Today, I’ve got my most loved basic frosting. My silky smooth cream cheese frosting is such a classic with the perfect amount of tang and easily pipeable on all your favourite treats! Comes together in less than 10 minutes and is super easy for beginners.
Cream cheese frosting will forever be my favourite, no matter the flavours added as I love that it’s not as sweet. I also love the tangy taste and how well it pairs with pretty much anything, including fruits, spices and chocolate.
If you’re like me, and you prefer less sweet desserts and frostings, then definitely give this a try. If you’d like something a little different, than try my chocolate cinnamon cream cheese frosting, one of my most loved recipes!
How Much Frosting Does this Make?
This recipe makes about 3.25 cups of frosting which is enough to generously frost 16-18 cupcakes, like I have in the pictures or lightly frost 24-26 cupcakes.
For other sizes or layer amounts, I highly recommend checking out Chelsweets buttercream calculator. It’s a great easy tool and she has everything you can think of in this post!
Do I Need the Lemon Juice?
No, but I find it helps keep the perfect tang. You can use bottled or fresh, whatever you have on hand. Unfortunately, in order to keep this pipeable and stable, you do need all the sugar in this recipe. I added as little as I could to still keep it stable.
Do I Need the Full Amount of Sugar?
This depends on how you’re using the frosting. If you’re piping it on cakes or cupcakes, then yes. For using it on top of cinnamon rolls or other desserts, than you should be able to reduce the sugar to your desired taste and consistency.
If you are reducing, I would start with 1 1/2 cups icing sugar and then continue adding until you enjoy the taste and the texture is what you require.
How to Store the Frosting
I wouldn’t leave it out at room temperature for more than 2 hours as it does contain cream cheese. Whether you choose to store it first and then frost or you want to frost first, remove the frosting from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to pipe and/or serve so it can come back to room temperature.
Tips and Tricks to Avoid Grainy Frosting
- Beat butter and cream cheese until creamy, about 3 minutes.
- Sift your icing sugar.
- Add sugar in parts, so it can fully incorporate before adding more.
- Add enough liquid to get desired consistency and to dissolve sugar molecules. In this frosting, I typically add 1-2 tbsp of milk, depending on the humidity that day.
- Beat for an additional 1-2 minutes at the end once all ingredients are in. Helps create light and fluffy frosting and reduce graininess.
- Allow the frosting to sit in the fridge for a couple hours if still grainy. Allows the liquid to dissolve the sugar molecules.
How to Get the Fluffiest Frosting
Follow the above steps, only number 6 if necessary. Then, using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir the frosting by hand for 1-2 minutes. This helps pop all the small and big air pockets allowing for a smooth piping process.
What to Pair My Cream Cheese Frosting With
My favourite thing to put this frosting on is my chocolate cupcakes. You could also use it on my banana snack cake or my gingersnap pumpkin cupcakes. For an amazing cookie sandwich, try my chewy ginger molasses cookies or my funfetti chocolate chip cookies! This frosting is very versatile and could be paired with most cake or cupcake recipes.
Baking Tips
- Ensure you properly mix everything together and you beat the frosting for an additional 1-2 minutes at the end to ensure a smooth, fluffy frosting.
- Keep this cream cheese frosting in the fridge if not eating right away as it does obviously contain cream cheese which can spoil if kept in warm temperatures for extended periods.
- I create my recipes based off weights so I recommend measuring by weights if you own a scale. It’s actually so much easier and makes for much less cleanup. I wish I had baked by weight from the beginning, I could never go back now.
More Frosting Recipes
Today’s song is an absolute classic to go with this classic recipe. One of the all time greatest, here’s Mary Jane’s Last Dance by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Happy baking!! **Disclaimer: Liv’s Little Muffins owns no rights to this song.
Don’t forget to leave a STAR REVIEW if you try my recipe! Follow me on Facebook or tag me on instagram @livslittlemuffins. Find more ideas on my Pinterest or Whisk.
Silky Smooth Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 8 oz/225g cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 1/4 cups (455g) icing sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 0-2 tbsp milk (if needed for consistency)
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese and butter. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Sift in half the amount of icing sugar and mix at low speed until starting to incorporate. Then beat at high speed for additional 30 seconds. Add in the rest of the sugar, the salt, vanilla and lemon juice. Again mix at low speed until incorporated.
- Beat on high speed for additional 1-2 minutes or until light and fluffy. If your frosting is a bit too thick to pipe, add in milk, 1 tbsp at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
- To get the air bubbles out, mix the frosting by hand with a spatula for 1-2 minutes. This helps give you a smooth frosting when piping. Then pipe however you desire. I used a Wilton 1M tip for the pictures. As this is a cream cheese frosting, I would eat right away once you frost your cake or cupcakes. Otherwise, store in the fridge and take out about 30 minutes before serving and enjoy!
