Easy Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting

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5 out of 5 Stars!

Cream Cheese Frosting is a delicious topping for cakes and also cupcakes. This tangy, sweet, and creamy frosting is so good, you will want to use it for all your baked desserts. But it goes especially well with carrot cake!


Cream cheese frosting is so simple and easy to make; it takes no time at all. It goes well with carrot cake, cupcakes, and many more… With just a handful of ingredients, you have a lovely frosting that even adults would enjoy. The rich, sweet, and tangy flavor makes it such a delightful topping for so many treats. Tangy because of the oranges and lemons, I must say. If you skip those, it’s simply sinfully sweet!

Learn how to make this quick and easy cream cheese frosting in just about 5 minutes…

What Ingredients Do You Need For Cream Cheese frosting

All you need to make this delicious cream cheese frosting is cream cheese, a little salt, butter, vanilla essence, and powdered sugar. Adding orange juice or lemon zest and color are optional.

How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is pretty easy to make, all you have to do is mix the ingredients in a bowl and beat them with an electric mixer till smooth. Or you could mix the butter, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla essence and then beat in the powdered sugar a little at a time.

Of course, when I’m in the mood for some handcercise – that’s my word for exercise for fatty arms, I just use a whip to beat everything together. You can too!

Butter, cream cheese, sugar in bowls and salt and vanilla essence on a plate.
Ingredients for Cream Cheese
Powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt and vanilla essence in a yellow bowl.
Mix in a bowl

Beat it till it is creamy and fluffy and as easy as that, your cream cheese frosting is ready to use.

Cream cheese frosting whipped in a bowl with a hand mixer.
Whip the ingredients
Cream cheese frosting in a yellow bowl.
Cream Cheese frosting is ready

You can either slather the frosting onto the entire cake and spread evenly or pipe it onto the cake with a design. If you have your piping equipment handy, well and good. But if you don’t, you can follow this easy method. It’s what we do when we’re not inclined to wash up afterward.

A hand holding an aluminium bag with a nozzle.
A homemade disposable piping bag

Use a plastic bag or aluminum foil bag and cut a small hole at the top where you can put a piping nozzle. Fill the cream cheese frosting in this bag and use it for decorating. The main draw is that after using it you can dispose of the bag so you don’t have to wash it. Isn’t that great?

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A hand holding a nozzle in a foil.
Make a small opening for the nozzle
A hand decorating a cake with cream cheese frosting.
Decorate your cake
A hand decorating a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.
Doesn’t that look lovely?
A hand decorating a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

Easy Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting

Abby
Cream Cheese Frosting is a delicious topping for cakes or cupcakes that's easy to make at home in no time!
5 out of 5 Stars!

Click the stars to add your rating! Left you don’t like it, right you love it!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Course Dessert, Meal Prep
Cuisine Fusion, International
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 177 kcal
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Ingredients
  

  • 200 grams Cream Cheese
  • 350 grams Powdered Sugar Add more if needed
  • 100 grams Butter
  • .125 teaspoon Salt
  • .5 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
  • 20 ml Orange Juice Optional

Instructions
 

  • Mix butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla essence in a bowl.
  • Beat with a whisk or whip with an electric mixer until it is creamy and smooth.
  • Add the optional orange juice and color if you want to and beat for another minute.
  • And you cream cheese frosting is ready!
  • Slather on a cake or pipe the frosting to create a design.

Please click to rate the recipe! Left you don’t like it, right you love it!

Notes

  • You can add orange juice or lemon zest for added flavor.
  • Always use powdered sugar, so you don’t have to worry about granules.
  • The butter should be used at room temperature.
  • If the cream cheese is too runny, add more powdered sugar.
  • If it’s too thick, add more orange juice or milk.
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Stuff You Might Want to Use

Glass Bowls or Mixing Bowls
Whisk
Electric Beater

Nutrition (Per Serving)

Calories: 177kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 206mg | Potassium: 43mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 653IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

Disclaimer: Nutrition Information per serving is estimated by a third party software based on the ingredients used, and is for informational purposes only. It will vary from product to product, based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients. Please consult the package labels of the ingredients you use, or chat with your dietician for specific details.

This printable recipe card is for home use only. For more recipes head over to AbbysPlate.com
Carrot cake with cream cheese icing.
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

If the cream cheese frosting is too runny, remember to add more powdered sugar and make it thicker before slathering it on the cake, otherwise, you will end up with runny frosting like in the pic below, and this you definitely don’t want!

A cake slathered with cream cheese frosting.
Slather the cake with frosting

Recipe Pointers For Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Use butter that is at room temperature to mix well.
  • You can add orange juice or lemon zest for extra flavour.
  • Use powdered sugar, so you don’t have to worry about granules.
  • If the cream cheese is runny, add more powdered sugar.
  • If it’s too thick, add more orange juice or you can add some milk and beat it again.
  • You can add food colour as well.

Questions About This Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

What is Cream Cheese Frosting made of?

Cream cheese frosting is made with cream cheese, butter, a little salt, powdered sugar, and vanilla.

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How long Can I store Cream Cheese Frosting?

You can store the unused frosting in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. When re-using allow it to come to room temperature first.

Why did my Cream Cheese Frosting Go Runny?

If you use a cream cheese that has a high water content, the frosting can go runny. Simply add more powdered sugar to get a thicker consistency.

My Cream Cheese Frosting Is Too Thick? Can I Fix It?

If the frosting turns out too thick, you can either add more cream cheese or a bit of milk to liquefy it.

Can I use Cream Cheese Frosting under Fondant?

Yes, you can use cream cheese frosting under fondant, but you would need to refrigerate the cake after a few days. You can still eat it for 5 to 7 days after.

Can I add colour to Cream Cheese Frosting?

Yes, of course you can add color to cream cheese frosting. It will make it even more attractive, especially for kids!

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Pinterest image of Cream Cheese Frosting.
Pinterest image of Cream cheese frosting.

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