Airy Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
This Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting is light and airy and not dense at all. It can be easily whipped up in 5 minutes with just 4 simple ingredients. This icing holds its shape at room temperature and pipes well too! It has sweet and savory notes and pairs perfectly as a topping for fruit based cakes like banana cake.
As a trained pastry chef, I’ve made many homemade frosting recipes in my day. I love the versatility of flavors and textures! The texture of this whipped cream cheese frosting is so dreamy and silky you won’t be able to resist it. It’s not dense like classic cream cheese frosting but rather light and airy!
Making this frosting is a breeze, and you only need cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy whipping cream. Whip it all together in just a few minutes and it’s done! The cream cheese adds a tangy flavor that perfectly balances out the sweetness, making it ultra creamy, while whipping the heavy cream gives it a light and airy texture. Plus This frosting is stable at room temperature!
It’s also an excellent option for those who don’t like overly sweet and dense frosting. The smooth and light texture makes it easy to pipe onto homemade cupcakes, giving them a beautiful and professional finish. It’s like a regular chantilly cream but with the added tang of cream cheese.
As a topping for a cake, my favorite way to use this is to slather it all over my 5 star rated banana cake, or pipe over these lemon blueberry cupcakes. It also pairs well with these blueberry cupcakes, or a chocolate cake.
For best results, learn how to soften cream cheese quickly to make sure it incorporates into the other ingredients fully.
Only 4 ingredients
You only need 4 ingredients for this recipe!
- Cream Cheese
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Cold Heavy Whipping Cream
Make sure to use cold cream. Cold cream whips much better than warm or room temperature cream.
You cannot substitute milk as it won’t whip up like whipping cream does and you wont get a light and airy frosting. Instead it will be dense and liquidy.
Making the frosting
You’ll need a hand mixer or a stand mixer for this recipe. I prefer to use a stand mixer because it works faster and is stronger than a hand mixer. Also my hand gets tired!
If you’re using a stand mixer, first use the paddle attachment to help cream the cream cheese, then you’ll have to switch over to the whisk attachment because thats what makes this a whipped frosting!
The whip will incorporate lots of air into the frosting which will give it stability while also keeping it light and airy.
Mixing
When youre adding the heavy whipping cream, pour it in slowly with the mixer on low speed. This will allow the frosting to whip up nicely and not collapse from the weight of all the cream poured in at once.
Also make sure not to overwhip the frosting. Once the stiff peaks have formed, stop mixing. Over whipping can cause the frosting to become curdled, grainy, and butter-like in texture.
Yield
This frosting makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes or slather over a 9×13 cake. If you want to use it to fill and frost a 2 layer 9″ cake, I suggest doubling the recipe.
Storing instructions
To store the frosting, place it in an airtight container or piping bag and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
If you have leftover frosting that you’d like to freeze, transfer it to a freezer-safe container or plastic bag and store it in the freezer for up to 2 months. Before using the frosting, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bring it to room temperature and give it a quick whip with a hand mixer or whisk to restore its texture.
When thawing and using the frosting, keep in mind that the texture may not be exactly the same as when it was freshly made. It may be slightly softer or grainier, but with a little bit of whipping, it should still be delicious and usable.
Airy Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 8 oz (226.8 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/4 cup (150 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup (354.88 ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer such as a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the 8 oz cream cheese and 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar.
- Mix on medium speed for 1 minute until well cream. You can also do this in a hand mixer.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the sugar is incorporated.
- Stir in the 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Switch to the whisk attachment and with the mixer on low, slowly add in the 1 ¼ cup heavy whipping cream. This should take about 1 minute because you want the cream to incorporate into the cream cheese as you pour. Don’t rush this.
- When all the cream has been added, turn the mixer to high and whip for 30 seconds until stiff peaks form. Do not overwhip!
- Frost over chocolate cake, blueberry cupcakes, or banana cake.
Hey Sam,
I’ve used this recipe a ton and love it, I was wondering if I can freeze the frosting on the cupcakes?
Hi Kimberley! SO glad you love this recipe yay! I think you can for sure freeze it on the cupcakes, just make sure to wrap them well.
Hi Sam, I’m excited to try this recipe. I am not a baker but I think I can handle this. Your instructions and explanations are very helpful.
I need to add food coloring for birthday cupcakes. Have you ever used plant based food coloring in this recipe?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Lauri! You can do it! I havent used plant based food coloring in this recipe but I have in others. I don’t see why it wouldnt work. To make sure, you can always try the coloring on just a small portion of the frosting in a small bowl. You got this!
I have just finished 5 batches of your Easy Cupcake Recipe with oil and they are fabulous and really easy to make! I will leave a review there once I am done with the cupcakes 😉 Regarding the frosting, I would prefer to use cream cheese and heavy cream at a 1 to 2 ratio (500 grams of cream cheese and 1000 grams of heavy cream). Will this ratio work and provide more or less the same results?
So glad to hear you love the cupcakes thank you! For the ratio you are looking at, the frosting could be a little loose and possibly not pipe well, I would add more powdered sugar as well- try with 250g and see if its thick, you can always thin it out if its too much, or add more sugar if its still too thin.
Love this frosting . First time I made this and it was perfect for the strawberry cake I made. Will be my go to cream cheese frosting from here on out!
YAY! Thank you so much Kimberly! So glad you love this recipe!
This was my first time making a whipped frosting.. I usually make buttercream and was nervous about trying something new. I’m sooo glad I tried this recipe… it is delicious!
You just completely made my day Veronica! I am so, so glad you loved it. I hope you’ll be whipping up another batch soon!
I. Am. Obsessed! I was over the traditional cream cheese/butter frosting mixture- this is a perfectly fluffy, light, creamy frosting that I ate soooo much with a spoon 😛 so tasty, definitely recommend!
This makes me so, so happy Koty! It’s so good to know I’m not the only one who could just eat this stuff with a spoon. Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review.
Hey Sam! This recipe is exactly what I was looking for!! My brother is getting married next weekend and literally just told me yesterday and wants me to make the cake (which I have totally never done before) well to make it look fancy anyway haha!! Would it be okay for me to make the frosting and put it in piping bags in the refrigerator overnight and pipe it the next morning or would it be best to do it straight from the mixer?
Hey Taylor! Ahhh I hope I am not too late, so exciting, congrats!!! You can totally put this in piping bags in the fridge overnight! It might just need a few mins to come to room temp to be easier to pipe. So exciting!!! Thank you so much for choosing my recipe for this special occasion!
The recipe for cream cheese icing that came with the carrot cake recipe, called for 3C of powdered sugar and butter. This icing is so good!! Thank you!
So glad you loved it! This icing is one of my favorites too!
That is sooooo good and easy! My husband said it’s delicious! I made a carrot cake from scratch so we will see how it turned out!
YAY! So glad you found this so easy, how did it work with the carrot cake? That sounds yum!
The carrot cake turned out great! I made it for Easter. Everyone loved the frosting on the cake! It wasn’t too rich like a buttercream frosting. Totally recommend this recipe!
So glad to hear! Thanks so much for making this to celebrate Easter!