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    Home » Recipes » Baking Recipes

    Cream Cheese Frosting

    Published: Jul 17, 2023 · Modified: Sep 5, 2023 by Vicki · Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe
    Image of homemade carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

    This super simple recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting is made with only four ingredients. It's perfect for spreading over carrot cake, muffins, cinnamon buns, and banana bread.

    A slice of Carrot Cake covered in Cream Cheese Frosting.

    Cream Cheese Frosting is the perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavours. It's thick enough to hold its shape when piped and stores well in the fridge or the freezer.

    It's easy to make and versatile enough to customize with different flavours and ingredients. Once you try cream cheese frosting, you'll never want to return to any other type of frosting!

    Jump to:
    • Why You'll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredients
    • Step by Step Instructions
    • Variations
    • Storage
    • FAQs & Expert Tips
    • You Might Also Love
    • 📖 Recipe
    • Comments

    Why You'll Love This Recipe

    • Super easy and versatile.
    • One bowl recipe = less washing up.
    • It can be stored in the fridge or freezer.

    Ingredients

    icing sugar, cream cheese, butter and milk - ingredients used to make cream cheese frosting.

    Note: The full quantities are shown in the recipe card below.

    Cream cheese - use full-fat block cream cheese and not spreadable cream cheese. We love to use Philadelphia cream cheese. Let it sit on the benchtop to soften for 1-2 hours, which makes it easy to mix.
    Icing sugar - also known as confectioners sugar or powdered sugar.
    Butter -use unsalted butter softened at room temperature. Unsalted butter gives you complete control of the overall flavour of your recipe, as the salt content in different butter brands can vary a lot.
    Milk - use 2 tablespoons of full-fat milk.

    Step by Step Instructions

    Note: This is a summary of the instructions. The full ingredients and instructions are shown in the recipe card below.

    An image of butter and sugar creamed together with an electric whisk in a bowl.

    1. Mix the butter, cream cheese, and milk in a large bowl until creamy.

    Close up image of cream cheese frosting being mixed in a bowl with an electric whisk.

    2. Add the icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then high speed for 2 minutes.

    Variations

    Some different Cream Cheese Frosting flavour ideas:-

    Lemon: add 1 teaspoon of lemon extract.
    Pumpkin Spice: add ½ a teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix.
    Chai Spice: add ½ a teaspoon of chai spice mix.

    Storage

    Cover and store leftover cream cheese frosting in the fridge for up to 5 days or up to 3 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator, then mix with a mixer so it's creamy again.

    FAQs & Expert Tips

    Can Cream Cheese Frosting be Coloured?

    Like all icings, a little colour can be added to Cream Cheese Frosting.

    Can spreadable Cream Cheese be used to make Cream Cheese Frosting?

    No, use full-fat cream cheese that comes in a block for best results. Philadelphia is a great brand to use.

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    📖 Recipe

    Close up image of cream cheese frosting over carrot cake.

    Cream Cheese Frosting

    Sweet and tangy Cream Cheese Frosting that's super easy to make. It's perfect for spreading over carrot cake, banana bread cinnamon buns.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Save Recipe Saved! Rate
    Course: Baking
    Cuisine: Western
    Keyword: cream cheese frosting
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Author: Vicki

    Equipment

    • hand held electric whisk

    Ingredients

    • 250 g full-fat block cream cheese (not spreadable), softened at room temperature
    • 50 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
    • 320 g icing sugar, also known as confectioners sugar
    • 2 tablespoons milk, full cream is best
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    Instructions

    • In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, butter and milk with an electric whisk on high speed until creamy.
    • Add the icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then high speed for 2 minutes.
    • If you want it thicker, add a tablespoon or two of icing sugar.

    Recipe Notes

    Quantity

    This recipe makes enough to ice a large 25cm cake.

    Storage

    Cover and store leftover frosting in the fridge for up to 5 days or up to 3 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the refrigerator, then mix with a mixer so it's creamy again.

    Flavour Variations

    Some different Cream Cheese Frosting flavour ideas:-
    Lemon: add 1 teaspoon of lemon extract.
    Pumpkin Spice: add ½ a teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix.
    Chai Spice: add ½ a teaspoon of chai spice mix.
    Did you make this recipe?Tag me on instagram @easy.deliciousness
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    I'm Vicki - an English Mum living in Australia. Here you will find plenty of tasty recipes which are family-approved.

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