Magical Cream Cheese Frosting
A magical take on cream cheese frosting! A hybrid of magical (ermine/flour) frosting & cream cheese frosting, this recipe is firm, pipeable, & more stable.
*This post was originally published on September 9, 2013. I thought it was due for an update! So, I’ve included new photos, added a how-to video, and given more detailed instructions and tips for success. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy this cream cheese frosting as much as I do!*
I am always on the lookout for new frostings to try!
You can top your cakes and cupcakes in many different ways, from American-style buttercream to Swiss meringue buttercream to seven minute frosting. I’ve tried (and loved) them all!
So when I first heard about magical frosting (aka ermine frosting, cooked flour buttercream, or boiled milk icing), I wasted no time trying it out.
It’s excellent! With a fluffy and smooth texture. I liked it a lot!
But the one thing that struck me about ermine frosting was how well it held up. It keeps its shape and doesn’t weep, slump, or get all melty. It got my wheels turning…
I love a good cream cheese frosting. There are so many things that require it. Red Velvet. Carrot cake. Lemon Cupcakes.
But a lot of times, it can be a little loose and gloopy.
Naturally, I set out to try and make a magical cream cheese frosting.
And guess what? It worked.
Table of Contents
- What Is magical cream cheese frosting?
- What does magical cream cheese frosting taste like?
- Why you’ll love this magical cream cheese frosting recipe
- Ingredients and notes
- How to make magical cream cheese frosting
- Recipe FAQS
- Expert Tips
- How to use
- How to Store and Keep
- Serving size
- More Frosting Recipes You’ll Enjoy!
What Is magical cream cheese frosting?
Magical cream cheese frosting is a hybrid of magical frosting (aka ermine frosting) and regular cream cheese frosting.
It’s made with no powdered sugar.
Instead, you cook a sweet, thickened milk mixture and then whip cream cheese and butter into that.
What does magical cream cheese frosting taste like?
This frosting has a pronounced cream cheese flavor. It’s really tangy and just sweet enough.
But the magic is in the texture. It’s super fluffy and smooth.
Because it’s made without powdered sugar, there’s no grittiness whatsoever. It’s light as a cloud and so silky!
Why you’ll love this magical cream cheese frosting recipe
- It has an awesome, tangy cream cheese flavor.
- There’s also a whisper of vanilla and a hint of lemon.
- This frosting pipes like a dream.
- It has a super fluffy texture.
Ingredients and notes
Here’s a quick rundown of the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe and why:
Sugar
Sugar sweetens the frosting. If you like things sweeter, you can use more, or if you prefer a less sweet frosting, less. In this case, it really won’t affect the chemistry of the recipe.
Regular white sugar is fine, or sub for another type of sweetener if you like. As long as it swaps 1:1 for granulated sugar it should work.
Flour
All-purpose flour provides structure to the frosting, helping it to be stiff, pipeable, and stable.
For a gluten-free cream cheese ermine frosting, leave out the flour and use an additional 2 tablespoons of cornstarch instead.
Cornstarch
Cornstarch is a colorless, odorless, and flavorless starch that is used as a thickener, so it does much the same thing as flour.
Make sure you’re using cornstarch, which is white and powdery, and not cornmeal, which is yellow and gritty and tastes like corn chips.
Salt
Salt carries the flavors and intensifies them. The end result won’t taste salty, but it will make everything so much more flavorful!
I like kosher salt best because it doesn’t have any additives (table salt usually contains iodine and that can leave a bitter taste), so the flavor is pure. It’s also inexpensive and easy to find in a regular grocery store.
Milk
Milk is used to dissolve the sugar. This is what creates that satin-y smooth mouthfeel!
Use whatever kind of milk you keep on hand. Skim milk, whole milk, 2%… even a plant-based milk will work here!
Lemon juice
This ingredient “lifts” the flavor of the frosting and enhances the tanginess of the cream cheese.
The end result won’t taste lemony, it will just have a subtle brightness.
Vanilla
Vanilla extract adds a subtly sweet flavor without being at all sugary.
For a more pronounced flavor, try using vanilla bean paste.
You could also split a vanilla bean down the center lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add those.
Cream cheese
This recipe works best if you use cold cream cheese, straight from the fridge.
Look for the kind that comes in a brick. The kind in a tub could make for a runny frosting.
And make sure it’s full-fat! You need the fat for things to whip up properly.
Butter
I like to use unsalted butter because it lets me control the amount of salt in the dish.
Different brands of butter can contain different amounts of salt, so this way you get a more consistent result.
This recipe works best if you allow the butter to come to room temperature first.
You can set it out on the counter a few hours ahead of making your recipe, or you can microwave it for 10 seconds, turn it over, and microwave it again for another 8 seconds.
How to make magical cream cheese frosting
Step 1: Make the roux
In a small pot, whisk the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt together until combined.
Then, slowly dribble in the milk while whisking.
It’s really important to go slow for this step so you don’t end up with a lumpy roux!
Step 2: Cook the roux
Cook this mixture until it starts to bubble and thicken, making sure to whisk continuously so it heats evenly.
Again, you don’t want lumps! As soon as it comes to a bubble, you’ll see it transform into a thick, almost gluey mixture.
Step 3: Chill the roux
Strain the roux into a heat-safe container, and pop it into the fridge to chill.
It needs to be very cold before the next step.
Step 4: Work in the cream cheese
Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract once you have the roux good and cold.
Whip the mixture on medium-high speed, adding the cold cream cheese just a tablespoon at a time.
Let each tablespoon of cream cheese completely incorporate before you add the next one.
Step 5: Work in the butter
When all the cream cheese has been added, do the same thing with the softened butter.
One tablespoon at a time until your buttercream is smooth and fluffy.
Step 6: Whip it good!
The final step is to crank up the mixer to high and whip that frosting until it’s super light and airy.
You’ll see the icing nearly double in volume right before your eyes!
Recipe FAQS
I recommend using the highest quality, full fat, lowest moisture-content cream cheese you can get.
The higher the moisture content, the harder it will be for this buttercream to hold its shape.
That’s why I only use the kind of cream cheese that comes in a brick.
If you can only get a tub of cream cheese where you live, by all means, give it a try if you like. But I can’t guarantee that the result will be quite the same.
As you can see in the video below, this magical cream cheese frosting is pipeable! It pipes like a dream and holds its shape very well.
It’s a little stiffer when cool, so if you’re working with it on a very hot day, you might want to chill it beforehand.
Because it contains no powdered sugar, this frosting will not crust like a classic cream cheese frosting.
However, it becomes a little drier on the surface as it sits exposed to air. So it’s not entirely soft on the outside, either.
Expert Tips
- This recipe takes a little bit of planning ahead.
- There’s a bit of downtime.
- You must cook it on the stove and wait for it to cool.
- Avoid runny frosting. It’s all about the temperature with cooked frostings like this one.
- Make sure the roux is fully chilled before mixing in the other ingredients. It will melt the cream cheese and butter if it’s still too warm.
- Your cream cheese should be cold.
- Your butter should be soft but cool. If it’s too soft your frosting could come out soupy. Leave it out on the counter for about 30 minutes, and it should be just right.
- Use cream cheese with the lowest moisture content you can find. I mentioned this above, but it bears repeating. Whipped cream cheese and cream cheese spread in a tub are much softer than the kind in a brick. That soft, loose quality will translate into your cream cheese frosting. So use a stiffer cream cheese, and you’ll end up with a stiffer frosting.
- If you’ve goofed up on the temperatures and find yourself with runny cream cheese frosting, all is not lost! Just put everything into the fridge for about 20 minutes, then re-whip. You should see it come together pretty quickly!
How to use
Tinting: You can tint this frosting if you’d like! I would recommend using gel paste icing colors. They are highly concentrated, so you only need a tiny bit, and they won’t add a lot of excess liquid to your cream cheese frosting.
Under fondant: You can use this cream cheese icing as a base under fondant. It holds its shape best when cool, so it’s a good idea to chill the frosted cake before covering it with fondant, so it stays nice and smooth under all that handling.
How to Store and Keep
Once made, you can store the frosting in the fridge for several days, up to a week.
When you’re ready to use it, it may seem a little less airy or workable from sitting in the fridge for so long. It can settle and become compacted over time, but if you pop it into the mixer and fluff it back up, it works like a charm!
It’s a good idea to plan ahead if you want to make this frosting recipe. You must allow plenty of time for the roux to chill before adding the cream cheese and butter.
Does magical cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated?
This frosting can sit out at room temperature for a few hours, but anything longer than that and it should probably go in the fridge. It should last for a least a week refrigerated, maybe even a little longer!
Serving size
This recipe makes about 3 cups of frosting, which is enough to top 24 cupcakes, to frost and fill one 6-inch diameter triple-layer cake, one 8-inch diameter double-layer cake, or if you stretch it, one 9-inch diameter double-layer cake.
You can double or halve this recipe, no problem, if you need less or more.
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More Frosting Recipes You’ll Enjoy!
- Marshmallow Frosting
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Whipped Chocolate Ganache
- Easy Chocolate Frosting
- Royal Icing
Magical Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (31.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (24 g) cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.5 g) salt
- 1 1/2 cups (366 g) milk
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla extract
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese, cold
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
Instructions
- Place the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt in a small pot and whisk to combine.
- Gradually whisk in the milk, taking care to whisk out any lumps.
- Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, until thickened.
- Pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, and into a heat-safe container.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
- Place the cooled mixture in a large mixing bowl, along with the lemon juice and vanilla, and whip on medium-high speed.
- Whip in the cold cream cheese, a tablespoon at a time, allowing each addition to fully incorporate before adding the next.
- Whip in the softened butter, a tablespoon at a time, allowing each addition to fully incorporate before adding the next.
- Turn the mixer up to high speed, and continue to whip until doubled in volume and very fluffy.
Notes
Hi! I’m baking a Red Velvet Cake this Friday and covering it with fondant. Would you know if this frosting will work and keep my cake solid after it’s been covered and left at room temp? I’m kinda scared… I keep on thinking that it will slide or break if I use the traditional cream cheese frosting recipe. Many thanks in advance!
Hey Arvin! Thanks so much for the great question. I’ve done a lot with fondant so I know just what you mean and I appreciate your concern. To be honest, this recipe has had mixed reviews. If you give the comments a quick skim, you’ll see what I mean. My experience has been good. I’ve found it doesn’t always seem super-stiff in the mixing bowl, but it holds up well when piped and frosted on cakes. But some other readers haven’t had the best luck. Personally, I would give it a try- I like it and think it works well. If you can keep it cold for as long as possible, that would probably help a lot. I hope that helps! Good luck to you 🙂
Did you use cold or room temperature cream cheese?
I used cold cream cheese for this recipe. Thanks for the great question, Celeste!
I just made this for the third time today and its a runny mess.. I’ve run out of ingredients, time and patience. I thought i made the pudding too runny the first time and I refrigerated it hoping it would firm up after the addition of the cream cheese and butter and its still runny.. The second and third batch went the same way. Even after refrigerating the whole finished product and attempting to re-whip it didn’t work. Shame, I wanted something i could pipe into pretty swirls like yours. Anyway thanks for the recipe, i’m sad it didn’t work for me. I’m off to make some Italian meringue i guess.
Hey I’m so sorry for the late reply. Somehow your comment got buried and I’m just now finding it. I’m so sorry you had trouble with the recipe. The pudding needs to be cooked until quite stiff. It’s the pudding that makes the frosting stiff, not the cream cheese and butter. The cream cheese and butter are quite soft, so they can’t be relied upon for a stiff frosting. I think if you tried again and made sure to cook the pudding a little longer, you might have much better luck. All that said, Italian meringue is pretty rockin’ 😉
Hi Allie,
I’ve tried making the frosting and…. it was a success! The frosting was able to hold its shape after piping on the cupcake and it taste great too! Just a quick question… I would like the frosting to be more tangy, so will the addition of sour cream make it more tangy without making the frosting runny? Thanks for this great recipe!
Hi Jacqueline! I think adding sour cream may make the frosting a bit runny. I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t say for certain, but I would maybe try swapping out some of the butter for cream cheese instead. Good luck and thanks for reading!
Hi there,
Can I use it straight from the fridge or do i need to rewhip it like SMBC? How long can this frozting keep?
I would use it straight from the fridge, Jacqueline, and I think it keeps about the same as any other frosting would. A week or so? Good luck and thanks for reading!
Hello. I really want to try your cream cheese frosting but no time to test before the party 7/11/15. I’m making cupcakes that will look like puppies. Can I pipe with it and will it hold? Do I refrigerate first then pipe? If so, will the cupcakes have to stay in the fridge until serving?
Thanks so much,
Rae
Thanks for reading Rae! I found it piped well and held up especially well when refrigerated. You may want to read about some other readers’ experience in the comments on this post. There’s lots of great info there from others who have tried the recipe themselves. Good luck!
I am having the same runny problem, too! I cooked and cooled properly, added soft cheese and butter and it is very runny. Will try the refrigeration.
Can you use gluten free flour I.e. cup 4 Cup?
I have honestly never tried Jennifer, but maybe it’s worth a go? Let me know how it works out if you do!
I tried it and it worked wonderfully. I also made a batch with regular flour and there was no discernible difference (at least to me) 😉
That’s so great to hear! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know, Jennifer! I hope you enjoyed 😉
Can I use this recipe to fill eclairs? Im not a fan of pastry cream. And i love creamcheese. Thanks for sharing.
That’s a great idea, Jillian! I think it would be delicious!
You’re my new favorite person in the whole world. I have a red velvet request who wanted something less sweet. I’ve been looking for a cooked cream cheese frosting since being obsessed with it a year ago. Ur recipe was bookmarked until today. I know, I know, I shd have tried it before hand, but I didn’t. Instead I read on and figure out what everyone’s problem was. I cooked the flour and sugar and kept it in the fridge over night. I whipped the dough in the mixer with a whisk for a solid 2 minutes on high then added the lemon juice. I then added the softened butter 1 tbsp at a time and whip on high until just combined. Then lower the speed and added the extremely softened cream cheese 2 tbsp at a time until just combine and that’s it. I realize the longer u whip the cream cheese, the sloppier it gets. I could pipe straight away, but I’m keeping it for now. Love love love the texture and taste. Oh and I live in a warm climate country, so this turned out amazing!
Oh I am so glad to hear it worked out so well for you! And what you are saying about the frosting getting sloppy if you beat it too long- it makes a lot of sense. There is another recipe I love for cream cheese frosting and it is the same with that one. Thanks so much for the awesome feedback Munira!
Hi Allie, I tried this recipe last night. I stirred the flour mixture till it thickened without lump. But once they were chilled and I started mixing in the cream cheese and butter, tiny lumps appeared in the mixture, which was really annoying. Both the butter and the cream cheese were left out on the counter for half a day, so they are quite softened. Not sure what caused the issue, and why my frosting doesn’t look as smooth as yours in your picture. Any tips?
Hey Laura! My first thought was that the butter was still too cool, but half a day should have been enough time to get it soft. I really don’t know? Mine whips right in, lump free. I’m sorry- I’m at a loss, dear. I feel terrible that the recipe didn’t work out for you. 🙁
Same thing happened to me with the lumps, but my butter and cream cheese might have been too cool.
Same thing with me 🙁 it’s not fluffing and is soupy. Hoping I can fix it.
i tried this and did everything correctly and it never thickened up,,,any help??????
Hi Colette! It’s tough to say for sure… was it the flour mixture that didn’t thicken or the frosting itself? The flour mixture should thicken a lot and become almost gluey once it comes up to a simmer, and then that should be chilled in the fridge until there’s no hint of warmth left. The butter and cream cheese should go in softened but still slightly cool. A lot of commenters before you had good luck with chilling the frosting in the fridge before piping. Maybe that would help?
Gave it a shot. The first part does make up like a batch of glue – very stiff. But after completing the remainder of the additions after refridgeration resulted in soft icing. I was looking for a good stiff cream cheese icing for a carrot cake. Icing was fluffy, soft and bland. Not very sweet either.
Immediately made standard cream cheese frosting: cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar.
Glad I tried it, just not as advertised. Always experimenting with something new.
Hi Allie,
Do cakes frosted in the cc icing need to stay refrigerated? I’ve got a wedding coming up which will have several cakes and I’ve been looking for a cc icing to fill a sweet potato cake. The cakes will be delivered early in the morning the day of the wedding and they will not be refrigerated however they will be inside in an air conditioned environment.
Hi Paula! I think if you are going to refrigerate the cakes right up until they are delivered they should be ok. However, for an important event such as a wedding I would recommend taking a “trial run,” just to be sure you are happy with the results. Good luck!
🙁
I followed the recipe but it didn’t work out for me. It’s still super runny and on the verge of curdling. It still tastes good and I hope it will firm up a bit in the fridge.
Chucked most of it out in the end as it wouldn’t stay on the cake. Ah well, better luck next time, eh?
Oh dear- I’m so sorry for your trouble! I don’t know?? It always works pretty well for me, especially after chilling but I couldn’t tell you exactly where it maybe went wrong for you. Well, thanks for reading and sharing your experience. 🙂
Thank you Allie for the recipe! But I have a question… How can I store cupcakes decorated with the cream cheese frosting??
Hi Trinidad! I’m not sure how long you are needing to store them… If it’s just a day or so I usually just put them in like a foil pan with a lid. That could also live in the fridge for up to a week or so. If I need to freeze, I usually freeze cupcakes unfrosted, and freeze frosting in an airtight container. Then I just thaw, fluff, and frost. Hope that helps!