Cream cheese frosting is not too sweet and pairs perfectly with loads of cake and cupcake recipes.
In this tutorial I'll show you how to make it, how to cover a
cake with smooth cream cheese frosting or adjust it to make a cream cheese glaze,
how to pipe with it, how to colour it and how to store it.
To make cream cheese frosting the key is to use room temperature ingredients to prevent
a lumpy bumpy mess. It's important to use cream cheese from a block not a tub because that will
be too soft and definitely don't use whipped cream cheese because that's aerated which will
cause air bubbles in your frosting. Take your butter and cream cheese out of the fridge four
hours before you use them and once they're both soft, the first step is to mix them together
until they're combined into a pale smooth mixture. Add icing sugar or powdered sugar
which needs to be sifted so there are no lumps in that either and don't over-mix this because
you'll break the cream cheese down and make the frosting too runny. Stop mixing when it's smooth
and add vanilla and salt. Mix those until they're combined and now it's ready to use.
If you make this in advance, cover the bowl with plastic wrap like cling film or saran wrap
and put it in the fridge for up to two weeks. More on storing cream cheese frosting later in this
tutorial. To adjust the stiffness of this cream cheese frosting just adjust the amount of sugar.
The quantity in this recipe is perfect for frosting a cake or to pipe with, for example
swirls on cupcakes but if you want your cream cheese frosting to be less sweet you can use less
sugar but be aware that the consistency will be a lot looser or runnier so you'll have much softer
less textured piping and it will be difficult to frost a cake with smooth sides and sharp edges.
For really smooth frosting follow the recipe as written and chill your cake in the freezer
for 15 minutes before you frost it. Apply a crumb coat first which is a very thin layer of frosting
that catches and traps any crumbs that come off the cake so that they don't get into your final
coat of frosting. It's especially important to use a crumb coat before your final coat of frosting
if you're using cream cheese frosting which is more translucent or less opaque than regular
buttercream frosting. For the final coat spread your frosting on generously and push it up above
the top edge of the cake because cream cheese frosting is looser than regular buttercream so it
tends to sink. Having that lip around the top edge of the cake will help you get sharp edges later.
Smooth the frosting with a cake comb until you're happy with the sides. For the top, push sideways
with an offset spatula or your cake comb, not down because that will cause a bulge in the frosting
around the top of the cake. You can pipe borders or swirls with this cream cheese frosting and the
texture will hold its shape. If you find that the frosting is getting softer as you pipe with it
from the warmth of your hands on the piping bag or the warmth of the room, put the piping bag or bowl
of frosting into the fridge for five minutes to chill it slightly and that will make the frosting
stiffer so it will hold its shape better and there will be more texture and definition in
your piping. Cream cheese frosting isn't as stiff as regular buttercream but it's stable enough to
support another layer of cake on top so you can use it as filling for cakes, even for naked cakes.
You can colour cream cheese frosting just like buttercream using liquid or gel colours but i
recommend gels because they're much more concentrated than liquids so they'll give
you bright and bold colors without making the frosting too watery but as I mentioned before,
if you over-mix cream cheese frosting you'll break down the cream cheese and the frosting will become
less stiff or more runny and if that happens as you're colouring it you can either put the
bowl in the fridge for five minutes to chill it so that it firms up a bit or you can add more sugar,
which will stiffen it. Cream cheese frosting pipes beautifully and has a gorgeous shine to it, too.
To use this cream cheese frosting as a glaze, microwave it for 30 seconds and add milk a
spoonful at a time until you can drizzle it with a spoon. Ladle it over your loaf or cake
and it will run down the sides and although this will never set or crust to be firm, it's thick
enough that it won't absorb into your cake and disappear and it's just as tangy and rich and
delicious as when it's thicker and stiffer so it's still a very decadent topping for any dessert.
Finally, how to store cream cheese frosting: you can leave it at room temperature for four hours
or you can store it in a ziploc bag or tupperware in the fridge for two weeks or in the freezer for
two months or you can just cover the mixing bowl with cling film or saran wrap and store it in the
fridge overnight until you need to use it the next day. When you take it out it will be very
firm so let it sit on the counter for about an hour before stirring it to knock out any
air bubbles. If you use cream cheese frosting on a dessert, store that dessert in the fridge
and take it out four hours before serving to let it come to room temperature when it will tastes
the best! If you don't finish a cake straight away, cover any cut sides with cling film or
saran wrap to keep the cake moist when you put it back in the fridge. Did i miss anything? Ask me in
the comments! Go to www.britishgirlbakes.com for this recipe and lots more. Thanks for watching!