The Best How To Guide For Cream Cheese Frosting

This article provides a complete how to guide for cream cheese frosting. With step-by-step instructions and photos, learn how to make cream cheese frosting for cakes, cupcakes, and other baked desserts.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Is there anything better than homemade cream cheese frosting?

That’s a trick question because the answer is NO. The flavor is to die for. A close second is our Granny’s Homemade German Chocolate Icing!

What does cream cheese frosting taste like?

If you are not familiar with cream cheese icing, it is a rich and creamy icing that has a little tang from the cream cheese that is balanced out with the sweetness of sugar and the flavor or vanilla.

Cinnamon Roll Icing

Cream cheese icing for cinnamon rolls takes a regular cinnamon roll from ok to down right amazing.

Barbara found this cream cheese icing recipe in what I think has become her go-to church cookbook – Pot ‘O Gold Cookbook from the St. Patrick Altar Society of Imogene, Iowa. She decided to use it to top some homemade cinnamon roll recipe (using cake mix) but this frosting recipe can be used in other ways. You could drizzle it over a coffeecake or muffins or frost graham crackers with it.

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

Be sure to check the recipe for delicious from scratch cinnamon rolls. The recipe uses instant yeast, warm water, yellow cake mix, all purpose flour, melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.

It’s a really simple recipe. Basically, you mix water and active dry yeast, add cake mix and flour, and knead (by hand or with a dough hook).  After the dough rises, in a warm place, roll out onto a lightly floured surface. Spread with butter, cinnamon and sugar.  Roll up, pinching the seam. Cut, using a serrated knife, into rolls place in a baking dish, and bake in the oven

What can you do with leftover cream cheese frosting from cinnamon rolls?

It would be great on a carrot cake, a plain yellow cake, coffee cake or as a dip for graham crackers or animal crackers.

What is cream cheese icing made of?

Making cream cheese icing from scratch is easy and only has a few ingredients.

Cream Cheese, softened

Unsalted Butter, softened

Vanilla Extract

Milk

Powdered Sugar, sifted (Confectioner’s Sugar)

Leftover Cream Cheese Frosting Tips

To make a perfect cream cheese frosting from scratch, be sure to factor in enough time for both your cream cheese and butter to soften before you start making this frosting. If you don’t allow for both to soften, you’ll have lumpy icing…which tastes the same, but it doesn’t look quite as pretty!

We love making cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning,  If you have leftover cream cheese icing (and we really hope that you do), store it in the refrigerator to use later.

OR pull out a box of graham crackers and slather a thick layer on one and enjoy. If you want to go crazy, top it with another graham cracker for a delicious sandwich cookie.

Is it OK if cream cheese frosting is left out?

Does cinnamon roll icing have dairy in it?  Yes, most cream cheese icings contain milk with is a dairy. Dairy products need to be refrigerated. Please store leftover cream cheese frosting in the refrigerator.

Can cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting be left out?

No, they need to be refrigerated since cream cheese is a dairy product.

FAQs About Classic Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Be sure that your cream cheese and butter are both softened.
• The great thing about this homemade cream cheese icing is that you can control the consistency. If you want it a bit thinner than what we show on this post, just don’t add all the powdered sugar.
• Use a hand mixer to get the homemade frosting fluffy and creamy.
• For lump-free frosting, try sifting the powdered sugar before adding it to this easy frosting recipe.
• For cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls, we put on the icing when the rolls are warm which melts the cream cheese icing into a thinner consistency.  For a nice thick cream cheese icing, let the rolls cool first, and then frost.

How to Make Classic Cream Cheese Frosting

Instructions for how to make cinnamon roll frosting from scratch:

1. Add softened cream cheese and room temperature butter in a mixing bowl. Beat together softened cream cheese and butter using a stand mixer or hand mixer.   Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
2. Stir in milk and vanilla; slowly add in powdered sugar, beating until creamy and smooth.
3. Bake your preferred cinnamon roll recipe in the oven, and top with cream cheese mixture.

For the full instructions and ingredient amounts for cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Does cream cheese frosting need refrigerated?

So you’ve made some delicious homemade cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing. Do cinnamon buns with cream cheese icing need to be refrigerated? This same question has crossed our minds countless times.

And the answer is YES.

Any dessert that is topped with a cream cheese icing should be refrigerated. This does change the texture and consistency of the cream cheese icing.  To remedy this, remove the cinnamon rolls (or whatever dessert you’ve made) from the refrigerator to bring to room temperature before serving. Or, warm slightly in the microwave before serving.

What goes with cream cheese frosting?

Besides the obvious cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls, you can make this delicious icing recipe for all kinds of desserts. Here are 10 awesome dessert ideas to top with cream cheese icing.

• Vintage Pumpkin Cake
• Zucchini Cookies
• Sour Cream Coffee Cake
• Yellow Cake Mix Gooey Bars
• Mom’s Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
• Chocolate Pound Cake 
• French Buttercreams
• Strawberry Bread
• Hummingbird Cake
• Vanilla Wafer Banana Cake

 

What is cream cheese icing made of?

The ingredient list includes cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and milk.

How to make cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls without powdered sugar?

With the development of ingredients over the years, there’s a new ingredient on the market with can replace powdered sugar in frosting recipes which also proves to be suitable product for a Keto diet.  The product, Erythritol, can be used in a 1:1 substitution rate for powdered sugar.

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