese frosting must also be refrigerated.

Are you able to freeze cream cheese frosting?

Sure! Cream cheese frosting freezes effectively for as much as a month and thaws properly within the fridge.

Its texture will change barely after freezing and thawing, so I like to recommend re-whipping it earlier than use. If crucial, add little milk to the frosting to loosen it up.

Cream cheese frosting recipe

Extra Frostings, Glazes, and Whips

In case you love this recipe, attempt one among these candy toppings subsequent:

Craving extra treats? Try these 25 Tremendous Enjoyable Baking Recipes!