I am a true lover of Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. I can swirl it high on a cupcake or spread it thick on a cake and not be phased by its sugary sweetness, but I know it’s not for everyone, and some people will easily dismiss a delicious cupcake or cake solely based on its frosting. So how do you create a frosting that satisfies the sweet tooth, while also providing a creamy, light texture and balanced flavor? Well, I add cream cheese! I’ve been practicing my technique and working on perfecting this Cream Cheese Frosting recipe for years now and I believe I have finally found the exact combination of ingredients that produces a soft and creamy frosting that spreads and pipes beautifully and also holds its shape! Honestly, this frosting is so delicious that, oftentimes, it doesn’t even make it on my cakes. You will see some form of this recipe show up in many of my sweet treats, because it is truly the perfect addition to banana cake (and muffins), pumpkin muffins, carrot cake, chocolate cupcakes, crepes…the list goes on!
So let’s jump into the ingredients! For this recipe, you will need only 4 ingredients: butter (I use salted butter), cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract.
To make this frosting, begin by adding your room temperature butter to a large bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter until just creamy. Add cream cheese and beat until just combined. NOTE: It is important to beat the cream cheese only until it is just combined with the butter. Beating too long will cause the frosting to become too soft and therefore it will melt off your cake when you try to frost it (adding extra confectioners’ sugar after the cream cheese is too soft will only make the frosting softer). Mix in the vanilla, then add the confectioners’ sugar. Beat on high until the confectioners’ sugar is fully combined. DO NOT OVERMIX.
NOTE: This recipe is written to accommodate frosting and decorating a three to four layer cake. If you only need to frost 12-24 cupcakes, cut the recipe in half.
Cream Cheese Frosting
4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalThis Cream Cheese Frosting is a rich, creamy, frosting with the prefect amount of sweetness. It is spreadable and pipeable and the perfect frosting to decorate cupcakes, cakes, muffins, cookies and more!
Ingredients
1 cup salted butter, room temperature
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, chilled *
6 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* NOTE: Remove from refrigerator 20 minutes before using
METHOD
- Add butter to a large bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter until just creamy. Add cream cheese and beat until just combined. NOTE: It is important to beat the cream cheese only until it is just combined with the butter. Beating too long will cause the frosting to become too soft and therefore it will melt off your cake when you try to frost it (adding extra confectioners’ sugar after the cream cheese is too soft will only make the frosting softer). Mix in the vanilla, then add the confectioners’ sugar. Beat on high until the confectioners’ sugar is fully combined. DO NOT OVERMIX.
- NOTE: This recipe is written to accommodate frosting and decorating a three to four layer cake. If you only need to frost 12-24 cupcakes, cut the recipe in half.
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