I know this won’t win me any popularity contests, but I’m not a huge fan of American buttercream. I much prefer Swiss/Italian meringue buttercream or cream cheese frosting. If you don’t like cream cheese, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t like cream cheese frosting. The key is to find the right balance of cream cheese to butter and powdered sugar. Since I like it a little less sweet, I go lighter on the powdered sugar, which makes this frosting softer than an American buttercream. If you’re going to use it to frost a layered cake, I suggest adding at least one more cup of powdered sugar to make it stiffer.

This is the perfect frosting for red velvet cake, carrot cake, hummingbird cake, lemon cake, pumpkin cake, spice cake, or even a chocolate cake!

I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you try it, please let me know if you loved it and what kind of cake you put it on!

XOXOXO Amanda

Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe by Amanda Innes-ShareefCourse: DessertDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Calories

253

kcal

Ingredients

16 oz cream cheese (full fat)
Butter 226g
(2 sticks)
475g powdered sugar
(4 cups)
Vanilla 1 tsp

Directions

To begin, make sure your butter and cream cheese are soft, but not warm. I like to take mine out of the refrigerator about an hour before I’m planning to make the frosting. Beat the butter and cream cheese together with a mixer until creamy.
Add half of the powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined. Add the other half of the powdered sugar and beat again on low speed until combined.
Add the vanilla. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy and white in color (about 5 minutes).

Notes

Use immediately. Extra frosting can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.