We just got back from Texas. From the hottest place on earth. From my brother’s wedding, where my sister and I made enough cake to feed 230 people. 230 people! We pulled it off. Just barely. With enough time to put on makeup, dresses, and knot our hair up in an up-do. We pulled it off mostly thanks to this sturdy cream cheese frosting recipe. It sounds like an oxymoron, I know. Sturdy and cream cheese frosting in the same sentence. But it’s real.
My now sister-in-law wanted Italian Cream for the bride’s cake and Red Velvet for the groom’s cake. I said yes not knowing if I’d be able to find a stable cream cheese recipe. Cream cheese frosting is well known for its tendency to sag. But since the flavor of both cakes were highly dependent on the cream cheese, I had to find something. That, and staying in good graces with my brand new sister-in-law was supreme. So I scoured the internet and eventually landed on this recipe promising sturdiness. I skimmed every last review. There were 850 total. One review in particular addressed some of the common issues of the recipe. I took a screenshot and tweaked the recipe slightly from there. It’s pure gold!
I’ve now made this recipe well over 16 times in the last month. All kinks have been worked out, so much so that I’d like to say it’s fool-proof. Though, the humidity and heat can make a fool of us all. In the Texas heat, even in an air conditioned kitchen, it took us twice as long to whip the heavy cream to sturdy, stiff peaks. Rather than giving exact beating times for this recipe, I’ve given visual cues, the same way I give driving directions.
Miraculously, this frosting is light yet sturdy and yields that classic cream cheese flavor you’d hope for. It’s not too sweet, but just right. Most importantly, it holds its shape for several days at room temperature. When decorating, it can be smoothed to a crisp, hold romantic swoops, or maintain piped swirls.
About those cake recipes. They’re coming soon. I’m just giving my cake pans a little vacation.
- 2 c. heavy cream, chilled
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 8 oz. cream cheese, chilled
- In a stand mixer with a completely cleaned bowl, add cream, powdered sugar, cream of tartar, and extract. Beat on high using the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, as if you were making whipped cream. It should be stiff yet smooth. If you accidentally beat the cream too long to where it starts to curdle towards butter, add a tablespoon or so more of heavy cream to bring it back to the correct consistency. Slowly incorporate. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl using a hand mixer, beat the chilled cream cheese until it's a spreadable and creamy, about 2 minutes. Test spreadability by dragging a spatula through it.
- Add cream cheese into the whipped cream mixture and beat at medium speed until completely smooth, still using the whisk attachment. Frosting will be light be very sturdy. Ice cooled cakes or cupcakes immediately.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I have struggled with cream cheese frosting and this one looks perfect for decorating!
Julia- http://Bunnybaubles.com
These look absolutely incredible!
YES! Finally a pipeable cream cheese frosting! Thanks for doing the important work for us 😉
It’s hard work but someone has to do it. Ha! If only.
You can hold this at room temperature for an extended period of time even with cream and cream cheese?
I kept it on the counter for 4 days to see what it would do. Didn’t sag even a millimeter.
I didn’t see any magical dusting in the ingredient list…how can this be?! 😉 cant wait to try it!
Looks soo good, and the consistency looks perfect. Can’t wait to try it out!
I’m so ridiculously excited about this recipe, I can’t even stand it. Thanks for doing all the research. I feel like I’ve spent a lifetime looking for this recipe; I can’t believe it really works with no real “secret” ingredients. I thought for sure it was going to be filled with gelatin. I’m so happy.
This looks great! I hate how cream cheese frosting can turn into a gloppy mess when it’s even just a bit warm. This looks like a nice workaround.
I’ve added a bit of gelatin to whipped cream before to stabilize it and keep it from weeping, I wonder if it would lend even more pipeability to this one?
Yes, you absolutely could use gelatin for extra stability. The cream of tartar also helps in adding stability.
This is one of those recipes that I don’t think of needing until I need it. Thanks so much for doing the hard work and getting this recipe.
This is fantastic! I was afraid to look at first, thinking the recipe would have like 5 cups of powdered sugar, but it looks like the magic lies elsewhere. Thanks for testing and sharing this!
Wow, I have to try this recipe for future reference!
What does the cream of tartar do?
Sometimes you use cream of tartar in meringues to stabilize the eggs. It works the same way here. Just some additional stabilization insurance. I haven’t tried making it without. Too nervous!
That cream cheese frosting looks like perfection 🙂
If I could crawl through my computer screen and give you a big hug, I would! I just finished making this frosting for the first time. It came out perfect and beautiful. So luxe and velvety. I am going to top some fudgy brownies with the frosting. I am sure to be the hit of my work party. You hit this one out of the ballpark. Thank you so much.
Yay yay yay!!!
please help me about the right temprature of cheese and heavy cream. How should they be before using them in this sturdy cheese frosting recipe.
Omg . I can’t wait to try this recipe. I read many of comments here and I felt very happy.thabk you all of you guys. 👩🍳😊
Can you add flavors, like caramel? If so how would you adjust the ingredients?
I can’t answer confidently without testing. I think it depends what you’re adding. Extracts would be an easy addition with no worry about altering the consistency!
A runny, lumpy mess. Trying to save for my daughter’s birthday cake tomorrow. I had such high hopes.
Hey Anne! I’d love to help troubleshoot. We’re there any changes to the recipe?
Maybe the cream cheese wasn’t cold enough? I usually use room temp cream cheese, so I had to put it back in the fridge to cool after I re-read your recipe. There were still little pieces of cream cheese that never incorporated and the whole thing never came together.
This recipe is super dependent on temperatures. If the cream cheese is a noticeablly different temperature (warmer) than the whipped cream, it’ll warm the whipped cream up thus making it softer as you experienced. I’m not sure why there were still pieces of cream cheese that didn’t incorporate. When it’s a spreadable consistency, it should incorporate smoothly into the whipped cream and shouldn’t separate again. I’m wondering if maybe the cream cheese needed to be whipped a little longer? I’d love to get to the bottom of this for you! I tested this in several different environments, thinking I had worked out all the variables, but that’s not to say there’s more variables at play.
The consistency was perfect. Although it had a great taste – it was not cream cheesy enough for me. Has anyone ever tried using 16 oz of cream cheese instead of the 8?
Made this to frost my baby’s first birthday cake. Followed the recipe exactly-no additions or substitutions. Took a little longer than I expected to get the cream cheese to the level of spreadable smoothness described, but it was worth the wait. It was perfection!!
I made this twice and I failed twice.
The first try it was very smooth and soft but weak. A little weaker than cool whip if you will. There was no way this would hold a piping shape. I tried to make it again thinking I didn’t whip the cream long enough. Well I whipped it too long and it was even more wet than the first batch. I don’t know what to do. By the way…..I live in south Texas….where it’s super hot!
Hi Robbie! I’d love to help troubleshoot. Good news, I’ve made this recipe in Dallas during the summer and Minnesota during the summer and the winter. Also, my sister who live in Austin, TX made it this week on a humid day and she said it still worked. I think there could be another issue at play. A couple questions: was the cream cheese the same temperature as the heavy cream? If they are different temperatures, they will try to reach a common temperature which can cause breaking and sweating. Was the heavy cream whipped until stiff peaks? If it’s not stiff before adding the cream cheese, it’ll have a really hard time getting back to a stiff consistency. It sounds like the problem is in the whipped cream stage. I hope to get a video of this up in the next couple of weeks! Let me know if you can think of any other variables at play in the meantime!
I love this recipe – have made 10 times or so. but…. the last two times I made, in the end result, the cream cheese was chunky, even after hand mixing. Hmmmm – think the cream cheese was too soft?!
Hmm, I would guess the cream cheese wasn’t smooth enough before mixing with the whipped cream. Were all the ingredients the same temperature? If one was room temp and the other was cold, the mixture would clump up in an effort to reach a common temperature. Also, did you switch cream cheese brands by chance? I made this a bunch of times with different brands. It was surprising the different variables that popped up. For example, an organic heavy cream we bought took foreevvvverrr to come to stiff peaks. I’d love to help troubleshoot more. Let me know of any other differences you can think of.
It continues to get chunky and I cant help but think Im not patient enough on the cream cheese whip part. Both the cream cheese and the heavy whip are chilled and same temp. Ill give the cream cheese more whip time next time I make it.
Side note – ive frozen this cake a number of times and defrost just before a party and always turns out great. And ALWAYS a hit!
Hello, would you know if this icing would be strong enough/ok to use in a red velvet cake that I would like to cover in fondant? Thanks a mill 🙂
I can’t say for certain without trying it. It can hold the weight of the cake so I *think* it might just work but I don’t want to lead you astray!
Thanks Melissa, I will give it a try and keep my fingers crossed! I’ll let you know what happens 🙂
I’m just reading through this thread now, so I know I’m a little late on the comment. Even though I haven’t tried this recipe yet; I wouldn’t feel comfortable using this to ice a cake that will be covered in fondant. The cream & cream cheese contain too much moisture which will make the fondant soft and weepy. I’m sure it would be fine between layers. I’ve done a fair bit of baking and decorating with fondant, so I’m somewhat familiar with what works or not.
Melissa, this recipe is genious! It came out so perfect, luscious and delicious. I almost don’t want to frost my cake because I can’t bear to have others eat it….it’s all mine!
Thank you for doing the heavy lifting, this recipe is definitely a keeper.
Hi Melissa! Making this frosting for a wedding cake and was wondering if it can be made ahead and refrigerated? Thanks so much!
Hi Anna! Sorry for the delay. I didn’t test the make ahead option in its entirety. I was too nervous for a flop so we made it the day of. It does hold in the fridge for a couple days, but I’m not sure how it spreads. Let me know if you do any testing!
Thanks so much for the reply, I was too nervous too. Whipped cream based frostings can be so finicky. I just made & used it the day before the wedding. Cake was very well received, so thanks for the great recipe! I added the seeds of a vanilla bean and paired it with a chocolate guinness cake. =)
Did it work? I am about to embark on a wedding cake for a friend and am changing my frosting at the last minute.
I really enjoyed the taste of this and the overall texture but I have two questions: (1) my cream cheese had some pieces left in it once everything was mixed together. I absolutely had both the cream and cream cheese at the same temperature (took them from the fridge) so that wasn’t the issue. I’m guessing maybe it was the length of time I spent beating the cream cheese? I don’t have a hand mixer so I used my stand mixer for it as well and I’m curious how long you have to beat it. “Until it’s spreadable” doesn’t really tell me that since it’s a question of taste. Are we talking something like 3 minutes? 4? Do you have a timeframe to eliminate those little cream cheese pieces? (2) I’m curious whether adding any shortening would help this recipe even more and allow it to crust. I prefer the cream version of cream cheese frosting to the butter version so I’m wondering whether you could add shortening to this or if that’s not advisable if you’re also not using butter. Any advice on both of these would be much appreciated. Thank you!!
I was skeptical because I’ve never seen frosting made like this, but I followed all your directions and it worked beautifully for the carrot cake I made for Easter. I love the smooth texture and the way it looks on the finished cake! It also tastes amazing with the homemade whipped cream. Thanks for this recipe!! 🙂
Hi there! I made a batch of this icing today as a test, as I’ll need it for a cake for a friend’s allergy friendly side cake for her wedding in June. I made it lactose free, and it worked a treat. I’ll put my process below, as our standard measurements are a bit different here.
500mls of Zymil’s lactose free thickened cream (2 Aus cups), with 226g of Liddell’s lactose free cream cheese, plus the cup of icing sugar (Aus cup, gluten-free), 1 tsp of cream of tartar and 1 tsp vanilla extract (5ml, Aus tsp).
I whipped up the cream, icing sugar, vanilla and cream of tartar as per the instructions. No issues whatsoever! I then beat the cream cheese quite thoroughly for at least two minutes, pausing now and again to scrape down the bowl as required. It became nice and smooth and spreadable, but not overly soft. It then took only about a minute to incorporate the two.
But as this was a test batch, I hadn’t actually made anything to put it on when it was done. So I put the icing in an airtight container in the fridge to make sure it was nice and firm while I made some gluten-free, lactose-free red velvet cupcakes. This icing was still very workable when quite cold, and I loved how well it held its shape. This is going to be perfect for my rose cake design!
Thank you for working up a recipe that was so easily adaptable, and wasn’t at all sickly sweet! This has an amazing texture, like Swiss Meringue Buttercream almost. But it’s definitely sturdy and holds its shape well when piped!
Absolutely love this recipe! So delicious, Thanks for sharing 😊
Hi there, I’ve made this frosting and it came out great. My friend is having a party outside I hope it holds up. I wanted to add color, have you tried yet?
I haven’t tried it yet. Let me know if you do!
I need a frosting recipe that will stand up to heat and humidity, with hopefully no sweating. I have several flavors of cupcakes that uses cream cheese frosting. Making 200 cupcakes for an outdoor wedding in July! You said you let it set out for 4 days in the house but how long safely can it sit outside??
I’m making cupcakes for my friends wedding this weekend and she really wants strawberry cream cheese frosting I think I’ll try this recipe (I know last minute) but this should hold up for many hours sitting on the cake table right?
Hi Erienne! The recipe as stated will hold up indoors for a couple days! I’m not sure what the addition of strawberry will do. It could make the frosting more wet.
Hi has anyone tried making the strawberry cream?
Im making cupcakes for a wedding and when I add the strawberry it does become too wet. Any ideas? I am also filling each cupcake with vanilla bean, strawberry cream and salted carmel , I am making 150 for my son’s wedding in August. Any thoughts?
A friend recently made a strawberry frosting by finely pureeing freezer dried strawberries, basically turning them into strawberry dust and incorporating into the frosting. I haven’t tried it myself but it’s worth a test!
I have done this with Swiss meringue buttercream and it worked out well! I made a strawberry purée reduction over the stove to add in as well.
I am making a messy ruffle cake in October for a wedding. Do you think this icing will hold the ruffles?
Hi. I’m trying out this recipe this weekend. I have to make cupcakes for a party next month. Oh, and I’m in Houston (I’m pretty sure the capital of humidity). Has anyone tried this recipe with food coloring? Also, when you say the cream and cream cheese should be the same temp does this mean just taking them out of the fridge at the same time?
Just wanted to comment that I tried this recipe and it was great! I added gel food coloring to the cream cheese while creaming it, and it caused no problems! Thank you for the recipe!
Jas anyone tried to add gel color?
Hey Melissa! Thanks so much for creating this recipe. I’ve been looking for one like this and can’t wait to try it. I’ll be using it on my sisters wedding cake this weekend and wondered would you recommend storing it in the fridge until service or is it better at trim temp where you said it does hold up? We live in southern Utah and it’s still pretty hot. Thanks again!
Can you add gel color to this frosting?
Can I leave this frosting in the fridge overnight and frost the cupcake the next day? Should I leave the cupcake in room temperature overnight or in the fridge? What’s best to keep it from getting dry? If I make the cupcake the night before and frost it, should I leave it out in room temperature or put it in the fridge? Too many questions I know, sorry, I’m planning to make this frosting for my son’s birthday at school
I believe you can leave the frosting in the fridge overnight and frost the next day. I’ve put leftovers in the fridge and it’s held up nicely. I imagine it will need a good stir before using. I’ve always made the frosting and iced right away. I’ve left an iced cake out using this frosting at room temperature for 4 days, and it stayed put. I’d recommend leaving the un-iced cupcakes at room temp and storing in an airtight container. You could also refrigerate the cupcakes after icing in an airtight container for piece of mind, and serve at room temp. I’ve done that before too with a different recipe!
Did the frosting yellow at all? That’s the problem I’m having. My sister wants her icing to be white white.
It has a very slight cream color to it from the cream cheese. You could look into different brands of cream cheese and heavy cream to see if it will make a difference!
It starts off quite white but then it yellows a bit as it sits out. I think I’ll try adding the tiniest bit of purple coloring.
Will this hold up in 85 degree weather for a four hour outside wedding.
I can’t say for sure since I haven’t tried it, and wouldn’t want to lead you astray! I’d recommend testing out a very small batch to see what it does over the course of 4 hours. Let me know how it goes 🤞
Hi! Will this be good for 1year old smash cake frosting? I originally was gonna do buttercream but I found it a little bit too sweet for my baby.
This would be great! You could also try this frosting that I used for my daughters first cake.
I also have only hand mixer. Will this work? After mixing cream, wash the hand mixer then mix the cream cheese.. ?
Hi! I thought cream cheese….especially heavy cream would need to be refrigerated because of the dairy. Can you explain if this recipe is stabilized enough to not grow bacteria at room temperature? I would think this one would definitely need to be refrigerated. TX cottage law at one time said that 4 cups sugar to 1 block of cream cheese stabilizes it to be able to sit on the shelf… this, I’m wondering if it’s rrally safe to leave this one out? Please advise your thoughts. 😊
I had a coffee shop years ago and been making cupcakes for ages and NEVER have found a sturdy frosting that would survive the Brazilian heat. That’s until I tried this one. Today it’s 100.4º here where I live and the frosting didn’t move an inch!
Also, I made it last night and kept to refrigerated until this afternoon when I was ready to use it. I just mixed it a bit and it worked perfectly. 🙂
Also, it’s yummy! Much less greasy than the buttercream frostings. My mother HATES buttercream and she loved this one. 🙂
I was searching for a cream cheese frosting recipe, and this was the first one I came across. It sounded like you had such great success, so I just tried it tonight and it was PERFECT 😍! My cream cheese frosting has never been pipe-able, and I am just thrilled with this. My family has already requested it for their birthday cakes this year, because it tastes like cheesecake and we love cheesecake! Thank you so much, I’m so glad I finally found a recipe that works! Gonna post the pics on my insta if you wanna check it out 😀 (@jenniperberry on instagram)
Hi! I’m from the Philippines where it’s hot most of the time. Can I use a non-dairy whipping cream or whipping cream powder instead? Or the regular whipping cream be okay with our climate? Thanks!!!
Hi Anche! I’ve never worked with non-dairy or powdered whipping cream so I can’t advise you well. But it’s worth a try! If you do, will you let me know how it goes?
Oh my gosh! What an amazing cream cheese frosting recipe!! I have never been able to get cream cheese frosting to “stand up” but this was so easy, pipes beautifully, and is absolutely delicious! I have put it in my favorite recipes and will be using it whenever I need cream cheese frosting! Thank you so much for posting it!
Hi there, is the taste more creamy like a traditional cream cheese frosting or is it more or a whipped cream cheese frosting? Also have you ever tried using meringue powder? I was looking at a recipe that used shortening but they said it was stiff and crusted but wouldnt last sitting out and then I found your recipe.
More like a whipped cream cheese frosting. It’s lighter in texture but still tangy from the cream cheese. I haven’t tried meringue powder in this. Let me know if you do!
After a failed cream cheese frosting recipe, I came across yours! It turned out perfect! And it’s beautiful and white!
How would you store this? Fridge? Room temp?
Yay! I’ve stored this at room temp for hours-3 days with great luck. Food safety-wise, it’s probably best stored in the fridge.
Hi! This recipe looks fantastic! in the note about using it to frost a naked layer cake, is the frosting thick/stiff enough to hold the layers? I want to use it to fill a 3 tier 9″ layer cake but want to make sure it can hold each layer.
I just tried the recipe and it looks & tastes amazing. I have been looking for a recipe that can go with my red velvet cupcake in the hot weather and I think this is it. I am leaving it on the counter to see what happens in a few hours. I am very excited! Thank you for sharing it with us!
I have also been commissioned to make a cake for my brother’s wedding outside Dallas in August! It’s my first tiered cake, I have to drive over an hour to the venue, and I’m terrified, but feeling better after finding this recipe! It’ll be a 3-tier naked cake, and my thought at this point is to freeze the whole thing before I put it in the car… Do you have any advice?
Exciting! So, we made a faux 3-tiered wedding cake, the top layer was real so they could cut and eat. The other layers were styrofoam. For the cakes we served, we made 9″ square cakes and froze the cake layers and then frosted them on site. I was too nervous to travel an hour with cake (while driving on a partial dirt road).
Question – I plan on using this cream cheese recipe when I bake a 3-tiered wedding cake (carrot cake) as I plan on having textured sides. Do you have a recipe with larger quantities or do you just double/triple/quadruple the recipe?
Thanks,
Sam
Hi Samantha! Exciting! You can just scale the recipe up as needed.
Hello, would it matter if I use Heavy Cream instead of Heavy Whipping Cream? Thanks!
Hi Grace! They are basically the same thing, heavy whipping cream just has a slightly higher fat content, so feel free to use them interchangeably!
Done it! Really is stable. I added cream stabilizer mixed with the sugar and vanilla sugar and squeezed the extra water from the cream cheese with a muslin cloth as i am using the tub not the block kind.
Switzerland
I used this recipe to make goat themed cupcakes, and they turned out exquisite. I loved the lightness and just right sweetness of the frosting. I’m thinking of using this with a strawberry cake and wondering how it’ll turn out with using strawberry cream cheese. I’ve heard the spreadable has a higher water content, so I might have to remove excess moisture. Either way I’m excited to experiment.
Do you know if these will hold up to an outdoor party? I’m looking for a frosting that will stay put for 2 hours in Texas heat (under shade).
I’m not sure it will be stable under the outdoor Texas sun. Might be worth testing a tiny batch and setting it outside. Let me know if you end up trying it!
This recipe was amazing for me! I made something else last night and the recipe mentioned issues with cream cheese & cream being tricky. It said to add the cream a litte at a time not all at once. So before I dumped the cream cheese in, I added a splash of cream to the cream cheese and mixed it well. I just needed a few puffs on top of a cheesecake. I’m experimenting with the remainder in hopes of using it for a friends wedding next month! Thank You!
Thie frosting is the exact consistency I’ve been looking for. Amazing! I wish it were just a bit sweeter thoug. How much extra powdered sugar do you think I could get away with adding?
Hi Jay! You can keep on adding more powdered sugar until it’s to your liking. If anything, it may make it even thicker.
I think I found a solution. A customer ordered a pistachio bundt cake and i decided I needed green frosting. so I sifted half a box (48 grams) of pistachio pudding into it once I made your recipe. This added just enough extra sweetness to it, but kept out the lager grains of sugar so it didn’t get grainy. I did the same thing tonight with vanilla bean pudding, turned out excellent. Can’t wait to try it with strawberry and chocolate!
I’ve been searching for this recipe all my life!!!
Honestly, tried at least 15 recipes over the time and while some were tasty icings, none stand to the required stiffness and stability required to hold to Houston’s weather. The texture is fantastic and the taste, not too sweet yet full of flavor
THANK YOU for sharing Melissa ❤️
For those having trouble getting it smooth here’s how I make it with 100% success: start putting bowl, whisk and cream in freezer for 15 minutes.
Take out and add ingredients, beat on high until firm.
Cream cheese should be kept in the fridge until your chantilly cream is ready.
Switch to a clean bowl and using the paddle, beat cream cheese starting on slow, then medium until soft and smooth.
When cheese is perfectly smooth ( might need 1-3 minutes depending on kitchen temp), add 1/4 of the whipped cream, continue beating on medium until smooth again, scraping the sides of the bowl constantly, add 1/4 more and smooth again. Add the rest of the cream and beat on high for 1 minute or so to mix everything well. Voila!