Crusting Cream Cheese Frosting That Is Silky Smooth, Creamy And Stable Enough To Use Inside And Outside Your Cake
Crusting cream cheese frosting is made with cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and extract and pairs with just about any cake flavor you can imagine. Think about it. Cream cheese basically equals cheesecake. Cheesecake goes with ALL THE THINGS. Crusting cream cheese frosting is most often paired with old-fashioned red velvet cake, carrot cake, chocolate cake and even lemon cake!
Basically, you can't go wrong with using crusting cream cheese frosting for everything including cupcakes and sugar cookies.
The best part about this cream cheese frosting is that it is a crusting recipe. That might sound a little odd to you but basically that means that the sugar content in this frosting is high enough that the granules of sugar turn into tiny little crystals and form a thin and crispy outer layer to the cake.
If you need a version that crusts for smoothing with the Viva method, check out my classic cream cheese frosting. But if you want the best flavor with no starchy aftertaste, the granulated sugar version wins every time.
Why is this awesome? (trust me, it's AWESOME!)
If you've ever worked with cream cheese frosting before you know it has a horrible tendency to be a little wet, a little soft and a whole lot unstable in warm weather.
This crusting cream cheese frosting crusts so that it's very stable and can be used as a filling for cakes, frosting for the outside, cupcakes and even on cookies. I would still stay away from using this frosting under fondant though, cream cheese and fondant just do not get along and you end up with a melting layer of gooey sugar under the fondant.
How To Make Crusting Cream Cheese Frosting
To actually make the crusting cream cheese frosting you can get it done in about 10 minutes flat.
- Cream your room temperature butter with the paddle attachment until it's nice and smooth with no lumps (on low).
- Add in your room temperature cream cheese and cream until smooth with the butter.
- Start adding in your powdered sugar (sifted) one cup at a time while mixing on low. Don't add the next cup until the first is incorporated fully.
- Once your powdered sugar is incorporated and the frosting is smooth you're done! This is a THICK cream cheese frosting so that it is stable and won't' melt all over your cake.
I admit that crusting cream cheese frosting really eluded me for a long time. Don't get me wrong, I loved eating it on cupcakes and a nice slice of carrot cake from one of my favorite bakery but when I would try to make it myself to use with my client cakes, I never really felt it would work. It was either too soft or tasteless.
Most of the time when I see a cream cheese recipe, it has added liquid to it like milk or cream. I feel like this really causes the frosting to be too soft. Ok for cupcakes but not great for cakes. So why add it?
You'll notice that this recipe has more butter to cream cheese ratio than a typical cream cheese recipe. Butter helps with stability, flavor, and creaminess. There's just enough cream cheese to add a nice flavor to the frosting but not so much that it breaks down the frosting and makes it too wet.
Tips For Successful Crusting Cream Cheese Frosting
- Did you forget to bring your cream cheese to room temperature? I'll tell you a secret, I never ever do. I simply take the cream cheese out of the packet, cut it up into cubes and microwave for 10 seconds. By the time I get my butter and sugar measured, the cream cheese is at room temperature
- Speaking of butter, I usually have butter at room temperature at all times but if you have forgotten, you can microwave your butter in 10-second increments until you can press a fingerprint in the surface of the butter and the cube still holds it's shaped. You don't want the butter too soft or it will be hard to incorporate with the cream cheese successfully.
- Sift your powdered sugar for a super smooth buttercream but I admit, I hardly ever do this
- Need your buttercream to be whiter? Add in some white food coloring!
- You can switch out the vanilla extract for any extract to compliment the cake (think orange for citrus or almond for spice cake)
- Do you really have to use unsalted butter for cream cheese frosting? The short answer is yes. If you use salted butter you MIGHT feel like the frosting literally tastes salty. By using unsalted butter you can control the level of saltiness in your buttercream. If all you have is unsalted butter, don't fret. Just use what you have and leave out the extra salt listed in the recipe.
Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator
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Cups of Batter Needed
8 cups
Cups of Frosting Needed
5 cups
Note: measurements are estimated based off the vanilla cake recipe using standard US cake pans and sizes. Measurements used are for 2" tall cake pans only. Your results may vary. Do not overfill cake pans above manufacturer's recommended guidelines.
Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 12 oz cream cheese room temp
- 12 oz unsalted butter room temp
- 48 oz powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon clear vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Instructions
- Cream the softened butter with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add in your softened cream cheese and continue creaming on low until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Slowly add in powdered sugar one cup at a time, letting fully incorporate before adding the next cup. Add in vanilla and salt. Mix at low for 5-6 minutes until smooth.
- For a whiter buttercream, add white food coloring. Store leftover buttercream in the fridge for up to a week or freeze up to 6 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Melissa says
Can you use vanilla bean paste in it?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Absolutely!
Lesley English says
Can cocoa powder be added to make a chocolate cream cheese frosting?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Sounds delicious! I think you could add some cocoa powder easily
Jessica W. says
How would this hold up in the South in the dead of summer? I need a cake covered in rosettes to hold up through dinner at a restaurant.
The Sugar Geek Show says
I would use a regular american buttercream frosting for that
Jacqueline says
Can you tell me how much this will make? I am looking to frost 3 8” rounds. Thank you
The Sugar Geek Show says
Depends on how you are frosting it, it was enough for me to frost an 8" cake.
Cynthia G says
I love this!! Just what I’ve been looking for!! My question is since you mentioned it won’t do well under fondant, will it hold under ganache?? Thanks in advance!
The Sugar Geek Show says
Ganache is fine
Megan says
Will this work well when frozen under a mirror glaze?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can use it that way
Kristin says
I love this recipe! I made half of the batch. To use as filling. My question is how long will it stay good in the fridge in a container?
The Sugar Geek Show says
I wouldn't go longer than a week because of the fresh cream cheese.
Judith says
Hello, I'm not a big fan of sweet icing. Can I use less powdered sugar and the recipe still work?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Not for this recipe, if you like less sweet try my easy buttercream frosting recipe 🙂
Allie Jones says
Can I use this frosting recipe on a 3 tier wedding cake? If it is out on the cake table longer than 4hrs what might happen?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes you can, if it's cool in the room it should be fine but if it's very hot it could go rancid and make people sick so please take caution
Teresa horner says
How many batters did you had to make for that three tier wedding cake because I have to do one to Red Velvet put the cream cheese frosting
The Sugar Geek Show says
3 1/2 batches of cake batter and 4 batches of buttercream 🙂
Allie says
Once the cake cake is frosted and assembled can it be displayed for more than 4 hrs? Or will it fall apart?
The Sugar Geek Show says
It won't fall apart but the cream cheese could go sour and make some people sick if it's really hot in the room. Always keep cakes with perishable fillings properly refrigerated
Msrg says
So correct never leave cream cheese cakes out to long.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Correct
Angela Doyle says
Does the cream cheese frosting hold up if you add food colouring?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes I add food coloring all the time, if you check out the pumpkin spice cake you can see 🙂
Catherine Bova says
I'm worried that with 3 lbs of powdered sugar its going to be very sweet. Is it a very sweet frosting?
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes it is sweet, but most frostings are 🙂
Andrea says
Hi there, love the recipe!
Have you tried making it with less sugar? Will it crust similarly or not?
Thanks!
The Sugar Geek Show says
If you take out the sugar it won't crust. I do have a regular cream cheese frosting recipe that is less sweet but also less stable
Melissa says
Can you use this under fondant?
The Sugar Geek Show says
No you can't but you can use it as a filling and use regular frosting or ganache under the fondant
Deb says
Love your recipes & tutorials! When you noted that this frosting cannot be out for more than 4 hrs, does that mean I need to keep the frosted cake in the fridge? I had planned on frosting the cake the day before the party.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Yes it must be kept in the fridge when you're not working on it
Sue says
Going to try the squid cake for my daughters 21st bday. God help me. She wanted me to challenge myself and do something new. I think chocolate modeling is the thing. Sick of fondant and gum paste