All of the tangy cream cheese flavor you love in the classic frosting, but sturdy enough to be piped and hold it’s shape. This decorator’s cream cheese frosting is the best parts of buttercream and cream cheese frosting combined.
It has been at least a week since I last shared a frosting recipe with you, so it is overdue! This frosting is worth the wait.
It has the tang of cream cheese but it is perfect for piping into swirls, rosettes, shells and more.
There are a few kinds of cake that just beg to be slathered with cream cheese frosting. Carrot cake and banana cakes are two obvious choices, but cream cheese also goes well with chocolate cake and many more.
The problem is the standard cream cheese frosting isn’t great for doing much more than spreading over the cake. It is soft and doesn’t hold it’s shape well.
It is absolutely delicious, but not great for piping. And for frosting lovers like myself, sometimes a little bit of frosting spread on top of a cupcake isn’t enough.
(It’s never enough!) Bring on the fluffy swirls of frosting!
Luckily this recipe allows you to have the best of both worlds. It pipes like an American buttercream dream but has that familiar cream cheese taste we love.
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The final product does form a slight crust, especially if chilled, that makes transportation a lot easier. It also helps it hold up to a little more warmth than a standard cream cheese frosting.
For even more stability, you could substitute some shortening in for some of the butter. The higher melting point always helps to keep things a bit more resistant to temperature.
You can definitely taste the cream cheese in the final product without any help. If you feel like it needs a little more though, a teaspoon of cream cheese emulsion will help drive the flavor home.
After several batches of this frosting in the past month, I can assure you that this frosting will be a hit.
Using Cream Cheese Frosting In Place of Buttercream
The traditional cream cheese frosting doesn’t have the same texture as buttercream, so you can’t use it to make intricate decorations.
This recipe combines the flavor of cream cheese frosting with the texture of buttercream so you can use it the same way you would your favorite buttercream.
Does cream cheese frosting get hard in the fridge?
Yes, so if you frosting gets soft, just pop it in the refrigerator for a bit to stiffen up. Chilling your frosting will help it remain stable for transportation and will help to set any decorations you made.
Cream Cheese Frosting for Decorating
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3½ cups powdered sugar (1 pound)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon cream cheese emulsion optional
Instructions
- Beat together butter and cream cheese until super smooth and creamy.½ cup butter, 4 ounces cream cheese
- Add salt, powdered sugar, vanilla and cream cheese emulsion if using. Mix until combined.¼ teaspoon salt, 3½ cups powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cream cheese emulsion
- Add a tablespoon of milk and continue to mix for at least 2 minutes. Adjust final consistency with more milk or powdered sugar.1 to 2 Tablespoons milk
- Spread or pipe immediately or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Notes
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This frosting is perfect for piping and will be a go-to for me. I made a double batch for red velvet cupcakes. It has the distinct cream cheese taste, and it’s not overly sweet. I refrigerated it overnight. If you do this, be sure to take it out several hours ahead of time to pipe or spread.
I am so happy you liked it!
HELLO! I need a sturdy frosting to ice and decorate a wedding cake. will this recipe fit the bill?
Yes, it should work nicely. Just give the cake a good chill before you transport it to the venue and it should hold. It pipes beautifully.
Hi, once made and frosted on cupcakes do you need to store in the fridge or can you leave the cupcakes out
They can be left out for a couple of hours, but I would refrigerate them if it’s going to be much longer than that just to be on the safe side.
Hey Carlee, I need strawberry cream cheese frosting. Could I just add a little bit of a strawberry puree reduction or will that totally change the consistency?
That could definitely work. I would consider cooking them down a bit to make sure there's not too much liquid. I like getting some freeze dried strawberries and turning them into a powder and then adding them into the frosting.
@Carlee,
You could add some LorAnn Strawberry emulsion too. That makes flavor come through
I do like LorAnn emulsions, but have never tried the strawberry. I’ll have to put that on my list!
Does this color well? Do you think it will hold up for a small wedding cake?
It does and it would! You'll have to let me know how it goes!
This recipe looks delicious. How much frosting does this actually make? TIA
I've never measured it after I whipped it, but I would guess about 3 cups.
I don't do a lot of piping, but looking at this glorious frosting makes me want to make cupcakes just so I can pipe!
A nice swirl on top of a cupcake is certainly easy enough to do and gives them that extra panache!
I think that you should just make frosting and sell it!!! This frosting looks so pretty. I could just eat it like an Ice Cream Cone!
I like the way you think! I would totally eat an ice cream cone of frosting too!
I have so many issues trying to pipe cream cheese frosting. I'll have to try this next time I'm working with it! Thanks, Carlee!
It's not easy normally, but this version works!
I love frosting that it’s not only delicious but pipes well. This looks perfect! Happy Monday girl!
It's the best of both worlds!