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    Home » Recipes » Frostings, Fillings & Sauces

    Cream Cheese Frosting without Butter (the Best!)

    Published: Oct 11, 2020 · Modified: Oct 3, 2022 by Priya Maha

    Jump to Recipe
    Cupcakes decorated with piped cream cheese frosting.

    Cream cheese frosting is delicious. Pair it with any type of chocolate cake, or red velvet cake or carrot or banana cake and you will never go wrong.

    This frosting recipe is without butter. It is made with 3 simple ingredients i.e cream cheese, powdered sugar and shortening. For flavoring, I have used pure vanilla extract, but it is optional. The resulting tangy cream cheese frosting is not only delicious as a cake frosting, it is perfect for piping too. What is more, it crusts so perfectly and works well in warm temperatures too!

    A round cake decorated with purple and violet roses.
    Eggless Chocolate Cake with Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting

    I for one, love this sweet and tangy frosting and it is a perfect complement for my eggless chocolate cake. It also works very well with banana cupcakes, spice cake, cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies, carrot cake cupcakes, pumpkin cake and many other treats. s.

    As delicious as cream cheese frosting always is, working with it not always easy. And that is simply because cream cheese is super sensitive to heat and is always a challenge to work with if you live and hot and humid environment like me.

    I have tried many versions of cream cheese icing recipes only to be disappointed with how runny it ends up on my cakes and cupcakes. The problem is not with the recipes, it’s just that the relationship between cream cheese, butter and hot weather is always very bad. For this reason, I have always avoided this frosting when decorating cakes until I tried making the frosting again, and this time without butter. I used it to frost this eggless chocolate cake for my mother’s birthday and it was a great success! This amazing cream cheese frosting is now my go-to recipe.

    Table of contents

    • How to Make
      • Ingredients
      • Making the icing
    • Notes
      • Why is it important to sift the powdered sugar?
      • Which cream cheese is best for frosting?
      • How do you make the frosting thicker?
      • Does a cake with cream cheese icing need to be refrigerated?
      • How long does the icing last at room temperature?
      • How long can you keep the frosting in the fridge?
    • Like this easy frosting recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out:
    • Recipe (Printable)

    How to Make

    Ingredients

    • Powdered sugar (icing sugar or confectioners' sugar)
    • Cream cheese (firm)
    • Shortening
    • Pure vanilla extract

    Making the icing

    • Sift powdered sugar to break all lumps. Set aside.
    • In a separate mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and shortening until well combined and creamy.
    • Add the sugar and mix into the cream cheese and shortening mixture with a spoon. Once the sugar is well moistened with the cream cheese mixture, continue to cream the frosting with an electric mixer on low speed first and then medium high speed until it becomes creamy and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
    • Add the pure vanilla extract and continue beating until the vanilla is well incorporated and the frosting is all light and fluffy.
    • Color the icing as you wish. Fill and cover your cake as you like. To make piped decorations, transfer the icing into a piping bag fitted with your preferred piping tip and use as desired.

    Notes

    Why is it important to sift the powdered sugar?

    • Powdered sugar is often lumpy. It needs to be sifted to break the lumps before using it for any type of frosting. The sugar lumps, though very tiny, are difficult to break even with high speed mixing. And they can cause unsightly lumps in your otherwise smooth frosting.
    • What is more, if you are using the icing to pipe designs on your cake or cupcakes, these sugar lumps can obstruct the holes in your piping tips especially those with small holes.

    Which cream cheese is best for frosting?

    • The only type of cream cheese you should be using to make the cream cheese frosting is the brick-style cream cheese.
    • Never use the spreadable cream cheese or low-fat cream cheese. They are too soft and will result in runny frosting.

    How do you make the frosting thicker?

    • This icing is thick enough for piping so you really do not need to make it any thicker.
    • But if you still wish to make a thicker frosting, you can add more powdered sugar. Add the sugar in small increments and mix well after each addition.

    Does a cake with cream cheese icing need to be refrigerated?

    • Yes, since cream cheese requires refrigeration, any cakes that are filled, frosted or decorated with cream cheese frosting should not be left out at room temperature for more than 3 to 4 hours.
    • The cakes and cupcakes are best kept refrigerated. You can leave them out at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours before serving.

    How long does the icing last at room temperature?

    • The cream cheese frosting should not be left at room temperature for more than 3 hours. Leftover frosting is best kept refrigerated too.

    How long can you keep the frosting in the fridge?

    • I would not recommend keeping this icing in the fridge for more than 3 days.

    Like this easy frosting recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out:

    • Butter Icing Recipe (How to Make)
    • Cream Cheese Candy - Easy Homemade Mints
    • Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Cookies
    • Glaze Icing for Cakes (How to Make)
    • Royal Icing - 2 Easy Recipes
    • Buttercream Frosting Recipe for Cake Decorating
    • Homemade Fondant (How to Make Fondant Icing)

    Recipe (Printable)

    Here is the full printable version of my perfectly crusting no butter cream cheese icing recipe. 

    Cream cheese rosettes on a cupcake

    Cream Cheese Frosting

    This cream cheese frosting is not only as delicious as it should be, it crusts so perfectly and works well in warm temperatures too!
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Cream Cheese Frosting
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes
    Yield: 400 g
    Author: Priya Maha
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Metric - US Customary

    Ingredients

    • 300 g powdered sugar sifted
    • 90 g cream cheese firm
    • 30 g shortening
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    Metric - US Customary

    Instructions

    • Sift icing sugar to break all lumps. Set aside.
    • In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese and shortening until well combined and creamy.
    • Add the sugar and mix with a spoon until the sugar is well moistened. Continue to cream the frosting on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
    • Add vanilla essence and continue beating until the icing becomes light and fluffy.
    • Color if you wish and use as desired.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 4.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 0.8g | Protein: 0.01g | Fat: 0.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 0.2mg | Sodium: 0.7mg | Potassium: 0.3mg | Sugar: 0.7g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Calcium: 0.2mg | Iron: 0.001mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @decorated_treats or tag #decoratedtreats!

    Update:

    I have made some egg less chocolate cupcakes using my egg less chocolate cake recipe, and here is how my delicious cream cheese frosting fared when piped on the cupcakes. Pretty right?

    Cream cheese rosettes on a cupcake.
    The Best Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe - A Simple Recipe

    And that's my easy cream cheese homemade frosting for you.

    Happy decorating 🙂

    More Cake Decorating Frostings, Icing and Filling Recipes

    • Cherry Coulis - Easy Homemade Cherry Sauce
    • Lychee Syrup (Easy Homemade Recipe from Scratch)
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