In the wide world of buttercream, we’ll always hold a special spot for cream cheese frosting. Whether it’s piped on top of a red velvet cupcake or enveloping the layers of our favorite carrot cake, it reigns supreme for its thick, luscious texture and its gorgeous signature tang. This best-ever cream cheese frosting recipe is easy to make, but there are a few key things to keep in mind. Here are our top tips to help you achieve those fluffy billows of (lump-free) frosting:
The ingredients:
Use room-temperature ingredients. It’s super-important that both the butter and cream cheese are at the same softened temperature before mixing—especially the cream cheese. If it’s too hard, you’ll end up with small lumps of unincorporated cream cheese in your creamed butter, and they won’t go away no matter how much you beat.
How to make it:
Cream the butter thoroughly before adding the cream cheese. In testing, we found that the butter took longer to cream than the cream cheese. When we tried to cream both of them at the same time, the cream cheese actually overmixed and started to separate before the butter was smooth—not cute. To avoid this, beat the butter by itself until it’s smooth and creamy, then add the cream cheese and mix just until it’s incorporated.
Why you should sift:
It’s essential for the best results that you pre-sift the confectioners’ sugar. Confectioners’ sugar tends to form clumps in the bag, and sifting it ensures these are gone long before you add it to the frosting. Don’t be tempted to skip this step. If there are lumps of confectioners’ sugar in the frosting, you’ll spend way more time trying to work them out than you would have spent sifting in the first place.
Storage:
Cream cheese frosting can easily be made 2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Before using it to frost a cake or cupcakes, it’s best to let it sit at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes, then beat it briefly in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to ensure it’s smooth and fluffy again.
Made this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
In the wide world of buttercream, we’ll always hold a special spot for cream cheese frosting. Whether it’s piped on top of a red velvet cupcake or enveloping the layers of our favorite carrot cake, it reigns supreme for its thick, luscious texture and its gorgeous signature tang. This best-ever cream cheese frosting recipe is easy to make, but there are a few key things to keep in mind. Here are our top tips to help you achieve those fluffy billows of (lump-free) frosting:
The ingredients:
Use room-temperature ingredients. It’s super-important that both the butter and cream cheese are at the same softened temperature before mixing—especially the cream cheese. If it’s too hard, you’ll end up with small lumps of unincorporated cream cheese in your creamed butter, and they won’t go away no matter how much you beat.
How to make it:
Cream the butter thoroughly before adding the cream cheese. In testing, we found that the butter took longer to cream than the cream cheese. When we tried to cream both of them at the same time, the cream cheese actually overmixed and started to separate before the butter was smooth—not cute. To avoid this, beat the butter by itself until it’s smooth and creamy, then add the cream cheese and mix just until it’s incorporated.
Why you should sift:
It’s essential for the best results that you pre-sift the confectioners’ sugar. Confectioners’ sugar tends to form clumps in the bag, and sifting it ensures these are gone long before you add it to the frosting. Don’t be tempted to skip this step. If there are lumps of confectioners’ sugar in the frosting, you’ll spend way more time trying to work them out than you would have spent sifting in the first place.
Storage:
Cream cheese frosting can easily be made 2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Before using it to frost a cake or cupcakes, it’s best to let it sit at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes, then beat it briefly in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to ensure it’s smooth and fluffy again.
Made this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
Directions
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- Step 1
Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl. In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and salt on medium-high speed until softened and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cream cheese and beat on medium speed until smooth and combined, about 1 minute more.
- Step 2Spoon one-third of confectioners’ sugar into butter mixture and beat on low speed, scraping down bowl as needed, until incorporated. Add another third of sugar and beat on low speed until incorporated, then repeat with remaining sugar. Beat in vanilla until combined. Increase mixer speed to medium and continue to beat until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes more.
- Step 3Make Ahead: Cream cheese frosting can be made 2 days ahead. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.
- Step 1
Related Video: Carrot Cake
