Cream Cheese Frosting-Luscious, Creamy & Lump-Free

I LOVE Cream Cheese Frosting,.  It deserves its own post, and should not be an after thought tacked onto a Carrot Cake or Chocolate Cake recipe.

TBH…it needs its own post because I was today year’s old when I learned how to make a creamy, luscious, LUMP-FREE Cream Cheese Frosting.  Yep, all these years I struggled with how to achieve a smooth and creamy frosting.  I tried having both the cream cheese and the butter at room temp before combining. I tried smooshing the cream cheese first that didn’t work. Sometimes, I resorted to using a hand blender to get rid of lumps which worked but added an extra step.  Then… on an episode of Zoe Bakes, I learned the secret to making lump-free, voluptuous, thick frosting.  Hallelujah.

COLD Cream Cheese Meets SOFTIE Butter

Cream Cheese- Start with cold cream cheese, beat it until it is smooth. Cold cream cheese prevents the frosting from becoming too thin as it is whipped.

Butter- Use unsalted butter at room temperature (~68 degrees).  It should be soft enough to give with a little finger pressure but not melty.  Gradually add softened butter, approximately 2 tablespoons at a time to the cream cheese. Adding soft butter to the cold cream cheese minimizes lumps in your finished frosting.

Powdered Sugar- MY OPINION:  A lot of cream cheese frostings have way too much sugar.  Add powdered sugar to the level of sweetness you want. In general I add about 1-1/2 cups of powdered sugar for this recipe.  If I add sour cream or creme fraiche I bump it up a tad to 1-3/4 to a max of 2 cups of powdered sugar.  Add sugar in 2-3 parts beating at medium low speed and scraping the bowl after each addition.  Careful not to beat too much which can cause the frosting to break and become too thin.  If the frosting does seem a little thin, chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or until it reaches a thick, creamy, consistency before frosting your cake.

Creme Fraiche- A bit of creme fraiche adds a hint of tanginess and creaminess to the frosting.  Feel free to substitute with sour cream or mascarpone.

I put Zoe’s  method to the test by making her Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake .  Worked like a charm and was the perfect celebration dessert for Jamie’s shower.  This being my favorite frosting, it’s also featured in Hubby’s Carrot Cake, Smitten Kitchen’s delightful Carrot Graham Cake, my favorite banana cake from Clementine Bakery and adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction, Banana Snacking Cake.  All are absolutely delicious  and highlight Cream Cheese Frosting so well!