I particularly like white chocolate cream cheese frosting. It tastes quite good on white chocolate cakes with fruit in the middle. Delish!

I love making cream cheese frosting with freshly grated ginger...elevates it to a whole new level of goodness!

I love carrot cake with cream cheese icing but always find the icing too sweet, this is because when I lived in South Africa the cream cheese icing was always slightly sharp and 'cheesy' and a lovely contrast to the sweetness of the cake, but I have never been able to replicate it. Any ideas?

Well, having no idea what South African cream cheese is like, I would suggest reducing the amount of sugar and butter to your own taste which sould up the cheese and tang flavors. Cheese heavily depends on the animal producing the milk and what they are feeding on (which is then further based on the geography and terroir). Based on that, I am not sure if an American cream cheese will ever be as spot on the to the South African cheese taste you want. ~Garrett

I just made the Red Velvet cupcakes last night and put my twist on them (and the frosting). I added a tsp. of almond extract along with the vanilla in the cakes and frosting both. I also doubled the cocoa in the cupcakes (more chocolate is always better, isn't it?).

Great recipe!
Jody

Elise, love this site.

I have made the cream cheese frosting many times but have always wondered if I have to refrigerate the cake with the cream cheese frosting on it!!
Can it stay at room temperature for several days?

Thank you, Fran.

Cream cheese has dairy. It needs to be refigerated, but the sugar will allow it to stand out for a few hours, but not extended periods of time. ~Garrett

Elise and Garrett, I like to add a bit of liliko'i (passion fruit) syrup to my cream cheese frosting when I make a very rich chocolate cake recipe using Hershey's chocolate. I also drizzle some of the syrup over the cake itself first, so it can penetrate down into the cake.

It definitely does matter if you use nonfat cream cheese. When you use it the consistency is too and I mean way too thin. I tried refrigerating it overnight and it turned into the consistency of a yeast dough. So--fat free cream cheese makes more of a fat free stringy glaze. UGH.

This has to be the easiest, best-tasting, fluffiest cream cheese frosting recipe I've ever seen. I realize I've never been out of the U.S., but this is perfect for use on wedding cakes or just to congratulate someone on a promotion or new home. It's stiff enough to hold a peak, but not hard like some buttercreams get after a bit. Thank you so much.

How much frosting will this make? Will it be enough to frost and fill a 8in 3 layer cake? (or just frost?)

Thanks!

This recipie is the best. I made a cake for my parent's anniversary and they loved it!

Thank you for this fast and easy recipe! Super good frosting, easy to make! Fluffy and thick, easy to spread, and holds its shape, but isn't excessively hard like some other frostings that I have made! THANK YOU!

Thank you so much for this recipe! I didn't need that much frosting, so I downsized the portions in half (such as using a 1/4 cup of butter, 4 oz. cream cheese, etc., with the exception of the vanilla extract) and it still worked! I was tired of seeing frosting with hydrogenated oils and trans fat (yuck!) in almost all the grocery stores, and thanks to your recipe, I'm glad I now have frosting that's both "healthy" and delicious!

Try with orange zest for a treat! :)

Love this recipe! Like the ideas for variations too. I once added in some Captain Morgan's spiced rum (it's kind of vanilla flavored) to a cream cheese frosting recipe once that went on a carrot cake, and it was awesome. I'm going to try that with your recipe next, wish me luck.

Hello, I am making a cake for my sons 1st birthday, and I am super excited, 2 weeks away. This will be the first time I make frosting from scratch. His birthday is Pooh themed and I am going to make a 4 layer two tier cake. The bottom will be an 8x8" square (two layers of spice cake) and the top will be a 5x5" square (two layers of red velvet) (I am coloring the frosting too, the bottom will be Pooh yellow and the top Pooh's shirt red with Pooh written in yellow on one side) Anyway, obviously I plan on frosting between the layers but how much frosting does this receipe make? (and I plan on making seperate batches, two different colors, but the layered frosting will not be colored and sweeter then the outside frosting, so that it isn't too sweet) How much should I make for the 3 different (outside bottom, outside top, & the 2 inside layers) batches? Hope that all makes sense! =) Thank you!!

Double the batch at least. Triple to be safe. Freeze for later what you don't use. ~Garrett

We used mascarpone and lots of icing sugar. Is it meant to taste cheesy? Because ours tastes really cheesey. Is this right? How do you reduce the cheesyness? Thanks.

The main ingredient is cheese. I'm not sure what else to say. You can always add more sugar to sweeten it. ~Garrett

Hi, can this be used to ice a cake that will be delivered in four days?

Cake usually lasts about 2-3 tops. This frosting isn't a stabilized buttercream and will go funky if left out for a long time. Frost the cake the day of. ~Garrett

I just made the most perfect dark chocolate cupcakes with this frosting on top. They were great! A cake is in the oven right now! This is the best frosting! Thanks!

Absolutely love this recipe on my infamous Red Velvet Cupcakes. But now I need your assistance. My father in law is turning 60 and he LOVES the frosting and feels that there's never enough on the cupcakes and suggested that I make the Red Velvet Cream Cheese Frosting "Parfait" for his b-day celebration. I'm ok with the cake part, but how would I make the cream cheese frosting mousse-like without changing the taste? I was thinking of adding whipping cream to the recipe maybe? Any suggestions would be great! Thanks.

That might work well. Give it a shot and let us know how it goes. =) ~Garrett

Could I add strawberries/raspberries to this recipe or would it ruin the consistency?

Puree them, then pass the juice through a fine mesh sieve to get out the pulp and seeds. Just add a little at a time until you get the proper flavor and consistency. Keep in mind the more you add the less stiff it will be. If you want, you can always put the juice in a sauce pan and softly reduce it to concentrate the flavor. Just be sure to let it cool before adding. ~Garrett

I made this icing for a red velvet cake & cupcakes. It has a slight tangy taste to it. Is there something I can add to get the tanginess out?

More sugar can be added, but it will become much thicker. However, the point of cream cheese frosting as opposed to basic buttercream is to have that tang from the cream cheese. Getting rid of the tang would defeat the primary prupose of the recipe. ~Garrett

I am making carrot cake cupcakes for a birthday party and plan to use this recipe to top them. My question is can I do this the night before and refridgerate the cupcakes or should i wait till morning? I was planning on decorating them as well so Im worrried about time. Thanks in advance!

Chilling baked goods makes them hard and dry. I honestly suggest keep them overnight at room temperature. Then frost them the day of. ~Garrett

I add some cocoa powder to the icing for white cake that need more flavor or to chocolate cakes. Another nice touch is lemon rind and then puree some fresh raspberries! It makes a heavenly topping for lemon poppyseed cake. For carrot cakes I usually add nutmeg, cinnamon and grated ginger,after I spread it on i make designs with raisins or chocolate chips. :)
Great recipe!

This recipe is very good when put on a spiced cake. Cake comes out of the oven smelling something like pumpkin pie and the icing is a perfect pairing.

This cream cheese frosting is AMAZING!

What is the weight of the butter used as we dont buy our butter in sticks? Also can this recipe be coloured and piped?

A stick of butter is 4 ounces. And, yes, you can color and pipe this. ~Garrett

Does the frosting have to go in the refrigator?

Depends how long you need it to keep. If you want it to stick around for a few days yes. If under 24 hours then no. ~Garrett

How do I make it thicker? It was way to runny to pipe. Did I do something wrong? This is my first time making frosting.

Did you add more liquid? ~Garrett