May 2, 2020
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting – Back to Basics!
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An easy ‘how to’ guide on how to make homemade cream cheese frosting! Another in my series of back to basics!
Cream cheese frosting
This is probably a first on my blog – a complete and utter how-to guide, on just a frosting. Not even a cake itself! Don’t worry, I will be doing more classic ‘Jane’ style recipes, but things like cream cheese frosting need their own post.
Cream cheese frosting, in case you weren’t aware, is a mixture of butter, sugar, and cream cheese. Occasionally, like with this one, some other bits will be added in… but those are the basics.
The reason I thought that cream cheese frosting needed its own post, is because it can be infuriatingly annoying to make, especially when you live in the UK. If you don’t understand how on earth it could be a problem… just believe it’s true.
Cream cheese forms
Cream cheese in America for example, comes in two forms. Spreadable, and a block. When Americans then make cream cheese frosting, they use the block form. It has a lot less water in it, it’s a hell of a lot firmer, and it’s perfect for the job.
When you live in the UK? We only have spreadable. Spreadable cream cheese is what we use for cheesecakes, so I can’t be sad about it… but my god I wished we had a block version. Like so much.
So! When it comes to making cream cheese frosting in the UK… it’s difficult. I have had a few recipes on my blog now, with slightly different methods on how to make it, and yeah… they will all be replaced with this version now.
Difficulties with cream cheese
The reason cream cheese frosting can be so difficult, is when the cream cheese is beaten on it’s own, it gets runnier. It’s not something that thickens up really. This isn’t helped by the added water content that you can sometimes see, and sometimes not see inside it.
I tend to stick to using Philadelphia full fat original cream cheese, because I find it works best. The cream cheeses in Aldi and Lidl are also good.. but for example, other supermarket own cream cheeses have a lot more water just floating on the top.
When you open up a tub, sometimes you can see a little water just sort of sitting there, but if you actually got your cream cheese, and squeezed it through a muslin cloth, a lot more can come out. This is the killer. However, if you use a good quality cream cheese, you don’t HAVE to remove it. It’s just something that could be good to do if you usually struggle with cream cheese frosting!
Butter
When it comes to the butter for cream cheese frosting, just like ANY OTHER FROSTING, you want to use actual real butter. The butter tubs you get too spread on your toast on the morning, is not real butter. The kind you want is wrapped in foil, and is absolutely solid when you get it out of the fridge.
You want to use real butter, as once that is cold again, it’s much much firmer. It will help the cream cheese frosting so so much. The only thing though is you have to make sure it’s at room temperature to make the frosting, otherwise it could go lumpy.
Icing sugar
For the icing sugar… you just need icing sugar. There isn’t anything fancy here – I personally use Tate & Lyle at the moment because it’s my personal favourite, but any will do. The vanilla is also optional, but I just love the little vanilla bean specks through the frosting!
Beating cream cheese
When it comes to making the cream cheese frosting – you have to find the happy medium between beating it enough, and not over beating. I was genuinely shocked and surprised that this worked SO WELL. You can see from the photos just how thick and lovely it is!
Add in the cream cheese, and vanilla, and using the beater (not the whisk), you beat the mixture together. I use colder cream cheese, not room temperature, and it can look a little funny at first. Beating them can make it seem like there are lumps, but just keep on beating. I beat mine for about two minutes, and suddenly the lumps disappeared and the frosting thickened up beautifully.
You want to beat your equal amounts of butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. For a typical American buttercream you would use double the icing sugar to butter, but this time you want equal. The amount you want is based on the amount of cream cheese you have. You want to keep on beating it until it’s really lovely, before you go anywhere near adding the cream cheese!
Helpful quantities
Say you have 300g of cream cheese, you want half the amount for the butter and sugar. Therefore, you want 150g of Unsalted Butter, and 150g of Icing Sugar. If you have 250g of Cream cheese, you want 125g of butter and sugar. Make sense? I hope so!
Once the buttercream has been beaten for at least 3-4 minutes, and is light and fluffy and smooth, you add in the cream cheese. If there is a lot of water on the top, you want to get rid of that, but generally I don’t squeeze it out.
Top tips!
My past recipes, and lots of other recipes can sometimes suck – and now I realise why. The order of the ingredients was wrong, the ingredient quantities was wrong, and so on! Honestly, this cream cheese frosting is life changing.
I will say though, I will never call this foolproof. I don’t believe any cream cheese frosting is foolproof – because sometimes it will go wrong. Too much water in the cream cheese, the wrong butter as people won’t read my notes on using the correct butter, different mixers etc. However, it’s damn close!
If you have any problems with the frosting – please comment below! Sometimes, as I have mentioned, it will still end up runny. There isn’t much you can do about runny cream cheese frosting once it’s got to that stage.
Adding more icing sugar won’t help the situation – but you can probably still use the mix in something else! Make some cream cheese truffles, or use the mix in an ice cream or something – it definitely won’t go to waste! Just try your best to use the correct ingredients, and try and use an electric mixer if you can! Happy cream cheese frosting making! x
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting!
Ingredients
- 150 g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 150 g icing sugar
- 300 g full fat cream cheese (I use philadelphia)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Make sure your unsalted butter is at room temperature. I leave mine out overnight when it's cold weather, but in the hotter months this can take as little as 30 minutes!
- Beat your butter on it's own for a few minutes to loosen it.
- Add in the icing sugar, and beat again - I beat this for about 5 minutes, to make it really smooth.
- Make sure your cream cheese doesn't have any excess water - I find it best to add it to a bowl first just to make sure.
- Add in the cream cheese, and vanilla and beat. At first, it may look a little weird, but just keep on beating.
- I end up beating it for a few minutes - it can go through a lumpy stage first, but eventually the lumps beat out and it's smooth and thick!
- Once beaten - it should be lovely and thick. If it's not - read the blog post!
- Store the cream cheese frosting in the fridge if you are not using it straight away!
- This is enough to pipe onto 12 cupcakes, or for a 2 layer cake for filling on top and inside!
Notes
- This is enough to pipe onto 12 cupcakes, or for a 2 layer cake for filling on top and inside!
- If you want more, use the same ratios of half the amount of butter/sugar for the amount of cream cheese!
- You can use any full fat cream cheese - but make sure to remove any excess water. I find some supermarket own ones can have more water than others.
- The vanilla is optional - but I love using Nielsen Massey Vanilla bean Paste to get the lovely vanilla flecks!
- The cream cheese frosting lasts about 3 days in the fridge.
- You can freeze the cream cheese frosting.
- Any questions - comment below!
ENJOY!
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J x
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Thank you so much for this recipe. I had made 2 lots of cream cheese frosting following another recipe which turned out way too runny. Then I tried yours. Totally perfect. I was able to pipe it just like I wanted to. Amazing!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I live in Ireland and can only get plastic tubs of cream cheese at my local Aldi & Lidl and have always struggled to end up with a thick frosting. But finally, yours is absolutely perfect and I tried your frosting for the first time for a lovely carrot cake I made and this frosting was absolutely perfect for it; nice and thick and perfect for spreading, and it tastes delicious. This is now my only go-to frosting recipe. Thanks again from The Emerald Isle.
Hi Jane, I dont have Philadelphia block cheese but the tub, would that work for this frosting as i dont want my frosting to come out runny. In the event it comes out runny, could i use corn starch to thinken it up.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve tried several times to make cream cheese frosting with the spread but always came out runny. Your recipe did the trick and I finally ended up with thick, tasty icing that was a hit with our guests. Hurrah!
Best EVER cream cheese frosting! I’ve ruined so many batches of these over the years. Not this one! Perfect first time. I could t get a block of cream cheese, so used Philadelphia full fat, but because I was nervous, I did squeeze it through a muslin first. I was surprised just how much moisture came out. It’s come out perfectly. I’ve now re-written my recipe to add your version of frosting. So pleased! Thank you
Hi Jane, I do not have a mixer with beater attachments (no room in my tiny kitchen). Would it be better to use my electric whisk mixer on medium or high speed?
Yesss it would – start at medium, but it might be worth going up to high (all mixers are different so it’s hard to say for certain) x
I appreciate this post so much, especially as an American expat in the UK – I finally feel understood! 🙂 This recipe was really great and reassuring. Thank you!
I’ve been using this recipe with great results, thank you.
I would like to try making chocolate cream cheese frosting and I have noticed that someone else has also asked, and you suggested 35g cocoa per 300g of cheese, but can I ask is that on top of 150g icing sugar (total 185g) or to include the cocoa as part of the ising sugar weight (150g total)?
Kind regards,
Ann.
Hiya! This is instead of 35g of icing sugar x
Hi Jane,
When making this buttercream, is it okay to add food coloring to the mixture as I wish to add blue to it for my baby shower in a couple of weeks 🙂
Thanks for this recipe, Jane. It has been years since I have managed to make my own cream cheese icing. I had given up and been using buttercream on every cake.
I’ve just made a double batch for a 3 layer carrot cake, which I’ll be decorating tomorrow night.
I have refrigerated the batch, do I need to whip it when I take it out the fridge before I use it on the cake?
Thanks
You might be able to get away with just quickly beating it with a spatula in a bowl compared to rewhipping to just loosen it enough x
Hello Jane,
I am making my bestie a red velvet wedding cake and they would like a thin semi-naked scrape. Would you use a cream cheese filling and buttercream for this, or would you choose a cream cheese filling and a vanilla buttercream scrape?
Love all your recipes, thank you so much.
Emily x
Hiya! It depends as buttercream is far more stable so it depends on your confidence. You can always make a buttercream and use cream cheese flavouring x
I’m in the exact situation. Need to make a 4 layer red velvet semi naked wedding cake. Do you think this cream cheese frosting would be stable enough for the cake? I assume the cake might be at room temp for a few hours so don’t really want it all melting. Would a vanilla buttercream be better for the outside frosting to achieve the semi naked effect?
Hi Jane, I’m looking for a chocolate icing to use on my mums birthday cake next week (chocolate & raspberry) She doesn’t like buttercream icing but does like cream cheese icing so is it possible to add either melted chocolate or cocoa powder to the mix? If so at what stage? If it’s not possible to make it chocolate can I add some kind of raspberry extract and food colouring?
Hiya! Either would work, personally I would add cocoa powder in with the icing sugar. Hope this helps! x
Hi Jane, thanks for answering so quickly! For 300g Philly how many g of cocoa powder would you use?
Hiya! 25g should be enough – hope this helps! x
Hi Jane, I love your creamcheese buttercream recipe and have used it several times. I was wondering if you have a vegan creamcheese buttercream recipe? Are there any particular vegan butter and vegan creamcheese that you would recommend please? Thank you
So glad I found this!! I am from the UK originally but lived in Australia for 15 years. It was only during that period that I started to bake and in Australia, they also have the block Philadelphia cream cheese so making frosting was never an issue.
On return to the UK, I was surprised they didn’t stock the block Philadelphia cream cheese. My first time making the frosting using the tub instead of the block for a carrot cake was a disaster!
I’ve just tried again using this recipe and it turned out perfectly!!!
Thanks so much Jane for sharing! xx
Just used Payton Breton ‘whipped’ cream cheese & got best results ever. Philadelphia has always given me wet frosting!
Can I ask why are people saying phillidephia cheese isn’t any good. What should we do with it to make it better x
Hiya! There is absolutely nothing wrong with Philadelphia, just make sure it is full fat, and be sure to drain off any excess liquid. Hope this helps! x
Hi Jane, I’m only an amateur baker (for Therapy reasons) of limited ability, looking to improve.
I Used this recipe last night as I’d done a Carrot Cake. Like most people, I’ve not had a lot of joy with Cream Cheese frosting (or Buttercream TBH).
Results were edible but not great, but I think I made a lot of mistakes so it’s on me not the recipe.
I’ll persevere till I get it right, but my question is:
Cake Shops store their products for long periods under glass (mostly), & the frostings always seem to remain firm & have a ‘crisp’ surface to them. How do I achieve the same result?
Thanks.
cya! This is simply due to air contact, and the way they are stored! Hope this helps! x
This is the best Cream Cheese Frosting recipe I’ve ever tried. It was so smooth and delicious, even my husband who doesn’t like butter or cream cheese had to admit it was really lovely, Thankyou Jane, it went beautifully with the carrot cake I made (you’re recipe also) Your recipes are always amazing 🤩❤️
Stuggled with wet oily buttercream to despair. Squeezed cream cheese it through muslin (20g of water later) and ta-dah! Perfect buttercream. A thousand thanks. Carrot cake here we come!
Thank you sooo much! Apparently all Europeans can relate.🥲 I live in Switzerland but grew up in Argentina: there we have the block!!
I have a couple of question I’m super curious about, if it’s ok maybe you can enlighten me!
I’ve read about using those little triangle shaped cheeses like “Kiri” (around 30% fat) as a substitute. Consistency looks like the American cream cheese and it tastes like the Philadelphia spreadable cheese.
Also some say to use Mascarpone instead.
Would any of those work well?
Thanks again for the article, so glad I found your blog.🥰
Hiya! mascarpone would be a good substitute – it just makes things slightly sweeter in taste! Hope this helps! x
I had given up on cream cheese frosting here in Switzerland but I am going to try yours tomorrow. Exciting!
Quick question – do you use the beater attachment for the whole recipe? Or whisk attachment for the butter and sugar and only the beater when adding the cream cheese?
Thanks so much!!
Hiya! I use the beater attachment for the entire thing! Hope this helps! x
Is it possible to adapt this to make it lemony for a lemon cake? I would really like it to be pipeable still so I can decorate with it?
I added Neilson Massey lemon extract instead of vanilla for lemon and blueberry cupcakes, it was yum!
First time trying cream cheese buttercream and it worked! Thanks for this recipe it’s delicious
This needs 10 stars, 5 is not enough, it is IMMENSE! I had totally discarded any cream cheese frosting/buttercream as I had read so much about the difficulties with the tub cream cheese. However, having read this and watched your YouTube video, I bit the bullet and made red velvet cupcakes and this frosting. To my shame I have never had red velvet anything and didn’t know what is was meant to taste like. I have been missing out. I made a little error with the cupcakes but it was my first go and I have only been baking a few months they were still edible, but the frosting, OMG, never in my life has any buttercream ever tasted this good. It worked like a dream I will now be making this and putting it on lots of different things, I even put some on a home made Hobnob today, so bad but so amazingly fantastic. One of the benefits of being new to baking is that I follow a recipe exactly as the creator writes it and so it worked so well. I know this is a long comment but honestly it is like you have opened up a whole new world to me, Jane so thank you. Like you anxiety is an issue for me and I have found that baking is really good therapy for me and your recipes are so easy to follow. I do find myself taking a spoonful every time I open the fridge 😳, so none will be wasted!
Ohhhh I am so so glad you loved the recipe!! Yay!!
Hi Jane, I am a massive fan (obvs!), when I make cream cheese frosting i take it out of the tub and wrap it in kitchen paper and a tea towel overnight, you’d be surprised how wet the paper and tea towel is, I have also tried your method and this is perfect for if you dont have enough time to wait overnight, I also microwave the butter until it is extremely soft. Then there are no butter lumps! But your version works perfectly!
I followed this step by step to use as frosting on your Carrot Cake Cupcakes and it turned out perfectly. Nice and creamy with a lovely consistency for piping. I would 100% recommend adding in the Neilsen Massey vanilla extract for the perfect flavour. Thank you for taking the time to write this guide!
Ahhh yay! So glad! x
Hi, can this be used to cover a cake instead of American buttercream? Thanks
Yes absolutely you can, however it is softer so I would advise chilling the cake before doing so! Hope this helps! x
Hi, how would I adapt this recipe for the carrot cake traybake please? Thank you!
Hiya! Id recommend using 1.5 x the recipe! Hope this helps! x
Made this today and it didn’t work! It got to the lumpy stage and the lumps just didn’t disappear! And it’s not as thick as it should be 😭 no idea why it didn’t work as I used room temp unsalted butter and Philadelphia? 😔
Hiya, it does sound like there was a temperature problem – sometimes it can even be down to the temperature of your bowl! If you can, it’s worth trying the ‘hairdryer technique’ – where you blow a hairdryer onto the bowl as you beat. Hope this helps! x
Hi Jane I am a novice Baker working my way through your recipes all great so far, I really want to make a chocolate cream cheese frosting. Do you have any ideas or advice for modifying this recipe? Thanks.
They make a Milka flavour Philadelphia cream cheese which is sold in Tesco and Asda, if you can get your hands on it it’s delicious to use to make chocolate cream cheese frosting! And you don’t have to change anything about the recipe. 🙂
Hello, I love your website and have used loads of your recipes! Am currently making the red velvet cake and using this recipe for the icing. I did a crumb coat and left it to chill for an hour but I still have crumbs showing through the icing. How do I make the icing thicker? Also, will this icing withstand a ganache drip? I’m skeptical as its sooooo soft (and beautiful)
Thank you x
First off, I absolutely adore your site. I’ve come so far with baking since finding it. I used to just follow recipes but I have started learning about baking and it’s made my cakes sooo much nicer!! I’ve been getting requests for cakes left right and centre!
I am cooking some vegan carrot cakes for a mini-festival and am doing a vegan cream cheese frosting. Does anyone know if vegan cream cheese exists?? Is there anything I should do differently?
I do have sugar and crumbs cream cheese icing sugar, and I think that may be vegan. If I used the icing sugar, what is the best vegan butter for baking?
Great recipe and easy to follow thank you! I’ve found that Longley Farm cream cheese is the absolute best in the UK. No liquid whatsoever and super thick so perfect for frosting. Might only be available in Yorkshire though I can only get it in my local farm shop.
Hi Jane, I am lactose intollerant so normally your bakes are AMAZING for me because you always use Stork. I know you have said DO NOT use Stork for this receipe, but is there any way I could use a dairy free/ lactose free version to make buttercream (or even Stork)? I am thinking if I up the amount of icing sugar maybe? Any advice would be so welcome! Thank you x
I also do lactose free baking here! Have you tried using arla lactofree spread? It’s a mix of butter and margarine essentially which may give a better result than stork on its own? Also arla do a lactose free cream cheese and I think Philadelphia also do one too!
Hi Jane,
I’m making this cream cheess frosting to decorate Oreo cupcakes for a school bake sale. Only issue is, I need to bring them in the morning for the sale in the afternoon. Will the frosting last ok outside the fridge for about 5 hours? It is winter in the UK.
Thanks.
I would say no – especially if you are selling the food.
Flora plant butter is brilliant, use that instead of butter( they do salted and unsalted) .. you cannot tell the difference
Hi..this is fab. Thank you soooo much. Could you please tell me where you get the lovely cupcake cases from?.
Thank you 😊
Hi Jane
I used this cream cheese frosting recipe for a carrot cake I made at the weekend and I just want to say thank you. It tasted delicious and piped really well.
Karen
Jane you are a life saver…
I was looking for a rum and raisin birthday cake recipe to no avail.. came across one which looked good. Baked the the cake but when it came to the cream cheese frosting well I don’t know what happened… I decided to look for other recipes and found yours…it worked brilliantly.. Thankyou
I always go to you first but you didn’t have a recipe for rum and raisin ..
It didn’t turn out too bad but your recipes are written so well and easy to follow .
Thanks for the help..
Do you have to keep this in the fridge or can it be kept at room temp?
It needs to be kept in the fridge as mentioned!
this recipe is AMAZING!! i was quite nervous at first because i do have a history of messing up frostings (they always turn runny and are never able to be piped lol). i decided to try this recipe and it came out so good! i was worried that the frosting would have too much of a ‘cheese’ taste but it was a perfectly balanced taste. definitely plan on using this recipe again in the future, thank you so much!
Hi Jane,
Absolutely brillant recipe!Was skeptical to try it first but I am glad I did.
Thanks a ton!
Hey! I am so pleased you loved it, you are welcome x
Hi made this cream cheese and it was great the consistency was perfect however I found it a little to tangy would it be okay to use less Philadelphia
Hi could I use mascarpone soft cheese for this recipe ?
Hello, yes it’s worth a go if it is full fat x
This was a LIFESAVER!! Thank you for sharing this! I realized too late that I only had spreadable cream cheese and desperately scoured the web for a Hail Mary – and this was it!! The frosting turned out AMAZING; a perfect balance of sweet & tangy, and soooooo creamy!!
Aww yayyy I am so pleased that this worked so well for you, thank you for such a lovely message xx
For the first time success with
Cream cheese frosting thank you 😊
Thank you so much! I have been struggling with cream cheese frosting for years. I tried your recipe on a carrot cake today and it’s perfect. So smooth and thick. Thanks again, I Shall have to try out more of your recipes now.
Ahh I am so glad it this recipe worked for you xx
Hiya, I made cream cheese frosting earlier in the week and it was a disaster, really runny, I rescued it with cornflour and it was okay, but i was looking for a better option today, and found yours! It worked really well on a much smaller scale for a tray bake for a high tea later, but is nice and thick. Interestingly I made it with philly light (all i had in) and it still worked fine!
Love this! Used it for cupcakes and went down really well, thank you.
I have a question though… I’ve been asked to make a layered cake covered in fondant and wondered if I could make a sufficient sturdy damn with this cream cheese filling so it won’t squidge out?
Hello! Personally I think this may still be a bit soft for that but then again if you freeze it before you cover it in fondant it should be fine xx
Hi Jane
Made your red velvet cake for the first time today and I’m doing a happy dance in my kitchen 💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽
It’s so fluffy and perfect, my customer will be happy tomorrow too! Thank you for your brilliance x
Hahah yes I loveee a good happy dance!! So pleased you love it xx
THANK YOU!!!!
I’ve tried so hard to find a good cream cheese frosting recipe, but they’ve all failed (mostly too runny and lumpy) and only discovered recently it’s because UK has cream cheese spread not block cheese. I tried this today for a red velvet cake, it was PERFECT! Taste and consistency 10/10
Wow! thank you for this. As an American living the the UK, I’ve struggled with my cream cheese frosting recipe being runny lumpy! i scoured the internet and found the problem was the spreadable cream cheese we get here then came across your blog post, attempted recipe and it has come out beautifully!
Ahhh yay this has made me so happy, I am so glad you enjoyed it xx
Have yet to try, but this looks exciting! I’m not from the UK, but I have a standard tub of cream cheese that I would love to use for a carrot cake loaf. How much of the frosting do you recommend I make? I just want to put some on top of the loaf cake. I’m thinking 75-100 grams of cream cheese, is that enough? Thanks!
Hiya! It depends on the size of the loaf, have a look at my carrot loaf cake for guidance xx
Hello! do you use paddle or whisk attachment? want to make sure i do everything right….attempt no 3 today! hoping the UK specific recipe works 😂
Hey! Yes I use a paddle, watch the video it may help xx
Hi Jane – I’m looking to make a cream cheese frosting for my babies 1st birthday cake so want to make it healthy. Can I replace the icing sugar with maple syrup and if so, how much?
Also, can I add food gel colouring if I want to colour it?
Hiya! Sadly this won’t work – but you can colour the normal recipe as written above! Hope this helps! x
I have made this twice now following your instructions and the 1st time it was spot on. The 2nd time was a disaster! The cream cheese went far too runny to pipe and even after leaving my butter out overnight still had lumps of butter in.
Might leave it a while before attempting again!
Hiya! It sounds like the butter was too cold so it was over beaten to get rid of the lumps x
Hi Jane, I love this buttercream and it’s my go to now because it’s perfect and not to sweet for my taste.
I do have a question because I love it so much and want to use it on everything I bake, do you think I could colour it with a gel colour?
Ahh yay! As long as its a super strong colouring and you don’t need much it should work well!
Hi, do you think cream cheese frosting would be too runny to frost round the sides on a red velvet cake? Thanks!
Hi Jane! I absolutely love your recipes. They all work perfectly. I have pre-ordered your book so I can’t wait for August!!!
I am making your red velvet recipe and I have doubled everything to make it into 4 layers. Is that correct and will that work okay and do I just do the same for the cream cheese frosting?
Thanks so much!
Hey! Ahh I am so pleased and thank you so so much for ordering my book that is so exciting! Theoretically yes this should work!xx
This worked perfectly! I’m going to be honest, I did not beat the buttercream a whole 4 minutes before adding the cream cheese, more like the entire cream making took 4 minutes from start to finish, but the result is delicious, firm and smooth buttercream. A night has passed, but it’s still holding just as I haphazardly piped it! Thank you for this recipe.
I’m just about to make this recipe to layer and cover a vanilla sponge cake – 4 tiers. I wanted to put a layer of Strawberry jam in each layer, as well as the cream cheese frosring. I’ve read in one of the comment that adding a concerve to the recipe would likely loosen it. Would putting starwberry jam in each layer with the frosting also cause it to go runny? Thank you.
Hey. Yeah that is the risk, it will soften it xx
Love your recipes, always my go to whenever I bake. I baked your red velvet cake for the first time today and made this cream cheese frosting to go with it. I was a bit worried as heard making cream cheese frosting can be difficult but this recipe worked amazingly and I now have an amazing red velvet cake! Thank you xx
Hey!! yayyy this makes me so happy. Thank you so much xx
I have to say I was a bit sceptical this would work. As an American living in Britain I had all but given up on being able to make a decent cream cheese frosting. I’ve tried so many different ones and always ended up with something more like a cream cheese glaze 🙄. This recipe worked great!!! I am so glad I found it. I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes now. Thank you so much!!
Hi Jane ,I want to ice a big carrot cake with the recipe obvs I’ve doubled . Would you suggest I do a butter cream crumb coat. ?
Hello! It depends what look you are after but just the cream cheese frosting should do xx
Hi Jane, will I have to double the recipe for 3 layer cake?
Hello! Yes and you can freeze any left over x
Would that be 600g cream cheese and 300g butter and icing sugar? X
Yes!
Hi. I have made this frosting for many different recipes and it has always beeb perfect. Now I need to made cocoa cream cheese . Can I use the same recipe adding a table spoon of cocoa powder??
Many thanks. And congratulations on your book which most probably will be my next birthday present😊😊😊
Hello! That should work absolutely perfectly. Thank you so much, I hope you love it!xx
Amazing life saving recipe! I hated cream cheese frosting and I’m a experienced baker. I will always use this no matter what!
Thank you!!
Hi i want to use this for your cinnamon roll recipe, is the frosting recipe enough to cover them or is it too much and do i need to half it?
Thank you 🙂
I would say its the perfect amount!
Hello Jane.
Looking forward to trying this recipe for my birthday cake next week. But can I make it lemon flavoured? What would you suggest – juice, zest, extract??
Hiya, yes you can I would suggest extract x
Hi Jane, I’m making a 3 layer carrot cake for a friend and was wondering if this would be a suitable frosting for stacking? Do you think it will hold up the weight of multiple layers?
I believe it would be if made correctly, and because it needs to be kept in the fridge anyway so it will be kept firm x
Yup, this is awesome.
Hi Jane! Sorry another question.. I only have an electric hand whisk.. is this going to cause a problem when beating the ingredients?
No that should be fine for this – its still electric so you can still beat the mixture well!
Hi once I’ve covered my cake with the frosting will the whole cake need to be kept in the fridge.
Yes, as mentioned on the post the frosting needs to be kept in the fridge!
Hi Jane! I want to make coconut cream cheese frosting, can I add coconut milk and extract in this recipe ?
Honestly I have no idea! I haven’t tried it with coconut milk – but flavouring could easily be added!
Hi, I want to make a 3 layer red velvet cake, will this be strong enough to do that with please?
Yes absolutely you can! Enjoy! x
I rarely leave reviews but this was an absolute life saver! I’ve tried making cream cheese frosting in the UK a million times and questioned my baking skills when turned into a sloppy mess!
Thank you 100 times over Jane, this was thick, creamy and fabulous 🙂
I don’t know what I did wrong but mine was super soft and not very thick. I followed the instructions to the T and measured all correctly but it was still too soft.
Unfortunately that means something was done incorrectly – it’s worth watching my YouTube video to find out where you went wrong as its easier to see visually!
Fantastic! It was perfect thank you very much for this recipe xx
I have never made cream cheese icing, or red velvet cake, before as I always feared it was too difficult but this worked an absolute treat- right on my first try and I couldn’t be more grateful for the hints and recipe!
I used a family sized tube of Philadelphia (340g) so used 170g Of butter and icing sugar like you suggested and it was perfect! Thank you so much x
That’s genius Jane – just tried your method to top my red velvet cupcakes, and it worked a dream and taste greats. I’ve suffered with sloppy frosting for some time, so this is now my go-to recipe and method. Thank you so much.
Mike
Best cream cheese frosting recipe ever. This is a proper cream cheese frosting with 50% cream cheese, unlike so many others which are basically buttercream with a bit of cream cheese thrown in. So many good tips in this recipe, particularly not overdoing the icing sugar. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve read that the way to thicken up gloopy icing is to add more icing. It works for about two minutes after which time sugar starts to show its hygroscopic nature, i.e. it starts to retain the moisture from the mixture and your icing gets even runnier. I used the Morrisons Soft Cheese, cheap as chips at £1 for a 250g tub. It has a fat content of 27.5% and so IMHO better for this job that the ”original” Philly with a fat content 21%. Inverted commas because the real original Philly in brick form which you refer to has a fat content of 33% plus a thickener. Anyway, the end result was a thick, pipeable frosting with a velvety texture (no graininess), not too sweet and with a lovely cream cheese tang. Thanks very muchfor a winning recipe. Regards, Martin
Hi ,
Im really looking forward to trying this recipe as ive had a few disasters with soft cream cheese! I want to attempt the strawberry cream cheese frosting as below but using your technique. Can you gice any advixe on how i might adapt the ingredients?
1 cup (10-12g) freeze-dried strawberries*
one 8-ounce block full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick; 115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
1–2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
salt, to taste
Oh I’m unsure sorry as I don’t measure in cups! If it’s just adding freeze dried strawberries then just add that to this recipe x
You need to be knighted for services to home bakers!
THIS WORKED!
I’ve cried over cream cheese soup before now, and swore this was the last recipe I’d ever try.
Well, hurrah!
It’s bloody perfect.
We’ve never met but I love you.
Thank you SO MUCH!
Hey!! Haha aww this is the sweetest message, thank you so much you have made my day. I love you too haha thank you for your support!xx
We have had issues in the past with cream cheese icing, we tried this one and it did stay thick. Thanks so much, we will use this recipe again for sure.
Hi I was wondering how you would change the ratios to add somthingblike melted white chocolate to give it the sweet and tang?
Adding anything can risk softening the frosting, but as long as it’s cooled fully it should be okay!
Martha Stewart frostings have never let me down but I could not get my cream cheese frosting thick! It was only ever very soft.
Yesterday I was making a 6 layer rainbow cake so needed some icing with good structure to hold it together. My first attempt turned out like custard 😭
I tried thickening which improved it but not enough. A little Googling brought me here (after I had been to the shops for more supplies!). I had Sainsbury’s own brand cheese (I only got that because it was higher fat than Philadelphia and so I incorrectly assumed lower water, turns out the Asda cheese I used first time around was highest fat, but probably also highest water).
I did drain the cheese in a muslin for about 15 minutes, which gave me a lovely firm cheese! I followed your quantities and method (as opposed to American ones which were quite different) and the result was a delicious frosting with great texture, piped well, held the cake together nicely, no avalanches! Thanks so much for helping me rescue an epic birthday bake!
Wow!! I’ve always struggled with cream cheese frosting as it always ends up too runny but doing it this this order has made such a difference!! Thanks so much!
Seriously, I can’t believe how good this recipe is. My youngest AKA The Skinny Beast (she’s 23 tomorrow) wanted me to make a red velvet cake. I’ve always struggled with frosting. It’s too grainy or I’ve over whipped it, but this recipe. Omg, it’s definitely one of those times where you wished you discovered it sooner. Used Philadelphia too. I’m always going to use this. Could colour it or add flavourings. Thank you so much.
I can’t wait to use this and your red velvet cupcake recipe. It’s hit and miss with my frosting usually it doesn’t work when the cake is to take to a friend or work. I made red velvet cupcakes a couple of weeks ago for the first time from an American Youtube tutorial they looked lovely but once cooled had shrunk so thmuch cases were too big and the cream cheese frosting had to be put in a bowl to accompany the cake it was sooooo runny – I will let you know how I get on with your version.
Thank you, thank you thank you – doubled the recipe and mixed in the Thermomix and perfect….after two failed attempts this am with an American recipe! Now my birthday cake order may be on time!!
Hi,
I am making your 2 tier red velvet cake but noticed you said to use this cream cheese frosting recipe instead. I want to fill the middle and coat the outside and top of the cake, would these quantities be enough or would I need to double or do 1 and half etc?
Thank you
I would do double personally as I like the frosting! X
Help! I have a recipe that calls for 8 cups cream cheese icing (920 g) can you help me with the UK quantities to make this your way? Thank you so much 🙂
I’m not sure what you mean sorry?
Hi, sorry – if I had looked through your previous comments and questions – I would have found the answer many times over – I just didn’t take the time, or word my question quite right! I am basically doing a 3 tier cake that is 9 inches and need to cover it in cream cheese – so I will use 3 times your recipe – looking forward to it, you have so many good reviews on it 🙂
Hi Jane! I’m planning to make a strawberry cream cheese frosting by incorporating a jam conserve. Do you reckon it’ll still be stable?
Whilst I haven’t tried it, I would imagine adding a conserve would loosen it x
I don’t know if this is too late to be helpful, but I bought freeze dried strawberry powder off Amazon for other bakes. I wonder if this would work for you as the powder has quite a strong taste but shouldn’t loosen the icing.
I have never successfully made cream cheese frosting, as it would fall into the watery and runny category. Tried your recipe today and it is a game changer. So smooth, rich & not a runny bit in sight. Have used to make my sons birthday cake – rainbow with M&Ms inside in a Piñata style. Thank you
Yaaaaassss Jane, cake saver. Thanks!
I’ve had many a cake aesthetically ruined by runny frosting and went as far as writing to Mondelez who own Philly about selling cream cheese blocks in the UK but request denied 🙁
Glad I have found this recipe now.
I have had such a nightmare with creme cheese frostings, no matter which recipe I’ve used, they’ve all turned out runny. Until now, i not only managed a frosting with some structural integrity, but it’s pipeable! Would you mind if I worship you as the frosting goddess you clearly are?
Absolutely saved my red velvet cake!
I had no idea American cream cheese was different, thank you, even the order you put the ingredients in makes such a difference, I wasted a lot of cream cheese because it was just to runny, I find this recipe and it’s in the fridge now before I later the cake up but actually is very stiff and probably doesn’t need to be as it’s already very stiff! I actually think it’s perfect but I won’t speak to soon. Thank you!
Hi, I’m making a three layer (6 inch) red velvet cake and wondered if this would be suitable to use between layers. Would it offer the cake enough stability?
I will probably cover the sides and top in vanilla American buttercream instead (safer option I think hah) so would this recipe be enough for between the three layers?
Yes I think as long as the American buttercream goes around the side this will be fine! x
Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe!
I had no idea the American recipes I followed in the past were using a different kind of cream cheese which we can’t get here in the UK. No wonder my icing always turned into a gloopy mess!
Started off using a fork to beat but it wasn’t coming together so dug out the old electric beater and gave it a whiz and still came out beautifully despite the slow start. I used M&S full fat cream cheese.
The texture is excellent can’t wait to use this again with a red velvet 😀
Big Fan and i can tell this recipe is going to be great!!
I’m making a 3 tier carrot cake, do you think if i doubled this recipe it would be enough to ice the layers and the entire outside aswell?
I just made cream cheese frosting from another recipe and it’s a runny mess😩😩
Thanks!
Yes I think doubling would be fine!! Cream cheese frosting is classically hard! x
Hia Jane Do you think it would be ok use Mascarpone instead of Philadelphia please? x
Yes I imagine it will be fine – mascarpone is usually thicker anyway! x
I’ve lived in the UK since 2004 and every year for my birthday we make my fantastic carrot cake and ‘make do’ with a crappy version of the cream cheese icing. This year I searched for a UK recipe, found this one and just finished making it and can I just say WOW!!! it’s perfect and delicious. Thank you!! I highly recommend this recipe, so easy too!
I have only ever commented on a few internet recipes before. However, I simply HAD to write about this one. I am American and love to bake. I have struggled for years to make decent cream cheese frosting here because of the cream cheese. I made a batch for my daughter’s BD cake and it was horribly runny. I almost cried…I then went onto the internet and found this recipe. Was at the shops at 7:30 this morning buying more ingredients.
I cannot believe how easy and flawless this recipe is. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. I could kick myself for not having thought of it. The frosting is light and fluffy and best of all….FIRM! My only complaint is that it didn’t make enough for my taste. I am from the south and like a LOT! Never fear…I now know the secret and will simply make a larger amount next time.
I cannot thank you enough for sharing this life changing recipe with the rest of us. You are an absolute Legend!
Absolute game changer for cream cheese icing! It turned out as stiff, pipeable icing rather than a runny mess. It’s also the perfect level of sweetness as I always feel the need to reduce icing sugar in most icing recipes.
Thanks so much, Jane!
Hi, I know this is supposed to be thick but what kind of consistency do you mean I’m not sure if mine is thick enough. I did 1.5 of the recipe, thanks x
Watch the YouTube video – it may help!
I’ve never been able to get cream cheese frosting thick enough to pipe – this is amazing, piped really well with a Wilson 2D tip. I followed the method exactly, it only needed beating for a minute to incorporate the cream cheese into the buttercream. I used M&S Organic Full Fat Cream Cheese.
Hi just wanted to know how can I use this recipe and make it into chocolate cream cheese frosting? Would I just add coco? If so how Much?
Planning to try this soon for my pumpkin panckakes… Not sure what do you mean the beater and not the wisk? So I cannot use the mixer? Or if I can, which attachment should I use?
On mixers you have whisks, and you have beater attachments.. I use the beater! It’s worth googling it for the mixer you have. x
I would like to flavour with lemon or lime juice. At what point can I add juice?
It would be safer to use flavouring rather than juice, as any liquid will soften it (Which you don’t want), or you can try zest as it’s a stronger flavour. I would add it at the place of the vanilla!
Hi Jane, I’m loving baking lots of
Your recipes and I get so many Good comments all thanks to you 🙂
I have baked your carrot cake tonight but made it 3 tier for my nephews 18th. I wanted to cover the whole thing in this cream cheese frosting. Will it set in fridge like a normal buttercream does?
Many thanks 🍰🧁
This cream cheese is a lot thicker than normal cream cheese and needs to be kept in the fridge anyway – so as long as it stays thick when you make it, it would work fine! X
Oof I have the spread instead, I’ll deffo get the block butter next time, thank you for your help🙂
On your recipe it says you need unsalted butter, but I don’t have that I have salted butter, could I still use that?
As long as it is block butter it will be fine – it will just be slightly salted!
I don’t have unsalted butter rn but I will for next time, will it still work ?
I’m not sure what you mean sorry – you need unsalted block butter for the recipe to work?
Thank you for this recipe! I made it today to go with your carrot cake recipe. I don’t usually have much success with cream cheese frosting, it usually ends up too runny to pipe. I used full fat Philadelphia for this and followed the recipe exactly – perfect!
Ahh yay! So glad you liked it!
So if you go to Aldi if you get butter that in red pack? I always find when I back the frosting when I want to decorate on big Cake it can smudge easily? Any tips
I’m unsure of Aldi’s butter – you just want block unsalted butter. Cream cheese frosting will always be softer than others, but this recipe is definitely firmer than most x
Fantastic, so excited. It worked beautifully. I used Lidl Goldessa cream cheese as I had heard it wasn’t wet. Can’t believe after all these years of making runny cream cheese frosting. Thank you so so much
Hi I have made tge frosting but its gone runny. Have frozen it but do you have any recipes I could reuse it in please. Thank you
If it’s softer you can use it as a cream cheese glaze x
By far the best receipe I’ve tried for cream cheese frosting. The others were either lumpy or runny. This was ample to generously top a large cake. I used Lidl full fat cream cheese.
Yay!! x
OK so I was going to try with marscapone but decided to use Philadelphia as you suggested and follow your recipe to a T and it worked beautifully! I now no longer have worry about making soupy cream cheese frosting! Thank you so much, Jane! Don’t know what I would do without your recipes! You are a star!
Ahh yay that makes me so happy!! So glad it worked for you! x
Loved making cupcakes with this frosting. Where did you get that lovely speckled / terrazzo serving / chopping board from?
It’s a typhoon elements chopping board – I love them all and they’re so pretty!! And thanks!
Hi jane, I just wondered what you thought about me using mascarpone cheese instead of Philedelphia. The only reason I ask is that when I have used Philadelphia it has been runny (admittedly I didnt squeeze out any water). Would mascarpone be an option?
It’s definitely worth a go with mascarpone, but I personally just use the Philadelphia x
HI Jane, can I add cocoa to make it chocolate and what amount and when?
Thanks Jane from sheffield
Hi
I’m making a red velvet cake(2 -8 inch),is this recipe suitable for a cake or just for muffins? Is this recipe enough for a 2 layer cake?
Thank you very much
Yes so you can use this for any recipe really – I personally would double the amount, but if you don’t want much you could use it as it is, or just use 1.5x the recipe! X
Hi Jane, I’ve already used this recipe for cupcakes and it worked perfectly! Everyone loved them 🙂 I’d like to use this frosting again for a caramel cake; do you think I’d able to use brown butter instead of normal butter? I’m not sure if this would ruin the texture e.g. make it too runny
Brown butter should be okay, as long as it gets back to a solid before using it!
Foolproof recipe Jane, thanking you, 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
Hands down, easily the best recipe ever!
I’ve struggled with this for years. Now I know why and have just made the best batch ever! Thank you for your post. X
I was glad to find this recipe because I live in Copenhagen and we do not have genuine cream cheese, we can buy ready made cream cheese frosting from the American section in the supermarket or cream cheese spread. It has been many hits and couple of misses with this recipe. The couple of misses resulted in what I can describe as an overly malleable paste that caused a bit of a mess. However, at it’s worst, I still prefer it over sugar frosting any day.
Ahh, if you are using different ingredients if you don’t have cream cheese then that could definitely result in some issues!!
Tried this recipe and it’s absolutely amazing! So thick and smooth. Thank you.
So glad you liked it!! x
Could you fold in some whipped double cream to the mix too to make it go further?
I wouldn’t recommend that personally – it will change the texture/stability. I would just increase the other ingredients!
Hi Jane,
I am making a 3 layer cake all of which are 8inch. How much icing would I need for the fillings and to cover the top and sides of the cake?
Thank you!!
I would say 3x the amount probably!
I have tried cream cheese frosting a couple of times and it resulted in a runny mess. This recipe worked! Thank you! I was doubtful and so tried to squeeze water out of the cheese but only managed to squeeze cheese through the muslin so gave up but I needn’t have worried. Will definitely make again!
Hi, would this be firm enough to decorate a carrot cake with ? I wanted to use a scallop scraper on the sides but wonder whether you think it’ll be thick enough to hold to scallop effect on the sides?? Most of the other cream cheese frostings I’ve made before used way more icing sugar than this Xx thank you
Hey – so as mentioned on the recipe this isn’t like other ones, because of the lesser amount of sugar. I find it works MUCH better than other recipes and I only use this one now – it’s definitely thick, but I haven’t tried it with a shaping scraper before. As long as it’s lovely and thick when you are done, there is no reason it shouldn’t work (Especially as it needs to be kept in the fridge) x
Hiya! You’ve probably noticed that I comment quite a bit on your blogs with various questions this is because not only do I love your recipes but baking is my passion and I’m always wanting to learn more and better my baking. I’ve made this cream cheese frosting several times before but was wondering how much should I make if I wanted thick amounts on your carrot cake recipe? Any help would be fab! Thanks x
I usually say one batch of this is generous for 12 cupcakes – so I would personally double it for a layer cake!! And thank you! xx
Hi Jane, can I add food colouring o the cream cheese frosting? Thank you!
Hey! You can do, but I don’t suggest using ones you can get from the supermarket – a good quality one such as progel, sugarflair or wilton for example would work as you need to add so little!
Hi Jane, thanks so much for this updated recipe on cream cheese frosting! I’m planning on baking your red velvet cake using this cream cheese frosting recipe. My plan was to bake Saturday evening so it’s all ready for Sunday. Will it hold okay With the cream cheese in the middle and top? And how shall I store it overnight, in an air tight container left out in room temperature or the fridge?
Hey! Yes so the cake would need storing in the fridge because of the frosting – but it will last absolutely fine over night! x
After 2 attempts at cream cheese frosting that went VERY wrong I read this recipe and blog and now it comes out perfectly! I was using asda own cream cheese which was obviously waaaaaay too watery so now only use philadelphia. I am going to use on a carrot cake with 2 8″ cakes and sandwich together. I read above to double the recipe to make enough icing to do this, is this correct?
Hey! Yes personally I would double it – but if you don’t want too much then as it is should be okay!
Can you detail what icing is good to use and when?
I never know when to use normal icing/butter icing or cream cheese frosting to enhance which bakes.
like can using one of type of icing be better on a certain cake?
thanks 🙂
Hey! So cream cheese frosting is typically used on bakes such as carrot cake, red velvet cake – and basically any cake that can go in the fridge without drying out! A classic chocolate/vanilla Victoria sponge I wouldn’t use it, because those sponges can dry out!
Hi Jane.
Do you have a recipe and instructions on how to do icing that I can write on top of my cheesecake please. Wanted to make one for Father’s Day
I don’t I’m afraid – but the easiest thing I find personally is to use melted chocolate and write onto parchment paper rather than straight onto the cake!
Hi! Can you explain me how do you do the whipped creamed?
Hiya – I’m not sure what you mean sorry? This recipe has no whipped cream!
Hi, do you think I could use this recipe, adding coconut, to top your coconut loaf?
Hey! I haven’t tried this one with added coconut in yet, but I don’t see why not! It would be yummy!
Made this today in double the quantity and it turned out amazing! Thanks so much Jane!
Yay! So glad you liked it!
Hi i’m planning on doubling the recipe as well, how many layers was your cake? Thanks
Hi Jane its me again, i used this recipe but doubled the amount as suggested Above For my Celebration Red Velvet Cake, can I just say THANK YOU so much for all the tips and tricks and recipes , this frosting came out PERFECT which meant Amazing Red Velvet Cake which went down as a treat! Thank you again!!! Xxx
AHh yay! That’s amazing!
This is fabulous. Can I add chocolate to it and how would it affect the ratio of the other ingredients
Hey! So you can definitely give it a go – but sometimes it can seize. The easiest way is to add some cocoa powder! x
Hi Jane, i am going to make 2 8inch red Velvet Cake and want to put frosting in between and all around, would above ingredients be enough? Also your red Velvet Cake recipe has some what 600g icing Sugar and this 150g i am just wondering if thats correct as looks like a drastic reduced amount? X
The red velvet cake hasn’t been updated or re-baked, so it’s still the recipe that’s shown in the images. I would double this recipe to do what you want!
Wow! So happy this worked! I’d tried your old recipe so many times with no luck so I was apprehensive to try again after giving up. So glad I did though, it’s so thick and tasty!
What is the difference between whisking and beating ?
They are just very different mixer attachments – whisks can whisk too much and not actually mix the ingredients very well, whereas a beater does!
I followed this and was told it still tasted a little of the cheese should it taste this way I made it for the red velvet cupcakes
Hiya – cream cheese frosting is meant to taste like cream cheese. You can add in some more vanilla, or try mascarpone instead which is sweeter, but some cream cheeses do have a stronger taste that others!
Came out pefect! Thank you
Hi Jane,
I’m making a 3 tiered Red Velvet drip cake, how much of this would you recommend i make? I’m basically trying to do a Red Velvet version of your mini egg drip cake if that helps? 🙂
Hiya! I would say about 2-3x the recipe?! I would definitely keep an eye on it though as I have not made this in such a large batch! Also, cream cheese frosting may also still be a little slack for the perfect finish on the sides of the cake! x
Hi Jane!
I want to try this recipe but would it work if I added a spread such as biscoff? Or would you stick to the buttercream method that is on your biscoff cupcake page? I hope that makes sense! X
I personally would stick to the buttercream! For this it’s best to achieve the recipe as it is first, and then experiment so you know what might happen!!
Hi Jane,
I hope you are well. Can I just ask if you want to make brown butter cream cheese icing would you advise to brown the butter first and cool it before whipping it and continue with the other steps?
Thank you,
Nas
I’m not sure I’m afraid – you risk the butter being too soft and making a much softer cream cheese if you’re not careful – but it should be fine!
Hi! I made this frosting today to use with your carrot cake recipe. It wasn’t quite as thick as I expected but it’s still works perfectly and tastes amazing! Even my other half who absolutely hates cream cheese loves it! Just a quick question – I checked the post itself but couldn’t see it mentioned – if the frosting has been used on a cake, should the cake then be kept in the fridge or will it make it dry out? Thanks! 🙂
Hiya! I’m so glad it was a hit! And how to store it is mentioned in the notes – but yes it would need to be the fridge! Most cakes that are usually topped like carrot cake or red velvet are fine in the fridge. x
Finally a cream cheese frosting that works! Made to your recipe today and worked perfectly… so pleased! Thank you for sharing with us!
Ahh yay! ❤️
Hi Jane
I made the frosting but couldn’t get hold of Philadelphia so I used a coop own brand, I drained the liquid first, and it was an absolute disaster. It was just far too wet to pipe on to my cakes, I was so disappointed. I’m too scared to try it again now, I couldn’t cope if it happened again.
In all honesty, that could just be because of the coop cream cheese. I’ve never used it before, and as mentioned some can really still suck!
This looks great! I’m trying to find a cupcake icing that’s much firmer than buttercream, how different will this be by using the cream cheese?
Cream Cheese frosting is softer than American buttercream, by quite a lot!
This recipe & method are absolutely amazing!! I’ve had so many failed attempt at making cream cheese frosting, but this was perfect. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Jane
Could you add coco powder to the cream cheese frosting and if so how much would you use?
Thanks
You can take out 25g of the icing sugar, and add in 25g cocoa powder at the same stage (although I haven’t tried this).
Jane, could you use this frosting with raspberries folded in, as a sort of raspberry ‘cheesecake’ type filling in the middle of a sponge cake? Would it work like that do you think?
In all honesty, I’m not sure – as long as you very carefully folded them through, I don’t see why not – but you’ll just have to be careful because of the added moisture from the fruit!
This is only handy if you bake lots but Booker cash & carry sell a 2 litre tub of “American style” cream cheese, it’s so thick and creamy!!!!
can you make this without an electric whisk/beater?
also, will this be firm enough to pipe flowers with?x
I’ve had a few readers make it without, and yes it can be done – you really need to beat the butter and sugar together for 5-10 minutes before adding the cream cheese though so your arm may hurt! And if you make it correctly, it’s lovely and thick as you can see!
I was intending to make a carrot cake yesterday so this post was perfect timing. I had to adjust the quantities as I was running low on butter but used the ratios suggested and I must say it worked a treat. There were no issues and it mixed to a beautiful texture and it was delicious. I dont have a fancy mixer so did it by hand and it worked. Will certainly be using this recipe again and again.
Ahh amazing! So glad!
Many years ago we used to have block cream cheese in the UK. I used it many times for my frosting. I am so pleased to see your recipe, it answers why it no longer works! I shall be using this recipe going forward. Thank you. 🙂
I wish we still had it!! And thank you!
Hi Jane,
I’ve made this cream cheese frosting which you said can be frozen and used another time. When that time comes, what are the steps to making it usable again, as in how long to defrost it for etc? I would appreciate some help!
Sian x
Hey! So it has to be defrosted in the fridge for sure, can’t be left at room temp. I would take it out the night before, and then mix a little bit by hand to refresh it a little before using!
I prefer my cream cheese frosting to have an orange flavour (especially with carrot cake) . At what stage of the frosting process would you add orange juice/zest? Thank you x
I wouldn’t add orange juice personally, but you can add orange zest or extract in place of the vanilla!
Hi Jane. I only have salty butter. Will it be horrible?
Hey! It won’t be horrible, but it will be less sweet and saltier! (And it’ll only work again if it’s the solid wrapped in foil kind)
Yes electric handwisk. Can you still beat with that?xx
Yes if you use the beater attachments! Don’t go too fast too quick though as the surface area can be different from a stand mixer.
What about using mascarpone instead of cream cheese
I haven’t tested it with mascarpone, but there is no reason why not if following the same steps!
Hi jane. Would mascarpone be ok?.
Thanks
I haven’t tested it with mascarpone, but there is no reason why not if following the same steps!
Everything you said above was just so spot on!
Carrot cakes and red velvets are some of my favourites, but I always avoid making them because the frosting can be such a pain. So I am very excited to try this!!
Thank you so much for sharing 😊😊
Hahaha yes!! I’ve always used buttercream with them but it just isn’t the same! I hope you love this recipe!
Hands down the best cream cheese recipe I have tried. My go to since the above comment in May!
SO fluffy and thick – I know your recipes are always a winner Jane, but I couldn’t believe how well this turned out!!
My grandma loved it too 🥰
I would love to know how you could make this into a chocolate cream cheese?
Would you just swap out some icing sugar for cocoa powder? Or add a little cooled melted choc and refrigerate until firm?
I’ve bought some milka philadelphia to try it with, but thought some extra choc would give it a more intense flavour!
Ah that’s amazing! The easiest way probably is to add cocoa powder but I will be posting a chocolate version soon enough! x
Brilliant post Jane, thank you for sharing. Ann💕
Thank you!!
Thank you! After a disaster last week I’m going to try again next week
Ahh yay! I hope you love it!
Hi. Can’t wait to try this.
How do you alter the recipe for a chocolate cream cheese f frosting. Wondering if I need to alter the sugar, butter and cream cheese amount or keep it the same but jus add cocoa powder.
How do you best the mixture if you only have a hand whisk x
Do you mean electric or not?
How long can you freeze for Jane? Also would you have to defrost in the fridge?
I have a tub of cream cheese to use up so this is perfect
I would say it can be frozen definitely for a month, but up to three months realistically! And yes, definitely thaw in the fridge so it always stays cold! x
Hi jane, I am wondering when you say ‘beat’ for the first stage (butter) then adding the icing sugar, can this be done using an electric whisk?
I noticed that you said specifically not to when adding the cream cheese, so just want to make sure before I proceed!
Many thanks 🙂