Extra Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting
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When the tropics are not fun
My easy cream cheese frosting recipe is extra creamy, extremely velvety and super soft. It’s tart and not overly sweet and it tastes as pure sweet cream cheese. You can make soft designs with it because it’s sturdy enough to hold its shape and doesn’t get runny. By taking care of some details through the steps I’ve managed to work with this cream cheese frosting even if living in a tropical paradise.
That’s right! This cream cheese frosting recipe has stood the test of warm weather. Living in the Caribbean may seem like a fantasy and may make you want to put that #ilivewhereyouvacay hashtag in every pic you post. But the reality is that when it comes to making frostings, is not the paradise that you may think. And cream cheese frosting probably has to be the most challenging to make.
I have made many cream cheese frostings in this warm weather and I know what it is to be trying to frost a cake and your frosting starts melting the second you start working with it. So frustrating!! Still, cream cheese is my favorite frosting and if I wanted to smear it in almost everything I baked, I needed to figure how to make a sturdy frosting without adding extra confectioner’s sugar so it wouldn't end up overly sweet.
The top 3 keys for a sturdy cream cheese frosting (the 3 T’s)
Temperature - Both butter and cream cheese need to be soft but still cool to the touch. The mixing process will warm the butter up, by starting with somewhat chilled butter you are making sure it won’t end up melting and oily by the end of mixing. And you need to take out the cream cheese out of the fridge barely 10 minutes after it’s time to add it to the butter.
Timing - the order of mixing should not be random. You need to beat the butter with the sugar first. The sugar will coat the butter, preventing its fat from sticking to the cream cheese directly and absorbing moisture. Adding the cream cheese last helps in maintaining the integrity of its texture and flavor, because technically it’s not been mixed into the butter but over the butter. Does that make some sense?
Tools - the tools you use in specifics moments are also crucial for the final texture of this extra creamy cream cheese frosting. No matter if you are using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, you are going to beat the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment or beaters. When you add the cream cheese you will still use those just to roughly mix things up, but then you will switch to the whisk attachment. This is so clever! Not only will you incorporate a bit of air, which will add fluffiness and a bit of structure to the frosting, but the wires will break any small lumps of cream cheese.
I can’t wait to update all my recipes using cream cheese frosting with this one. But even if a recipe calls for different amounts of ingredients than mine, these tips above will work on any recipe!
Where to use cream cheese frosting
Many beloved recipes use cream cheese frosting like carrot cake, lemon blueberry cake and red velvet, so it always comes handy to have a trusted go-to recipe.
You can basically use this frosting in any cake, cookies or cupcakes you want. Cream cheese frosting pairs the best with fruity notes like strawberries, lemon curd, blueberries and warm spiced notes like cinnamon, ginger and caramel.
Now, more than a recipe, I want to share with you my whole approach when making this extra creamy cream cheese frosting. Taking care of some details through the process is probably more important than the actual ingredients amounts.
How to make a sturdy cream cheese frosting
Take your butter out just when you are ready to start working with your frosting. You need butter that’s barely at room temperature. It should be soft and it should yield to the touch, but it should feel a bit cold, not warm, and it should not feel oily.
Cream cheese should not be more than 10 minutes out of the fridge. It should barely yield when you press it down with the side of a butter knife.
Beat the butter in medium speed to make it fluffy and spreadable. You can do this with the paddle of a stand mixer or with the beaters of an electric hand mixer.
Place a large sieve on top of the butter and sift the confectioner’s sugar (you can sift it beforehand as well). Since the butter is still a bit cold, it won’t absorb the sugar immediately, so you’ll have a grainy, coarse and dry paste.
Add any extract or liquid at this point. My basics are vanilla and fresh lemon juice.
Next, press down the cream cheese to make it thinner and a bit soft and add it to the butter mixture. Use first a spoon or small spatula to force the cream cheese into it. Then use the mixer to make the mixture more even and homogeneous.
Now it’s time to start working with the whisk attachment. Remember that this will incorporate a bit of air to the frosting and break any small lumps of cream cheese. You will be here a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved completely.
This frosting needs to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before working with it. The flavors will balance and the sugar will absorb any moisture traveling throughout the frosting. Wait a minute after taking it out so it spreads well. This cream cheese frosting is perfect for making in advance a few days before you need it! Just leave it out for 5 minutes before using. If it looks broken, swirl it a couple of times with a silicon spatula.
Especially when working on layered cakes, if at any point the frosting gets too warm, place the cake and the bowl of frosting in the fridge for 2 minutes and then continue working with it.
What you’ll need
A Stand mixer or electric hand mixer.
A pretty mixing bowl.
A large sieve. This is the one I used.
3 recipes I think you’ll love if you’re loving this one:
Double Carrot Cake
Classic Carrot Cake with Passion Fruit Brown Butter Frosting
Super Moist Lemon Blueberry Cake
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I know this recipe will be a staple in your recipe book! Use it in every cake you love. Thank me later! Or better yet, invite me over!
Take a snap and and tag me in Instagram (@devamadeo), Facebook (@DevAmadeo), and now on Threads (@devamadeo) when you make this frosting.
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Extra Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
◯ Butter (salted or unsalted), a bit softened - 8 TBSP, 113g (1 stick, ½ cup)
◯ Confectioner’s sugar - 3 cups, 384g
◯ Vanilla extract (optional) - 1 Tsp
◯ Fresh lemon juice - 1 Tsp
◯ Cream cheese (in bricks, not whipped, and still chilled) - 12 oz., 339g (1 ½ box)
Details
Yield: about 3 cups of frosting, enough for a 2-tier 8” or 3-tier 6” cake or 24 cupcakes
Total time: 45 minutes
Active time: 15 minutes
Equipment: electric hand mixer, mixing bowl, large sieve
Steps:
With a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or with an electric hand mixer using the beaters, beat the 8 tablespoons/113g of butter in medium speed (#4 in the Kitchen Aid) until loose and fluffy.
Place a large sieve over the bowl and sift the 3 cups/384g of confectioner’s sugar over, or sift it on a separate bowl and scrape it into the butter. Beat until a course crumbly paste forms.
Add the 1 teaspoon of vanilla and the teaspoon of lemon juice and mix.
Smear the 12 ounces/339g of cream cheese into the butter mixture as much as you can, then beat it until well incorporated. You would still see lumps of cream cheese.
Scrape the beaters and the walls and bottom of the bowl to reincorporate any pieces of cream cheese.
Change to the whisk attachment and beat still in medium speed (bring it down to speed #2 in using a stand mixer) until very creamy and silky, without any lumps of cream cheese. Stop and scrape the walls of the bowl one or two times in between to make sure cream cheese is incorporating well.
Chill for 30 minutes before frosting any cake.
You can make this cream cheese frosting a few days ahead, just let it out of the fridge for 5 or 10 minutes before working with it.
