Easy cream cheese frosting recipe

Cream cheese frosting is just so delicious, great for carrot cake, red velvet cake, to drizzle over the top of date nut loaf, and for just about any baked items you can think of.

 

 

 

Sweet and tangy, this perfectly balanced Cream Cheese Frosting is wonderful for almost any sweet treat, tell your taste buds to get ready!

We think about the history of a lot of foods, but often icings and frostings aren’t one of them, which had me searching to find out how cream cheese frosting came to be. 

Though it’s thought it may have come from European cultures as they have cream cheesecakes, the first printed recipe is attributed to the United States in the 1960s, paired with Carrot Cake.

Which my cream cheese frosting recipe would work amazingly well with! And when you combine it with my carrot bundt cake, it’s a win-win.

 

 

Some people think the topping on the cake is the best part, no matter if you think the cake is the best part of the frosting, this is a great frosting and can be made thin like a glaze, thick to pipe in swirls and such or somewhere in the middle to place dollops as I’ve made on these cupcakes.

 

I recently made cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and everyone asked if there was more frosting… I’m not sure exactly where they were going to put more frosting, but they wanted it!

Maybe they’d eat it off a spoon, it really is yummy.

 

And if you’re looking for more than carrot cake to enjoy it on… I have plenty of other delicious treats that go well with this frosting recipe such as Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes or my Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes and be sure to take a look at these if you love coffee!

But it’s not just for cake! Cookies and scones can be livened up with cream cheese frosting too! 

 

To begin a quick Baker’s Note: You’ll want to be sure the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature, it doesn’t mix well when it’s cold and will produce a lumpy texture. Placing the butter and cream cheese on the counter for 30 minutes before you plan on mixing the frosting is what I recommend.

For mixing, I use a beater blade and stand mixer, but any mixer will work. Use what you have on hand.

Now let’s get to it!

Place the room temperature cream cheese in the bowl of a mixer and whip it until it’s smooth, then add the butter and whip again until combined and smooth. 

Reduce speed to low and gradually add in the powdered sugar to avoid a powdered sugar cloud. 

Next, drizzle in the heavy cream as you increase the speed slowly, once combined add in the vanilla extract. 

Whip it on high. The frosting should be fluffy, smooth, and silky, if not continue to whip. 

Next, a consideration for salt – you can add a little more salt to balance the sweetness.

If you prefer a sweeter frosting then leave it as is.

Sometimes you have a sweet tooth that only chocolate can cure! Fear not, using the same recipe as above, you can alter it to make a chocolate frosting that dreams are made of!

For chocolate cream cheese frosting:

Reduce the powdered sugar by: 

• small batch 1/4  cup
•  medium batch 1/2 cup
•  large batch 1 cup

Then add the same reduced amount of cocoa powder to the recipe, for instance: Small batch ¼ cup and so on.

Frosting recipes can be easily adjusted, if you want them thinner to maybe pour over a bundt cake, reduce the powdered sugar and add a little more heavy cream.

If you need it thicker, you can add more powdered sugar. This is helpful if you’ll be piping it on.

A note on hot weather: 

The warmer the temperature is the softer this frosting will be, there are a few things you can do. You may add more powdered sugar to make it a little thicker, you can refrigerate your frosting to drop the temperature, which will help it stay firmer or you can go ahead and apply the frosting and put the cake/cupcakes/cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm the frosting up.

If you’re looking for a thinner cream cheese “glaze” be sure to take a look at this recipe.
Inquiring minds would like to know!

Can I mix this by hand?

You could. It will take some muscle to whip it up, but it can be done. I don’t recommend melting the cheese or butter down – just let them sit at room temperature for a while. You’ll need a good whisk like this one. Use a large bowl to mix it in, it’ll give you more surface area to spread the ingredients around to blend them well.

What about a non-dairy option, or a cream cheese free option?

I don’t often use substitutes, but you can use dairy-free cream cheese, and it works just as well. Or I have an Alternative Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe… It’s amazing!

What’s the difference between buttercream frosting and cream cheese frosting?

Buttercream is richer and smoother where cream cheese frosting is lighter in richness and incredibly creamy. Both are great options, and I happen to have other great frosting recipes like this American buttercream recipe and a delectable Italian buttercream frosting.

And if you like PUMPKIN, give this pumpkin cream cheese recipe a try, it’s delicious.

there are three options in the printable recipe,

you can make a small batch, a medium batch, or a large batch, and each gives examples of how much you’ll need depending on what you’ll be using in on.

 

 

If you want the frosting to be more of a glaze, make a smaller batch, then add some warm water and drizzle it over the dessert.

If you are more of a chocolate kind of person,
you may prefer this…..