Cream Cheese frosting is creamy and velvety smooth with the perfect balance of tangy and sweet. Cream cheese frosting is used in many in bakeries and home kitchens for its versatility to go with any dessert.
This frosting can pair with any dessert like red velvet cake, carrot cake, spice cake, pumpkin cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, cinnamon buns, sugar cookies and so much more.
From working in bakeries all over LA for years, I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks that make this the perfect cream cheese frosting for any newbie baker. Since its so easy to spread and pipe its a great frosting to use for cake decorating.
This cream cheese frosting is a tried and true frosting that is pretty straightforward with only five ingredients required so anyone can make it.
How to Make This Simple Cream Cheese Frosting
In a stand mixer bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese. Blend on medium-high until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure the butter and cream cheese is smooth. Continue to cream them together until light and fluffy about 5 minutes.
To make sure you get a smooth frosting, use the block of cream cheese, not cream cheese spread. Cream cheese is sold in 8-ounce blocks, and you’ll need one block of the full-fat stuff for the best results. I’ve gotten many questions about cream cheese frosting being too runny, but you can quickly fix this by using the block of cream cheese.
Next, add the salt and vanilla extract. Add in half of the powdered sugar then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Then add the other half of the powdered sugar. Once all the powdered sugar has been added turn up the speed gradually and mix on medium-high until the frosting is smooth and creamy but do not overmix or else the frosting will become soupy.
Refrigerate the frosting in the mixing bowl for 10 minutes to set and firm it up. If the frosting becomes to firmer, quickly whip the frosting on medium-high until the frosting is smooth and creamy again.
Important note about Cream Cheese Frosting, you want to make sure the cakes or cupcakes are cooled completely. Cream cheese frosting typically does not do well in warm weather, so it’s always best to refrigerate the cake to make sure it doesn’t melt.
Decorating Cakes
For decorating a cake, you might need a double recipe of the frosting. Use this for filling the cake layers and frosting the outside of the cake.
Once the cakes have baked and are cooled completely, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes. At this stage, you can cover the cakes and leave them in the freezer for several days or up to a month before decorating them.
Remove the chilled cakes from the freezer and carefully slice the top of any dome of the cakes off to make them level and flat. This step makes the stacking process much more manageable.
Use an offset spatula to layer the frosting in between each cake layer. Continue to a crumb coat, so the whole cake is covered then chill in the fridge for 20 minutes until the crumb coat has set.
Next, add a thicker layer of frosting onto the cake for the final coat. This is where you make it pretty. Add swirls of buttercream on top, add sprinkles or keep it simple.
Decorating Cupcakes
To frost and decorate cupcakes, place the frosting into a pastry (piping) bag with a round or star tip. While gently squeezing the piping bag, move your whole arm to make the swirl of frosting on the cupcake. The more practice the better but you already know it’ll taste delicious no matter what the swirl looks like.
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There you have it! You’ve seen how easy this Cream Cheese Frosting is to make. Remember, there are many desserts you can make with this cream cheese frosting so be creative and make some delicious creations!
Happy Decorating!
Watch the How-to Video Below:
Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup (or 2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup (or 8 ounces) cream cheese block, not spread room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar sifted or whisked to declump sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a stand mixer bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese. Blend on medium-high until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure the butter and cream cheese is smooth. Continue to cream them together until light and fluffy about 5 minutes.
- Next, add the salt and vanilla extract. Add in half of the powdered sugar then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Then add the other half of the powdered sugar. Once all the powdered sugar has been added turn up the speed gradually and mix on medium-high until the frosting is smooth and creamy but do not overmix or else the frosting will become soupy.
- Refrigerate the frosting for 10 minutes to set and firm it up.
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