Cream Cheese Frosting Without Butter (VIDEO)

This 3-ingredient cream cheese frosting without butter recipe is the easiest and quickest frosting to whip up for your cakes and cupcakes. Unlike several frosting recipes out there, this no-butter cream cheese frosting recipe doesn't include tons of sugar so it is very well balanced in sweetness. Make this delicious, velvety-smooth, easy-to-pipe frosting in 3 minutes!

Jump to:

• 💡 What is cream cheese frosting
• 🌟 Why this is the best cream cheese frosting recipe
• 🧈 How to substitute butter in cream cheese frosting
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• 📚 Flavor variations
• 🥣 Equipment notes
• 🎓 Expert tips
• ❓Recipe FAQs
• 🍰 Recipes using cream cheese frosting without butter
• 🧁 More frosting and filling recipes
• Cream cheese frosting without butter (VIDEO)

💡 What is cream cheese frosting

It's difficult to find the formal definition of cream cheese frosting. Basically, cream cheese frosting is a smooth, creamy whipped topping that is made of, you guessed it, cream cheese.

Check out some of my cream cheese desserts as well!

Different types of cream cheese frosting

Cream cheese frosting varies in ingredients. However, they all contain cream cheese. Some cream cheese frosting variations are

1. Cream cheese frosting with butter (the most common one)
2. Cream cheese frosting without butter (this recipe!) - this version usually contains another high fat dairy product eg. mascarpone or heavy cream
3. 2 ingredients cream cheese frosting (only made of fat cream cheese and powdered sugar)

Yes, you can make cream cheese frosting simply using 2 ingredients i.e. cream cheese and powdered sugar. Using the right technique, it can whip up perfectly and pipe beautifully.

How cream cheese frosting is used in baking

Cream cheese frosting with its mild, sweet taste and a pleasant slight tang enhances the flavor and appearance of baked goods. You can pipe it on top of your cupcakes or frost the entire cake with it. It has a mild flavor so it's beneficial to balance the overall, typically sweet taste of your cakes. The smooth and airy texture of cream cheese frosting adds a delicate sensation.

It is the perfect addition to pumpkin bread, carrot cake, strawberry crunch cupcakes, rainbow cake, strawberry cake, red velvet cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, cookies and more.

🌟 Why this is the best cream cheese frosting recipe

1. It's easy - This is a 3-ingredient cream cheese frosting and you don't need any special baking skill to achieve the best result.
2. It's super quick to make - You can make it in no time, literally less than 3 minutes! You do not need to wait until the ingredients are at room temperature.
3. It has the best flavor and texture - This no butter cream cheese frosting has a mild, delicate texture that is easy to pipe, with a delicious cream cheese flavor. While butter-based cream cheese frosting is more commonly used, the cream or mascarpone version is definitely superior in terms of taste and texture, eg. it won´t harden in the fridge but stays super creamy and fluffy
4. It doesn't need a lot of sugar - Instead of using TONS of sugar to whip up the frosting, this recipe focuses on using the right amount of ingredients and the right technique
5. It's so versatile - You can get creative and change the flavor to your liking! (Chocolate cream cheese frosting sounds delicious, doesn't it?!) You can use it to decorate various cakes or cupcakes!
6. It doesn't need fancy baking equipment - If you have the regular tools to bake a cake at home, then you can make this recipe, only an electric mixer is required

🧈 How to substitute butter in cream cheese frosting

How to make icing without butter or margarine? In fact, it is super easy!

Butter and cream cheese are both dairy products, which means they are made of milk. However, they're manufactured through a different method and as the result, the texture and nutritional contents aren't precisely the same.

Butter usually contains about 80-82% of fat, which is significantly greater than the amount of fat in cream cheese which is around 33-40%. It means that butter contains a very small amount of water as compared to cream cheese.

Now, let's talk about the regular cream cheese frosting whipping process. Sugar acts as the water binder which draws out the water from other ingredients. When the mixture has butter, you do not need other fat-based ingredients to add besides the cream cheese itself. So, the total moisture in the mixture isn't much too. Then, sugar can accomplish its job easily.

However, if you want to make a cream cheese frosting recipe without butter, it means that the mixture will have a greater amount of moisture so the responsibility of the sugar to draw out the water content will increase. If you don't do it correctly, the mixture will end up being a soup-like thin cream cheese frosting. Due to this problem, some recipes recommend using a lot of sugar to prevent the runny consistency of the cream cheese frosting. Guess what, this isn't necessary.

You can actually make cream cheese frosting without butter AND without too much sugar. You can replace the butter with another ingredient as long as it's high in fat. Some butter substitutes for cream cheese frosting are margarine, mascarpone, heavy cream, and milk powder. If you decide to skip butter in cream cheese frosting, remember that these substitutes need to be high in fat. The fat in these ingredients acts as a replacement for the butter fat so do not use the low-fat version.

Some recipes out there use coconut oil, corn starch and avocado to substitute butter. While they sound creative, the result might not have the best flavor and texture.

Oh, by the way, you can also make a light cream cheese mousse. You can see the result in this carrot mousse cake recipe and red velvet cake recipe.

💡Top Tip: If you can't find any of those (heavy cream or mascarpone) substitutes, you can actually make cream cheese frosting with 2 ingredients only; cream cheese and powdered sugar. They can mix well and whip up beautifully as long as you're using the right technique.

📝 Ingredient notes

This cream cheese icing no butter recipe focuses on using the right amount of ingredients and the right technique in order to make a fluffy frosting. Here are the ingredients needed:

1. Hight Fat Cream cheese: It acts as the base of this recipe. You will need the one with high-fat content (33%+). You do not need to rest the cream cheese until it reaches room temperature. You can use it right away
2. Powdered sugar: Only use fine-quality powdered sugar to avoid grainy textures in your frosting. Be sure to sift it first before mixing
3. High-fat mascarpone OR heavy cream: This is a no-butter frosting recipe which means we need to have something with high-fat content to avoid a runny consistency. Mascarpone and whipped cream can do the job. But you need the high-fat version. For mascarpone, use the one with 41% fat content and for the heavy cream, use the one with a minimum of 36% fat content. If mascarpone is not available for you, check my mascarpone substitute article which also has a homemade mascarpone recipe. If using heavy cream, it must be very cold. To substitute, check out my heavy cream substitute article.
4. Vanilla extract or bean paste (optional): This acts as a flavoring agent. Of course, you substitute it with another flavoring agent such as cinnamon, cocoa powder, pumpkin spice, etc.

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all Ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe

1. Best cream cheese to use

For this no-butter frosting recipe, using the right cream cheese is super important. You want cream cheese that has a high amount of fat. Cream cheese blocks are typically firmer, lower in water content, and higher in fat content as compared to the cream cheese in the tub. However, in Europe, cream cheese is mainly sold in tubs and all my recipes are made with that.

The best cream cheese for this recipe is Philadelphia full fat cream cheese blocks. According to USDA, cream cheese must have at least 33% of milkfat content. Here are some popular cream cheese brands.

Cream Cheese Brand	Fat Content	Flavor Profile
Philadelphia	34%	combination of creamy, tangy and salty
Dutch Farms	33%	mild
Prairie Farms	33%	slightly tangy
Organic Valley	33%	buttery and creamy

2. Step-by-step preparation process

Making cream cheese frosting without butter is simple and quick. Please follow these directions to help you achieve an amazing result:

1. Place the cream cheese into a mixing bowl. Add mascarpone OR heavy cream to the bowl along with SIFTED powdered sugar
2. Whip it. It's easy but you need to do it without spending too much time on it (it will only take around 2-3 minutes). So, whip it up with an electric hand mixer.
3. Add the vanilla bean paste, if desired. When the frosting reaches a fluffy, pipeable consistency, stop right there and do not overmix. If you continue beating the frosting, it will separate and gets runny.
4. The frosting should be stable enough to pipe or frost the cake at this point, however, it will even further set refrigerated

💡Top Tip:  Besides not over whipping and using the right ingredients, the best way to thicken cream cheese frosting is to refrigerate it for 30-60 minutes before using

📚 Flavor variations

This cream cheese frosting is amazing and so versatile! You can be creative and add different flavors or colors to this recipe. Whenever possible, be sure to use the flavoring agent that comes in powder or gel, not liquid. This consistency is important in order to avoid too much moisture added to the frosting.

If you decide to use add a liquid-based flavoring agent to this frosting, you need to do it carefully in a small amount. Otherwise, your frosting might get runny. Here are some ideas that you can try for your cream cheese frosting:

• Cocoa powder
• Pumpkin spice
• Cinnamon
• Gingerbread
• Peppermint
• Coffee (very very small amount, not warm)
• Melted chocolate (not warm)
• Strawberry reduction (not warm)
• Lemon zest (avoid the juice as it can break the frosting)
• Caramel (not warm)
• Nutella
• Peanut butter
• Maple syrup

For powder-based flavoring agent (e.g. cinnamon powder), sift it first and us a small amount eg. one teaspoon, then gradually increase until desired taste is achieved. For gel-based flavoring agents (e.g. strawberry reduction, caramel) simply add 1 tablespoon of it during the whisking process, then gradually increase until desired taste is achieved without breaking the frosting. For more liquid-based flavoring agents (e.g. maple syrup, coffee), use 1 teaspoon and very carefully monitor the consistency of the frosting.

💡Top Tip: While flavoring the cream cheese frosting, remember to start with a small amount, monitor the consistency, and, never ever use too much liquid and/or warm ingredients to flavor

🥣 Equipment notes

You don't actually need too much of fancy baking tools to make this cream cheese frosting. You will need a Digital scale, Electric hand mixer and a sieve to prepare the powdered sugar.

Remember, this recipe is simple but you need to do it carefully. The most important part of this recipe is to NOT overmix. Overmixing makes the frosting runny and it's a bit hard to fix. That's why an electric hand mixer is best for this recipe especially when you only make a small amount of frosting.

You can use a Stand mixer but you need to use the whisk attachment (not the beater one!) to avoid overmixing and do not walk away from the mixer.

🎓 Expert tips

1. The cream cheese, mascarpone, and heavy cream / whipping cream all need to be high in fat. Using the low-fat version may result in a thinner frosting since it contains more water
2. Be sure to sift your powdered sugar. You do not want to add any lump during the whisking process or have a lumpy frosting as the result
3. Do not overmix. This frosting is easy to separate and gets runny when you whip it too much. So, when it reaches the stiff peaks form, stop the whipping process.
4. You can add your favorite flavoring agent or coloring agent to this frosting but you need to do it carefully. Use the powdered or gel version instead of the liquid version whenever possible. Again, do not overmix.

❓Recipe FAQs

🍰 Recipes using cream cheese frosting without butter

🧁 More frosting and filling recipes