Best Recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between cream cheese frosting and cream cheese buttercream? ›

Buttercream and cream cheese frosting have some ingredients in common -- powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and butter -- but buttercream is also made with heavy cream or milk while cream cheese frosting contains, obviously, cream cheese.

Add a small amount of meringue powder to quickly thicken the frosting. Add 1 tablespoon (7 grams) of meringue powder to the frosting per 8 oz (226 grams) of cream cheese. Mix the meringue powder into the frosting until it is evenly dispersed.

Whip it good.

Canned frosting has a tendency to be on the denser side, but the solution to this textural dilemma is simple. Dump your canned frosting into a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or into the bowl of an electric mixer and whip it up.

Unsalted butter – It gives the frosting buttery flavor and a texture that's thick enough for piping.

Swiss meringue buttercream is a favorite among many cake decorators because of its smooth finish on the outside cakes and its ability to hold piping detail.

Cream cheese frosting

Many people also feel it's the perfect icing for red velvet cake. Cons: The addition of cream cheese makes this a much softer frosting than AMBC. It doesn't hold up well in warm environments, and doesn't work well as a cake finish as it won't hold sharp corners or piped details.

So if your frosting is too soft to pipe once beaten, you can pop it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to harden up. But if you refrigerate the frosting overnight or freeze it, it will be too hard to pipe, simply let it soften at room temperature, re-whip until fluffy and use as desired.

Frosting is too runny.

This could be because the butter was too soft or you added too much milk if it is buttercream frosting or it could be that you have overbeaten it if you're making cream cheese frosting. Also, a hot kitchen can make frostings go runny, so be mindful of the temperature.

But there's a limit to how much you can add - this is the main reason so many cream cheese frostings are runny. Cream cheese is about 55% water - so when you add lots of cream cheese, you're adding a ton of water. Lots of water (combined with sugar) equals runny and loose frosting.

Always begin by scraping the frosting into a mixing bowl and stirring vigorously or mixing with a mixer until smooth and creamy. This simple step of incorporating air into a can of dense store-bought frosting will make it fluffy and enhance the flavor.

What are two ways to prevent lumps when making cream cheese frosting? ›

Cream cheese must must must be at room temperature for a smooth and cream cream cheese frosting. This will ensure that the cheese whips up to completely smooth with the other ingredients. Any chill on the cream cheese will result in cream cheese lumps that are hard to completely work out of the finished frosting.

If you are trying to avoid any sweetness to your frosting you could try some cream of tartar or some cornstarch mixed with a little milk. You can also whip heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold into the softened cream cheese. People use gelatin to thicken and set whipped cream frostings.

You can add 1/4 cup- 1/2 cup cornstarch to thicken frosting without using powdered sugar. Why is my frosting so runny? Your frosting is runny because it has too much liquid in it. Add some powdered sugar to thicken it up.

While the addition of butter and powdered sugar does help to stabilize it, cream cheese frosting should only be left out at room temperature for two hours before it needs to be put in the fridge.

What is this? Powdered Sugar Magic: One of the most common ways to thicken frosting is by adding more powdered sugar. Start by incorporating small amounts until you achieve the perfect consistency. This method works well with cream cheese frosting, buttercream frosting, and other basic recipes.

In terms of pairings, buttercream frosting is unquestionably more versatile than cream cheese icing. This is due to the fact that while cream cheese frosting may be overly tangy in some recipes, buttercream has a neutral flavor.

I'm usually a classic vanilla buttercream gal, but I'm finding more and more that cream cheese frosting is what I'm craving on my cakes and cupcakes. It's like traditional buttercream, but with a delicious sweet and tangy flavor, and a lot more elegance.

The best way to distinguish frosting from buttercream is through the ingredients. While both contain powdered sugar, fat, flavouring and sometimes milk or water, frosting does not contain any butter whatsoever. Instead, frosting is usually made with shortening or cream cheese.

Absolutely yes, and that goes for store-bought and homemade cream cheese frosting. As cute as those frosted cupcakes look sitting on your kitchen counter, you need to pop them into the fridge to ensure they're safe to eat the following day.