As promised, here is the cream cheese frosting recipe that co-starred in our red velvet cupcakes video last week. If you’re a regular cake baker, you may be wondering why a video is even necessary for such a simple frosting? I used to think like that.
When I posted the red velvet recipe on YouTube, and teased the fact that I’d show the frosting in a future video, I was instantly met with a huge wave of panicked comments, all having a similar message; something to the effect of, “When the hell is the frosting video being shown? I want it now. I need it now. Give it to me now!”
So, not wanting an angry mob of people waving pitchforks and unfrosted cupcakes in front of my house, I quickly edited the footage and posted it today. This shows that no matter how simple a recipe or technique is, people just feel better and more relaxed about making it, if they can see it being done first.
Anyway, the next time you whip up a carrot cake, or batch of red velvet cupcakes, I hope you give this ultra-simple and delicious frosting recipe a try. Enjoy!
Ingredients for a cake or 12 cupcakes (plus maybe some leftovers):
*Double recipe if you like a thicker layer of frosting.
*Double recipe if you like a thicker layer of frosting.
1/4 cup soft butter
4 oz room temp cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar (or to your taste - start with a cup and go from there)
63 comments:
I lurve cream cheese frosting on lots of cakes! It's good on lemon cake, coffee cake, red velvet, carrot, straight up chocolate cake! It's phenomenal when garnished with toasted coconut on yellow cake! BTW ... I have NEVER had red velvet cake that wasn't frosted with cream cheese frosting!
Thanks Chef John! I can't wait to try this! I'm new to cooking and baking. :)
Where's my full English breakfast?! We all know you've been away for the weekend (hope you had a great time by the way) but anyone with a spoon can make, what is it you made? Some sort of topping. Cream cheese icing? That sounds delicious. Keep up the good work!
OK, I have been baking for over 50 years and I still don't know what "fluffy" means. Help me out, please.
Jackie
"fluffy" just means light and airy
I was drunk when I wrote that babble, now I'm just hungover.
I think the fervor around this video is more that people love to see things like this made. I don't have much intention to make this (as I don't have a cupcake tin! or a cake pan!), even though I'd like to, but I was VERY excited to watch this video.
So calming!
No pinch of salt? Or what if you only have salted butter?
can't wait to try this!
with all your wonderful recipes, i'm having a wonderful bonding time with my family. thanks to you :-)
pett
Hi! Does the soft butter you use in the states contain any salt? Because we only have salted butter, I think...
i only buy and use unsalted butter, ans so should everyone else ;-)
Pretty easy for something so good. I was astounded when you used powdered sugar instead of icing sugar. Then I read up and found out they are basically the same thing. I had always thought they were two different products.
hi john chef I'm Rosa and I all ways look for you on my lamp top , I also love all most of all you recipes too... p.s. nice creamcheese frosting.....
Hi Chef John !
This looks very good, can't wait to try it BUT there's a little problem, I live in Belgium so it's impossible for me to find cream cheese.. so do know what I could use instead and would make great frosting ? :)
Thanks ;)
Really? There is no soft mild creamy style cheese in Belgium? I find that hard to believe.
chef will the frosting become more fluffy if i add more sugar?because i tried adding less sugar(too sweet for my taste) and the frosting just wont stick to the cupcake properly and it's hard to spread them.please help me
p/s: i only use half of the sugar measurement
Sorry, im confused. Even plain whipped cream cheese and butter with no sugar would be spreadable. Not sure what you mean that you can spread it. Is it soft and whipped?
Hi Chef John,
My frosting is lumpy with small chunks of powdered sugar, how do I fix that?
Sounds like it needed to be sifted first. Not sure other than keep beating, or pass through a fine sieve.
yes when the cream is still inside the mixer it looks soft and fluffy, but when i try spread it onto the cakes, it became liquid-y and not as solid as yours in the video. I don't know what went wrong. please help me.
p/s : i did left the cakes for about 30 mins to cool down, but still won't work
I have no idea! Sound like they might have been still warm. Are you sure they were completely cooled?
I guess there are soft mild creamy style cheese but then there are so many different kinds of cheese ! I'll try with one of them :)
yes i'm very sure that the cakes cooled down completely. I looked up other websites and videos and they said that it's because there are not enough sugar. I don't wanna add more sugar(too sweet for me), but overall your opinion matters more to me :D
help me chef. thx
Sorry, not sure how to help if you don't add enough sugar.
Hi there, CJ. Have you ever made cannolis? I would appreciate it if you put up an alcohol-free recipe soon. Can't wait to try this frosting, though! (trying to persuade my family to get a KitchenAid mixer)
can i add food food color for decoration or design effect that i will be doing? does it affect the taste and texture sir? tnx and god bless! waiting for the reply pls. tnx again mr. chef! :)
food color has no effect!
Elly, you can buy Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese in Europe. There are many brands of spreadable/soft cheeses, ie la vache qui rit (laughing cow), President etc, they come in round packages divided into small individually wrapped triangles inside, buy unflavored one, Philadelphia is the best, but those work as well, I tried. I found cream cheese in Africa, you can find anything in Belgium. Good luck!
I made this today and it was Delicious!
Chef John, I hear "room temperature" a lot. I live in the tropics, so "room temperature" could be 28-30 degrees Celsius. In this video, you mentioned this term too, what would the room temperate you're referring to be? Thanks in advance! Amélie.
Just means not refrigerated.
Thank you Chef John! Amélie from Singapore.
My food wish:
BUTTERCREAM ICING
(i want to know how would make it)
Hello Chef John, I am from Indonesia and not familiar with the measurement of cup and oz. I would be so grateful if you could inform what cup do you use to measure and how much is oz to measure in grams. Thank you chef, look forward for your reply
cup is 240ml. For future ref, just google for metric convertor!
Loved this frosting! I took the liberty of piping it and it piped well too! Aside from yummy frosting, I have pretty cupcakes too now!
I am so glad I wasn't one of the ones who had to wait for this recipe :-) Lovening it.
How long does it takes to be light and fluffy. Is icing sugar the same as powdered sugar? Cause I keep failing at this, though it's easy. :( HELP!
Chef john,
I bought cream cheese from the supermarket , it said on the package that it is perfect for cheese cake , So i figured it is the right one , when I tried to make the frosting , I kept beating it with the butter , it never gave the same result as with you , I put the sugar , the sugar won't dissolve , when I tasted it I could feel the sugar particles in it ( it was powdered sugar ) , I am not sure if the cheese was wrong or something else . I am from egypt by the way , So if you know any cheese brand that is sold world wide please tell me .
It would not be the cheese, so must be the sugar. Powdered sugar should never feel gritty, so something is not right. Sorry, no idea!
If I were to add food coloring to the frosting..would it change the texture and or the flavour? Should I do anything more to eat just in case?
Hey Chef John,
I have a big problem with making frosting. Every time when I mix everything together, the batter coagulates. Do you know what I've done wrong? I have no kitchen machine like yours, I only have a handmixer.
Sorry, don't know what u mean by the "batter coagulates" there is nothing in there that can coagulate
I was wondering how long the frosting lasts in the fridge? Thanks!
I love your voice! Your videos are great! Looking for a yummy cream cheese frosting.....looks kike I found it. Thanks!
Help! My frosting is separating! What did I do wrong?
No idea! Never seen cream cheese separate.
Thanks Chef John my mom and I are making this tomorrow for our red velvet cupcakes!!! :-)
Can I not put in any vanilla extract?
Hello Chef John! :)
I live in Bosnia and I saw in our market Philadelphia Original cream cheese and I bought it for cake but when I taste it ..it was salty..
So..in market they have just that Philadelphia cream cheese..Do you use some which isn't salty or it has to be little salty ? I also made Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey it was delicious,but I used mascarpone because I wasn't sure about Philly and mascarpone how I read is a lot like Philly.And cake was really good but cream wasn't so thick it was thick,but it wasn't enough tick..So I think I need Philly.I hope you will see this message and answer me..(: P.S.
Your recipes and style of working and everything is so perfect.It is lovely just to watch you,and when people watch how you do it it become easier and more fun because you make fun of it and you make people to love cooking.I found your blog recently and I made 5 your recipes so far and every was delicious and good,because you gave us good directions and teaching us to love it practiculary you draw it and there is no way for failure..French Chicken is really interesting and good!All in all I am now better at cooking and love it.Good work Chef!And thank in advance!Waiting your answer,sorry for my NOVEL xDxD :)
Hi!
Sort of late here, put I was wondering if you can add "chunks" in this frosting, like maraschino cherries (or any candied fruits really). Or would it be better to frost the cake, then "push" slightly the cherries in the frosting before letting the whole thing cool down?
I'm asking because I just tried your chocolate bundt cake (terrific recipe by the way). Then, it hit me that that would be the perfect base for a Black Forest cake, especially as the bundt cake is perfect with some creamy garnish.
Anyway, a quick search on your blog yielded this nice, adequate frosting... And here I am all confused!
TL;DR -> Would this frosting be adequate for a Black Forest Cake AND would it be possible to add chunks of maraschino cherries in it?
hi! can i use spreadable cream cheese in this recipe??
Hey there Chef...
Your recipes are always easy to make and very well explained in your videos... Why some people have trouble with them sometimes (as I read in here)? no idea... they must be doing something wrong, no other explanation. Thank you for all the wonderful ideas, tips and delicious recipes! One thing for sure, you always make me smile while learning how to do something new and better! : ) Thanks and please, keep posting! Blessings! :) Dg from México!
Hey there Chef John!
I just want it to tell you that your recipes are always easy and and very well explained in your videos... why people keep having trouble with some? (as I read in here), well, they must be doing something wrong, no other reason... (sorry people!)
You always make me smile while watching your videos! Thank you for your great recipes, tips and sense of humor! Greetings from México! :)
Hi Chef John!
I've tried this recipe and I loved it! But my cream cheese frosting always melts and become runny after being in room temperature for too long. Anyway to make it less likely to melt? Is it because I live in a warm and humid country that's why the frosting melts easily? (sorry, weird question)
Why not just leave it in the fridge until you need it, and then just let it thaw a little bit before mixing. It doesn't have to me room temp, just not hard!
Chef, HELP, this my first experience in baking, and i need this frosting... im confuse about amount of sugar, is 1 3/4 cup same as 1 cup + 3/4 cup ?? tx
Yes!
Hi Chef John
I'm making these cupcakes on Thursday. However, many of my friends are lactose intolerant. I have a loctofree cream cheese and and lactorfree margarine/butter spread. I find its fine as a sub for sponges but not sure if it will be ok in the frosting.
What do you think?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Chef John - I've always wondered if you have to refrigerate cakes that have been frosted with cream cheese frosting, because well, you have to refrigerate cream cheese, anyway - nothing worse than cake out of the fridge - can I leave it sitting out at room temp? Hoping the sugar kills changes things :-)
Hi chef John!
Can I substitute the regular flour for almond flour to make it gluten free?
Thanks
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