This Whipped Cream frosting is perfect and here’s why. It’s not too sweet. It keeps it’s shape. There’s only 4 ingredients. It doesn’t melt at room temp and it doesn’t separate in the refrigerator. Best of all, my kids love it and I don’t feel too bad about letting them eat it.
Don’t you hate it when you have to scrape all the frosting off your cake to make it edible? I do. That’s why I searched for the perfect frosting recipe. This one takes the cake! You could even use it for a pie or add a little lemon for a sweet-tart fruit dip. Try it with my Snickers Candy Bar Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes!
How to Make Whipped Cream Frosting
Ingredients:
4oz Cream Cheese or Neufchâtel Cheese (less fat) at room temp
1/4 Cup White Granulated Sugar
1 Teas Vanilla Extract
3/4 Cup + 1 Tbls Heavy Whipping Cream
Directions:
Whip the Cream Cheese and Sugar together with a hand or stand mixer until well combined. Add the vanilla extract and whip for a few seconds. Slowly add the cream and beat until stiff peaks form. Taste the frosting and add a little more cream if needed.
I don’t like a lot of frosting on my cake, but you can easily double this recipe if you like lots or are making a double layer cake. You can use this recipe to compliment all kinds of cakes by adding food coloring and other flavors of extract. This frosting holds together for hours at room tempature and even in the refrigerator for a few days.
Decorating Your Cake:
For a quick and easy way to decorate a cake or cupcakes with this perfect frosting, just make your own pastry bag! Kids love using these bags to decorate their cupcakes. Here’s how to make one:
Step 1: Cut a very small piece off the corner of a plastic bag and push a pastry tip in the hole. The bag will stretch, so make the hole smaller than you think it should be. The pastry tip doesn’t have to be pushed all the way through because it will get pushed down as you squeeze the frosting out.
I used a freezer bag because they are thicker and don’t stretch as much as a sandwich bag. Also, you don’t have to use a pastry tip. Just cut and an “X” shape in the corner of the bag for a simple decorative look.
Step 2: Place the pastry tip end of the bag in a cup and wrap the edges of the bag around it so you can fill it easily. Don’t fill it too full or the frosting will get warm from your hands.
Step 3: Do not close the bag! Slowly squeeze from the top of the bag to the bottom and decorate to your hearts content!
What’s your favorite frosting recipe?
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Carrie says
Oh, how delicious!! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!
Carrie recently posted…Flamingo Friday: Chilean & Caribbean Flamingos
Nathali says
Regular sugar or confectioners sugar? Im confused
Tulip says
Sorry, regular sugar!
Naomi says
I dont know what went wrong the frosting didn’t turn out right
Janine says
So sorry to hear that Naomi! Maybe chill your bowl and the whisk attachment first?
SusanAnn Sheidy says
Granulated sugar is regular sugar. Confectioner’s sugar is the soft powder kind.
Amanda leopin says
Best frosting EVER !!
Janine says
Thank you Amanda!
maria says
So this frosting would be safe for an outdoor bday party? the heat won’t be an issue??
Janine says
It would probably last an hour or so in the heat.
jacque says
I am making this frosting for my sons cupcakes. Would it be OK sitting overnight at 75 degrees?
Janine says
I would frost them in the morning because I don’t think it would last overnight. I’ve never tried it. You can whip it up and put it in the refrigerator and it will be ready to go in the morning.
Danielle says
This frosting sounds yummy! I was thinking about replacing the frosting from a champagne cupcake recipe i found with yours. Any suggestions on adding some champagne to this frosting recipe?
Janine says
Yum! What a fantastic spin. You could try a little more cream cheese or less cream?
Heather says
I just made this and it didn’t work at all. I followed the directions exactly but it never go thick and formed peaks. What happened?
Janine says
I’m so sorry Heather. Did you whip the cream cheese first and then slowly beat the heavy cream in? Maybe put the mixture in the fridge and try again. It takes a little while. You could try adding more cream cheese?
melissa says
I’ve tried this, too, and it hasn’t come out for me. 🙁 I even added cornstarch, whipped it in, put it on the cake and then put the cake in the fridge (used it for the filling). That worked okay, but I wouldn’t use it on the outside of a cake. Tastes yummy, though!
Penny says
One thing that may have happened is a bit of residual oil on a part of the mixer attachments, or in the bowl. If there is, it won’t set. What I do when making any kind of 7 min, cool whip or the like is to have a bit of very hot water and rinse everything very quickly before I make the icing. It has to cool down, tho, before you start the icing, the bowl should be chilled or cool, at least.
Heather says
I have no idea what happened. actually did this twice. Threw the first one out and tried it again. Same thing happened. It’s like it starts out good but falls during the mixing. I have made my own homemade whip cream so I have worked with heavy cream before. I did make sure the cream cheese and sugar were well combined and then only added 1/4 cup of heavy cream at a time. I thought the second time around it was going to work but right at the end it fell (that’s the only way I know how to describe it.) Could the temp in my kitchen have anything to do with it? It is hot and humid here today.
Janine says
That could be it. Maybe put your beaters in the freezer first? You could also try a teaspoon of dry milk powder or dry pudding, or try using confectioners sugar instead of granulated.
Elaine says
Is there a way to make a chocolate version of this? If so how would you go about doing it? I have made this icing twice and it is so yummy!
Janine says
I’ve never done anything except add some strawberry flavoring. You could try putting in some chocolate syrup or melted chocolate in the Cream Cheese? I wonder if they make Chocolate flavored Cream Cheese? Thanks for asking!
Lynnora says
Your best bet is using Hershey’s cocoa powder. This will give you the chocolate flavor and color!
diane christison says
Add some Hershey’s cocoa it will work
Sarah says
I would try chocolate pudding mix…I have used white chocolate in a recipe very similar and it worked fantastic! I just did it to taste…maybe 1/3-1/2 of the small box.
Sara says
HI – this sounds awesome – but about how many cups of frosting does this make?
Janine says
I would say about 1 and 1/2 cups. Just enough to cover the top of a 11×13 box cake
Jenny says
I am making an ice cream cake. Will this frosting work for that as well?
Janine says
Oh yes! Yum sounds delicious!
Melissa says
followed the recipe exact. It was so liquid like and tasted very strongly of cream cheese. I guess I learned my lesson, I shouldn’t try new recipes when I’m making something an hour before I have to leave.
Janine says
Oh my gosh! So sorry Melissa. I wonder what went wrong? If it is too cream cheesy you can add more cream. It takes a while to beat it. Maybe put the whole bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes and then try beating it again? That has NEVER happened to me.
Kelley Starbird says
Can I substitute regular cream cheese instead of reduced fat?
Janine says
Yes of course. It will probably be stiffer if you use full fat.
Andrea says
Thanks! I just prepared this for an ice cream cake and I love it, not too sweet nor sour, and nice texture!
Savannah says
Does this have a very strong cream cheese flavor or is the cream cheese just to stabilize it?
Janine says
The cream cheese just stabilizes it. You can also add more cream if you think it is too strong.
Mouse says
Growing up, mom always said she could tell which plate was mine at a birthday party because it was the one with all the frosting I’d carefully scraped off my piece of cake. So to say I don’t like frosting even as an adult is an understatement.
I also don’t like sweetened cream cheese, as in those coffee cake pastry things with sweetened cream cheese swirled in the middle (yuck!). I like my cheeses plain or savory, but not sweet!
So my question is… does this frosting taste anything at all like sweetened cream cheese? Can you TASTE the cream cheese or does it taste like whip cream? I really don’t want to waste a perfectly good box of cream cheese or ruin a perfectly good carton of cream! 🙁
Mouse says
Never mind, I just saw several comments that answer my question 🙁 Guess I’ll keep looking for a frosting recipe I can stand to put on a cake, lol!
Noemi says
hmmm…..it tasted a little to much like cream cheese for my taste. I was really wanting the light whip cream taste that could hold up well.
Janine says
Add lots more cream! 🙂
Shawna says
Just buy the whipped topping they make at Walmart and add the crushed cookies. Its really good and fast!
Ariel says
I don’t normally post comments but I think I can help those who are having trouble with this recipe. I’ve made this one before and it didn’t work, I ended up using my favorite whipped cream recipe instead. Today I just made this recipe again but I used a method the bakery I work at uses.
Instead of slowly adding the heavy cream to the cream cheese mixture try whipping the heavy cream to stiff peaks and then fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream. I did this and the frosting is so fluffy! And it tastes amazing! I love it! I was able to pipe with it too. I hope this helps anyone that’s having trouble!
connie Poirrier says
I think idea makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing.
sue says
can you use ready made whipped topping?
Mary says
are you able to add fruit to this or should I put the fruit on top and possibly in between the layers of cake?
Janine says
Maybe if you pureed it first and didn’t put as much cream? I’ve never tried it though
frosting bags says
What a great idea.This is really a great tip! Thanks for sharing!!Genius! Love the idea and will try it!!
Linda says
Will this hold in a 3 layered cake?
Janine says
I have never tried it. I believe as long as you keep it cool it would
Kayleigh says
Well I made this recipe about 2 years ago and it worked perfectly so I figured I’d try it again. I’ve tried it 2x today and wasted a lot of cream cheese and whipping cream because it just will not thicken no matter how long I beat it for! I am not sure why it worked the first time I tried it but doesn’t anymore.
Temperamental recipe I guess.
Janine says
Hi Kayleigh! Are you softening your cream cheese before you whip it? That might be a problem?
Janine says
Maybe put everything in the fridge and try it again later?
Bubba says
Can this be used, or modified, for frosting cream pies?
Janine says
Yes! It would work well. I like to use it for breakfast food like waffles and pancakes too.
Valeria says
I was super excited to try this recipe because it requires little ingredients. However, I used a hand mixer for this and mixed for about 12 minutes and the leaks never seemed to form. I bake all the time and I do use heavy whipping cream on the regular. I’m not sure what I did. I read all the comments first to see if I could use any tips but still it didn’t turn out well, very liquid like texture.
Janine says
That is so weird Valeria! Are you at a high altitude? It should form peaks because the cream on it’s own would. Not too sure how to fix it for you. Maybe do less cream or try to cool down the mixture a little? Maybe the cream cheese was too warm?
Eryn says
Wondering if this could somehow be made into a chocolate icing? Has this ever been done? If so, how?
Janine says
Maybe add some cocoa powder?
Liz says
So bummed. Trying to make this for my son’s birthday today and can’t get it to form peaks. I’ve added confectioners sugar, unflavored gelatin. Tried refrigerating it. Been beating it for about 20 minutes. I just want to cry. The first time I’ve tried to decorate a cake for him and he really wants a flash cake. And I’m careless today so I can’t even go to the store to try again. Guess I should’ve practiced first. How do I tell my 5 year old, mommy messed up his cake on his birthday? 😔
Janine says
I’m so sorry Liz! If you freeze the bowl and the metal beaters, sometimes that helps. Maybe cool it down and try again?
Shirley says
I made this to see if it was good before icing cake fir company. It was so yummy I wanted to eat before icing cake.
I did however,place my bowl over another bowl with ice cubes in it and it whipped up beautifully.
Thanks for easy icing receipe
Janine says
So glad to hear! Thank you!
Alex says
This worked out perfectly!
Finally a great substitute to buttercream!
Cheers!
Maria says
Did you try the whisk attachment?
Fonda says
I just made this icing & I felt I needed to leave a message because of all the failures listed. I never had a bit of problem making this, and it’s great tasting. I did use confectioners sugar instead of granulated. You only need to beat the whipping cream about 5 minutes. I made the cream cheese, sugar & vanilla first, about 2 minutes. I beat the whipping cream in a different bowl, until soft peaks. I then added the cream cheese mixture with the whipping cream. That only took about 2 minutes as well. I love it! It’s not too sweet and it is very easy to pipe or spread. It’s a keeper recipe!! Thank you for a great recipe! ❤️ 😋
Janine says
Thank you, Fonda! Glad you liked it.
Catalina says
I stumbled over this recipe on Pinterest, as I am not a fan of buttercream frosting and any frosting with lots of sugar added. I needed a chocolate frosting for my son’s cake. I got scared reading the comments about unsuccessful results. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I used a standup mixer like Kitchenaid, but this was successful and extremely delicious. I added several generous tbs of cocoa powder and slightly increase the cream. Certainly a recipe I’ll make it again if needed. Thank you!
Carol says
I made this after reading all the comments. I changed the heavy whipping cream to 1 tub of cool whip straight from the freezer. PERFECT and was fine in the summer patio party. Another way I used this frosting was cream cheese and about 4 oz of white chocolate, melted with the vanilla and cool whip. Yummo
Last option instead of cream cheese use a small box of vanilla instant pudding, no vanilla and cool whip. It is so good you can just eat it with a spoon. Hope this helps.
Jan Gleiter says
I’m regrettably late to the party, but I’m so glad I finally found the invitation, buried under stacks of disastrous icing recipes. I didn’t quite believe this would even work, much less be as good as you say, but the truth is that it DID work (perfectly) and was even better than you suggested. It is truly amazing. Now I have an icing I can use with white cake, and it will work fabulously when I want white cake with fruit. It is superb!!
Monica says
My family said this was the best icing I’ve ever made. I’m sharing the recipe with my mom and sisters too. Perfect!
Mary says
Can butter be used instead of cream cheese?
Janine says
Sorry, butter can not be used instead of cream cheese as it will make more of a hardened and not a whipped icing. In a pinch you can sometimes substitute cream cheese for cottage cheese or even sour cream. I hope you were able to make this with the cream cheese as the recipe is written.
Kim says
I just made this for my dad’s cupcakes for his 92nd birthday. He’s not huge on “real” sweet. This was perfect!!!! Thank you!
Jinni says
This frosting is amazing, simple ing. and easy to make. I used raw sugar versus granulated, it turned out delicious. Thanks for sharing