I’m sharing my tips to make smooth & not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting for any kind of cake and dessert such as red velvet cake, carrot cake, cheesecake, macarons, cupcakes, bread, and cookies!
I love lighter, not-too-sweet buttercream such as Swiss buttercream, Italian buttercream, and French buttercream (It's on my YouTube.) That is one of the reasons I love this frosting so much.
💛 I love this cream cheese frosting because:
- It's not too sweet.
- You can really taste the cream cheese.
- It is stiff enough to pipe or frost a cake. (Or you can choose to make it softer. I'll show you how!)
- It's so simple to make.
In this post, you'll learn essential baking tips such as:
- The temperature/texture of butter and cream cheese we should use and why
- The causes of loose cream cheese frosting
- A few ways to make your frosting stiffer and fluffier
- Comparing 2 kinds of butter with less and more butter ... and so on!
Jump to:
📌 What's In Cream Cheese Frosting?
4 simple ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Use soft butter to make it successfully.
- Powder sugar
- Sift it ahead if it looks very lumpy.
- Salt
- It adds more depth in flavor.
- Cream cheese
- Use cold cream cheese (Leave it at room temperature for 15-30 minutes so that it gets softer.)
- Vanilla extract (Optional)
- Use any extracts or flavors you like. Today I didn't add any flavor.
📌 The 3 Simple Steps
- Whip soft butter, salt, and powdered sugar at medium to medium-high speed until it looks very fluffy for about 5 mins.
- Clean the bowl and paddle on the way.
- Add cold cream cheese (left at room temperature for 15-30 mins depending on the temperature) and whip at high speed just until it is evenly blended.
- Clean the bowl and paddle on the way.
- If you like fluffier frosting, whip it for another few minutes at medium speed.
- Be careful not to whip it too much so it does not get too airy.
- No need to whip it more if you prefer glossier, softer buttercream.
- When I make it with more butter, I whip it for about a minute.
📍 The printable recipe is at the very end of this post.
Jump to Recipe📌 How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting (with More Tips & Images)
Now, let me share detailed tips on each step that are crucial for making cream cheese frosting successfully.
Step 1: Whip soft butter, salt, and powdered sugar at medium to medium-high speed until it looks very fluffy for about 5 mins.
💬 Use soft butter so that it whips up a lot better to create a fluffy texture. Butter can not contain a lot of air when it is cold or melted partially.
💬 Start mixing at low speed first so that the powdered sugar is not going to scatter everywhere. (speaking from experience😁 I made lots of mess!)
Gradually turn up the speed and start whipping at medium to medium-high speed until it looks fluffy. I usually do this for about five minutes with one batch.
💬 I always add all the sugar at once. But let's say you're making a bunch at once (ex. 3-4 batches) then the powdered sugar can scatter everywhere even if you mix at low speed: Then simply turn off and on the switch quickly to pulse: I call it peek-a-boo motion and works perfectly each time!
It is very important to clean the bowl and paddle on the way to make a very even and smooth frosting.
Once it looks nice and fluffy, add cream cheese.
Step 2: Add cold cream cheese (left at room temperature for 15-30 mins depending on the temperature) and whip at high speed just until it is evenly blended.
👩🏻🍳 Cream cheese gets softer when it's at room temperature and gets stiffer when it's cold. That's why the frosting is a lot stiffer while the cream cheese is cold. It shouldn't be extremely cold but soft enough to blend with butter easily!
Mix at high speed until it looks smooth.
💬 Again, clean the bowl and paddle on the way!
Step 3: If you like fluffier frosting, whip more at medium speed.
I usually whip for about a few minutes at medium speed.
💡 If you like glossier, softer frosting, you don't have to whip further. You can stop as soon as the frosting is blended.
Look how the texture changes in just a few minutes!
It is stiff enough to pipe and frost a cake.
📌 When You Want To Make The Frosting Stiffer
When I want even stiffer frosting, I add one more stick of butter and one pinch of salt to the original recipe.
- Unsalted butter + 1 more stick!
- Powder sugar
- Salt ⅛ teaspoon + a pinch
- Cream cheese
- Vanilla extract (Optional)
All other ingredients are the same: just add one more stick of butter and one more pinch of salt!
💡 I do not whip it too much after the cream cheese is blended with this frosting: I usually whip it for about a minute at medium speed (You can adjust it as you like!). That is because it gets a little bit too airy when I whip for a few minutes due to the double amount of butter.
It might be harder to see the difference between the images but this frosting is a bit stiffer and fluffier.
💬 Adding more sugar is another way to make stiffer buttercream. I didn't do that today to make not-so-sweet cream cheese frosting.
📌 Uses For Cream Cheese Frosting
Enjoy making many kinds of desserts with this frosting!:
- For whole cakes
- Frost any of your favorite cakes such as red velvet cake, carrot cake, strawberry cake, chocolate mint cake, pumpkin cake, etc!
- For cupcakes
- You can also frost smaller cakes such as cupcakes, muffins, and pound cakes.
- For cookies
- Enjoy frosting many kinds of cookies such as pumpkin cookies, sugar cookies, whoopie pies, and gingerbread cookies.
This time, I frosted my chocolate cake with it!
📌 Frequently Asked Questions
Store in an airtight container in the fridge. This frosting needs to be refrigerated especially because it contains cream cheese.
You can store it for up to 5 - 6 days in the fridge or a few months in the freezer.
* The very common cause is the temperature of the butter and cream cheese:
I use soft butter because it whips up a lot more to make the fluffy texture (see the image in step 1). And I use cold cream cheese so that the frosting gets stiffer (step 2). The frosting gets softer when you make it with cream cheese at room temperature. And this also applies when you thaw the frosting.
* Or, it might be because the frosting is not whipped enough. This is not a problem if you want softer, shinier frosting. But if you like stiffer, fluffier frosting, whip more!
* Lastly, were the tools or environment not warm as you are working on the frosting? When you're working on any type of buttercream, work in a space that is not warm ideally so that the cream cheese and butter inside the frosting do not get soft quickly.
Yes, you can add any extracts or flavors you like!
You can but just know that the sugar helps to make stiffer buttercream: The more powdered sugar you add, the stiffer it gets. The frosting gets softer if you reduce powdered sugar too much especially as it sits at room temperature for some time.
If you are not worried about cream cheese frosting getting soft, I would say go ahead and reduce it more! For this recipe, I cut off sugar as much as I think it's durable without losing too much consistency.
Use thick full-fat cream cheese. I personally like to use Philadelphia cream cheese for its taste.
📌 VIDEO: Cream Cheese Frosting
To learn how to make cream cheese frosting visually and have a deeper understanding of all, watch this video.
Don't forget to subscribe if you liked it😉
💬 If you loved this recipe, please share your feedback on this post! I always love to hear how you enjoyed it at home with your friends and family.
📌 Printable Recipe
Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- Stand mixer with a paddle or a bowl and hand mixer
Ingredients
- 8 oz Unsalted butter (soft) 2 US sticks
- 9.1 oz Powder sugar about 2 US cups
- Salt
- 8 oz Cream cheese 1 US block
- Vanilla extract Optional. I did not add it this time.
Instructions
- Whip soft butter, salt, and powdered sugar at medium to medium-high speed until it looks very fluffy for about 5 mins. Clean the bowl and paddle on the way.8 oz Unsalted butter (soft), 9.1 oz Powder sugar, Salt
- Add cold cream cheese (left at room temperature for 15-30 mins depending on the temperature) and whip at high speed just until it is evenly blended. Clean the bowl and paddle on the way.8 oz Cream cheese
- If you like fluffier frosting, whip it for another few minutes at medium speed. Add vanilla extract as an option.Be careful not to whip it too much so that it does not get too airy. No need to whip it more if you prefer glossier, softer buttercream.* When I make it with 2 sticks of butter, I whip it for about a minute.Vanilla extract
Video
Notes
-
- Unsalted butter 226 g | 8 oz (2 US sticks)
-
- Powder sugar 260 g | 9.1 oz (about 2 US cups)
-
- Salt ⅛ teaspoon + a pinch
-
- Cream cheese 226 g | 8 oz (1 US block)
-
- Vanilla extract ½-1 teaspoon (Optional. I did not add it today!)
Nutrition
If you like rich & fluffy frosting like this cream cheese frosting, also check out my fluffy Swiss meringue buttercream recipe. It is stiff and stable buttercream that is perfect for detailed piping.
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