Cream Cheese Frosting Without Powdered Sugar

This delicious cream cheese frosting recipe is thick, fluffy, and pipeable. Easy cream cheese frosting is made with granulated sugar and whips together quickly! This is the best cream cheese frosting and it consists of 5 simple ingredients.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Total Time 20

Servings cups

Calories 666kcal

Author Elizabeth Marek

Equipment

1 Stand mixer with the paddle attachment Or a large bowl and electric hand mixer

Ingredients

2 cups cream cheese room temperature or slightly warm
1 cup unsalted butter same temperature as the cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make sure the butter and cream cheese are both at room temperature. If one is cold, you will end up with lumpy cream cheese frosting. If they feel cold to the touch, microwave them for ten seconds.
In the bowl of the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the room-temperature block of cream cheese and mix it on low speed until smooth. You can also do this in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer.
With the mixer on low speed to medium speed, begin adding chunks of butter to the whipped cream cheese and mix until incorporated.
Slowly pour in the sugar while the mixer is mixing.
Then add the salt and vanilla.
Make sure you scrape the bowl to get all of the cream cheese from the sides and the bottom of the bowl, then mix on high speed for another 30 seconds to one minute to make sure all the butter chunks are smoothed out and the sugar is dissolved.
Use the frosting immediately to frost a cake or cupcakes.
If you plan on storing it for later, keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze it for up to 6 months, then allow it to come back to room temperature and mix it briefly with an electric mixer.

Notes

This is not a crusting recipe, but check out my crusting cream cheese if you're interested!
You could use some coconut extract, almond extract, lemon zest, or orange zest, or add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to make chocolate cream cheese frosting.
You can leave out a cake frosted in cream cheese for up to 4 hours.
This cream cheese icing has a high moisture content and it will begin to dissolve the fondant when it comes in contact with the outside of your cake frosted with cream cheese.
The addition of butter in this frosting gives it structure, as well as tones down the strong tangy flavor of the cream cheese.

Nutrition