This is the perfect recipe for cream cheese frosting. It’s pipeable, spreadable and will set just nicely for you without running all over the place, but there are a few things to remember.
Full fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese is reliable. Other cheeses are available and may be cheaper however they don’t perform quite the same when you work with them.
This recipe was originally posted with Red Velvet Cupcakes but as I use it a lot for all sorts of things I thought it deserved it’s own post!
Ingredients:
70g butter, softened
200g cream cheese
400g icing sugar sifted
The cream cheese needs to be cold, chilled in the fridge and kept there until you need it.
Drain off the liquid from the pack and discard it.
Beat the butter so it is super soft and ready to go, if it isn’t soft enough let it warm up a bit . If you use it still too cold you’ll never get it to combine in the next stage, leaving you with flecks of infuriating butter!
Add the cream cheese and beat them together until combined. Don’t over beat it (that’s important) – cream cheese loosens and becomes more liquidy the more you beat it so less is best.
Sift in half the icing sugar and beat together, add the remaining half and mix again.
Now you should have perfectly pipeable, spreadable and non-runnyable delicious cream cheese frosting.
If you have overbeaten it (weren’t you listening?) and it’s too sloppy bob it in the fridge for half an hour to start to firm up again before using – don’t be tempted to add more icing sugar!
Use it for piping swirls on cupcakes, spread on carrot cakes the world is your oyster.
Ruth Clemens, Baker Extraordinaire
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I love cheesecake icing, though have had mixed results with piping (probably because I was being a cheapskate and using Morrisons value stuff!) will try with Philadelphia next time.
I have never had much luck using cream cheese, especially in cheesecakes. I have made a mental note of your tips – thank you!
I love those little carrots on the carrot cake. Will have to try those. Have got a similar carrot cake recipe to yours but with raisins and chopped walnuts in it. Think carrot cake is great cos you can fool yourself it’s healthy as it’s one of your “five a day”.
Great tutorial, I do always shy away from cream cheese frosting because, as you say, it can be a bit of a disaster area!
Hiya
I love cream cheese but don’t like it too sweet. Tried the hummingbird cookbook recipe the other day (300g icing sugar, 125g cream cheese and 50g butter!) reducing the sugar and doubling the cheese and it was still disgustingly sweet.
My favourite cream cheese topping (I won’t say icing as I doubt you could pipe it) was pretty much equal quantities of cream cheese and lemon curd. Yummy AND zingy!
Agree I don’t like it when its too sweet either. Try putting in zest of a lemon, some chopped stem ginger and some of the ginger syrup. Its fantastic on ginger cake or carrot cake
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Great tips, thanks. I think cream cheese frosting is much nicer then plain ole’ buttercream. I haven’t had any success mixing the cream cheese with my mixer so revert to elbow-grease and a spoon at that stage.
Best wishes
Katy
Hi Ruth,
Quick question – does it freeze ok?
I was going to make the carrot cake later and make a full batch of icing and save half for another/lazier day.
I made a load of the sugarpaste carrots last time and froze some for next time so hoping they come out ok!
Thanks,
Gina x
Hi Gina – the frosting does freeze okay but it tends to need beating well once defrosted. I’d freeze it in a small tub next to the cake, beat and then ice it when defrosted x
Thanks Ruth! I’d always make the cake fresh but its such a large batch of icing that it’s good to know some can be kept back
Thank you so much for this frosting – you have saved my bacon – its going on top of a grapefruit teacake.
Is there a way to keep the cream cheese frosting firm while out of the fridge for a few hours? the icing tastes great and hopefully I didn’t overbeat (I was listening:-)) x
it should certainly stay firm for an afternoon without being in the fridge, it forms a slight crust when open to the air which should keep it firm x
I’m so glad I found this website… I’ve tried and failed on many occasions with cream cheese frosting but it worked a treat this time on my strawberry cheese cake cupcake and it held it’s shape out of the fridge for hours!!!
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The saying – you get what you pay for is a valuable lesson!!!
DO NOT use cheap brands of cream cheese… It will not work.
Perfect recipe, it pipes beautifully, really soft and swirly, and it then sets to a perfect not-too-crusty consistency. Only “But”, for me, is that it tastes a bit of Philadelphia (obviously). But my son loved it and, once it’s on the cupcake, you can barely taste it any longer.
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what is the best cheese to buy, does any soft cheese do the trick
I use Philadelphia but any cream cheese, stick to full fat not the lighter versions will do the trick x
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Hi! I’ve been looking for a good recipe for cream cheese frostings. And where others have failed me, yours did not!
It’s a bit too sweet, I think, but the fact that it’s first cream cheese frosting I’ve whipped up that holds and actually tastes like cream cheese frosting makes it a winner!
Great recipe, thank you so much for sharing it with us!
can you tell me how long the frosting will keep for.
thanks
Upto 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container, but if you want to keep it longer then freeze it, once defrosting it will need beating again so that the consistency is smooth x