Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Frosting
This Cream Cheese Whipped Cream frosting is the perfect frosting if you want something light, fluffy, and not overly sweet! With smooth cream cheese, heavy cream beaten into a perfect fluff and just 1 cup of powdered sugar, this will be your new favorite cream cheese frosting recipe.
We love serving this cream cheese and whipped cream frosting on Red Velvet Cupcakes, Red Velvet Waffles, to fill Red Velvet Macarons, or as a frosting for my Old Fashioned Red Velvet Cake, Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake, and Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Pecans.
Why This Recipe Works
- Holds its shape. This Whipped Cream Frosting with cream cheese holds its shape and can be used to frost cakes, cupcakes, cookies and more!
- Low sugar frosting recipe. Anytime a recipe calls for a traditional cream cheese frosting and you want something lighter and a tad less sweet — this is the best frosting recipe! With only ONE cup of powdered sugar (normally frosting recipes have 5-7 cups) you get a delicate touch of sweetness.
Ingredient Notes
- Cream Cheese: In so many recipes you want softened cream cheese, BUT in this recipe you want really cold cream cheese. Pull it out of the fridge just before adding to the mixing bowl.
- Powdered Sugar: The great thing about whipped cream frosting is that it isn’t as sweet as other frostings (like traditional buttercream, which will have anywhere from 5-7 cups of powdered sugar). This cream cheese whipped cream frosting recipe has just 1 cup of powdered sugar!
- Vanilla Extract: Adds a nice flavor component to the whipped cream frosting with cream cheese.
- Heavy Cream: You’ll want cold heavy whipping cream as well to help things whip up easier.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Beat the cream cheese. Add 8 oz cold cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute or until smooth.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Add 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract to cream cheese mixture in the bowl. Mix for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula so everything is well combined.
- Slowly add the heavy cream. While the mixer is on low speed, slowly pour in 2 cups cold heavy cream down the side of the bowl (so the cream doesn’t hit the whisk and splash!).
- Beat. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed once all the cream has been added. Mix for about 30 seconds or until thickened. Don’t over mix or things will get soupy. The frosting is done when you dip the whisk attachment in the frosting and hold it up. The frosting should keep its shape. If not there yet, mix in 15-second intervals, testing after each one.
- Frost! Use this cream cheese whipped cream frosting to frost cakes, Chocolate Cupcakes, cookies and more!
Recipe Tips
I recommend using a stand mixer (with whisk attachment) because it makes things much quicker. However, if you don’t have a stand mixer, no problem! Use a large bowl and a hand mixer and you’ll still get perfect cream cheese frosting with heavy cream — it just may take a few extra seconds of beating.
To make things easier, chill or freeze your mixing bowl and whisk attachment before using it. A cold bowl will help keep the cream cheese and heavy cream colder during the mixing process.
Add 1/3 cup dutch process cocoa powder to the bowl after beating the cream cheese to make a chocolate cream cheese whipped cream frosting.
Slowly pour the heavy cream down the sides of the bowl will mixing on low. This will help the heavy cream not splash by hitting the whisk attachment and will make things incorporate easier.
Frost or chill immediately after making the frosting. Then, between making and serving your desserts, story your frosted desserts in the fridge.
Use liquid food coloring or a small amount of gel food coloring to color your frosting for any themes or holidays.
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
You can make this frosting recipe ahead of time. I would make it in the morning and then use it in the afternoon or evening. If you wanted to make it more in advance, I would only let it sit in the fridge for 1-2 days before using it.
Store leftover frosting in an airtight container or piping bag in the fridge for 1-2 days prior to using it.
While you can freeze frosted cake, cookies or cupcakes with this after frosting or filling them, I wouldn’t freeze the frosting by itself and then thaw it and pipe or frost with it. This is due to the dairy base. It will separate slightly once frozen, thawed, and stirred.
Recipe FAQs
Typically cream cheese frosting is made as an American buttercream frosting, with a butter base and lots of powdered sugar. However, whipped cream cheese frosting is made with a heavy cream base and less powdered sugar. It’s more like a beefed up whipped cream. It’s lighter in texture and in sweetness.
I haven’t used whipped cream cheese for this recipe. I would recommend using a block merely because it’s a denser amount than what has been previously whipped before being packaged.
If you are wanting something that won’t melt in the sun, this recipe isn’t it. This recipe will hold its shape (as you can see from the picture at the beginning of the post it keeps the shape of the piping tip). But you can stabilize the frosting by using an instant pudding mix as directed in my Whipped Cream Frosting recipe. I wouldn’t use cornstarch because it can make the texture gritty.
Yes! You’d think that the weight of the cake would be too much for this kind of frosting with whipped cream, but the frosting actually holds up really well between the layers of a layer cake!
More Frosting Recipes
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Peanut Butter Frosting
- Buttercream Frosting for Cookies
- Nutella Frosting
Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Frosting
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese - cold
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups heavy cream - cold
Equipment
Instructions
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, mix the cold cream cheese on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is combined.
- With the mixer on, slowly pour the heavy cream down the side of the bowl, into the cream cheese mixture. Pouring it along the edge of the bowl will prevent the cream from hitting the whisk and splashing everywhere. Turn the mixer to medium high speed. The frosting should thicken and take shape. Mix for about 30 seconds, but keep a close eye on the frosting as over-mixing it can cause the mixture to get soupy.
- You'll know the frosting is finished when you stop the mixer, dip the whisk attachment in the frosting and turn it upside down. The frosting should keep its shape and hold its' peak. If yours hasn't reached this stage, mix in 15 second intervals and test again.
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4 Comments on “Cream Cheese Whipped Cream Frosting”
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. The best is you can actually pipe the icing on the cake!
Stands up well and not too sweet
So happy you liked this recipe, Pat! Thanks for your review.
Hi Whitney, I have already tried your Whipped Cream Frosting with the instant pudding mix and it was the best frosting I have ever made. Thank you! In the cream cheese whipped cream frosting Recipe FAQ on how to stabilize cream cheese whipped cream frosting you state that in order to do this we can use an instant pudding mix. How quantity of the pudding mix can we use and do we use regular vanilla or the white chocolate INSTANT pudding. Thanks again!
I haven’t tried making this cream cheese whipped cream frosting with an instant pudding mix. But you are welcome to try it. I would use a 3.4 oz packet, and personally I would use the white chocolate instant pudding. Vanilla wouldn’t be bad either. Both will be very subtle in flavor as the cream cheese will most likely overpower the flavor. Hope this helps!