Fruity and delicious raspberry cream cheese frosting is the perfect topping for cakes and baked goods. It's full of raspberry flavor, a gorgeous pink color, and the silkiest, smoothest texture while still being stable enough to pipe.
Jump to:
- 🌟 Why this is the best Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting recipe
- 📝 Ingredient notes
- 👩🍳 How to make Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 🍰 How Much Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting Do I Need to Make For A Cake?
- ❄️ Storage and Freezing
- 🔍 Troubleshooting
- 🎓 Expert tips
- 🥣 Equipment Notes
- ❓Recipe FAQs
- 🧁 More Frosting Recipes
- Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
🌟 Why this is the best Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting recipe
- It has the best fruity flavor - If you love raspberries and raspberry desserts, you will love this raspberry cream cheese frosting. It's the sister recipe to my strawberry cream cheese frosting which is also super popular!
- It's so simple to make - This easy cream cheese frosting recipe has only a few basic ingredients and comes together really fast. Even beginner bakers can master it! What's more, I give you all my pro tips to get the best results.
- It has a pretty color - I love the pretty pink hue of this frosting. It is perfect if you love pink desserts!
- It's really versatile - You can use it on anything! This frosting is stable enough to pipe onto cupcakes, but it also tastes amazing on chocolate brownies.
📝 Ingredient notes
- Raspberries: This raspberry cream cheese frosting recipe can be made with fresh or frozen raspberries. We use them to make a delicious thick fruit puree that is then whipped into the frosting. As frozen raspberries contain more water, it may take longer to thicken the puree on the stove if you use them instead of fresh raspberries.
- Granulated sugar: Plain, fine white sugar is the best for the raspberry puree. We do not use too much, though, so it is not overly sweet.
- Lemon juice: freshly squeezed lemon juice lifts the raspberry flavors and just gives a delicious hint of citrus.
- Unsalted butter: Butter helps stabilize the frosting and gives each bite a delicious texture. Fat also absorbs flavor really well, so it will take on that delicious raspberry taste, too! I always use European-style butter with 82% fat. It needs to be at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge in advance and avoid last-minute microwaving as this never ends well. The butter is the right temperature when you can press a finger into it and it leaves a fingertip mark. Here are my pro tips on how to soften butter.
- Powdered sugar: Make sure it is sifted ahead of time so you avoid any lumps in the frosting. But this easy raspberry cream cheese frosting is much more balanced in sweetness than many other recipes, so the amount of sugar isn't overpowering.
- Full-fat cream cheese: Only make raspberry cream cheese frosting with cream cheese that has at least 33% fat. Low-fat or reduced-fat cream cheese can be watery and make the frosting too thin. I always recommend using Philadelphia as it has great taste and texture. You do not need to use softened cream cheese, it can come straight out of the fridge.
🛒 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 Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prepare a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Alternatively, use an electric hand mixer.
- Push the raspberries through a sieve with a fork or spoon to remove the seeds and form a raspberry puree. Place it in a medium saucepan with the sugar and lemon juice and stir it to combine.
- Cook the puree in the saucepan over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until it has reduced to 60g / ⅓ cup in volume. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
- Whip the room-temperature butter in the stand mixer at medium-high speed for 3 minutes until it becomes light in color and creamy in texture.
- Next, add the sifted powdered sugar and continue whipping for another 2 minutes until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
- Then add the full-fat cream cheese and continue whipping for 2 more minutes.
- Now, very slowly, start adding the room-temperature raspberry reduction to the frosting with the mixer still running. Add it one tablespoon at a time, until it is fully incorporated.
- Transfer the frosting into a piping bag and chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow it to firm up before using.
💡 Top Tip: The puree needs to be at room temperature before you whip it into the frosting. Otherwise, it will melt the butter and you will end up with soup.
🍰 How Much Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting Do I Need to Make For A Cake?
This recipe will generously frost 12 raspberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. To use this cream cheese raspberry frosting on cakes, you will need approximately 2x the quantity for a 6-inch cake, 2.5x for a 7-inch cake, and 3x for an 8-inch cake.
But this will partially depend on how much frosting you prefer and if you are using any other fillings. Make separate batches of raspberry frosting rather than doubling up in the bowl to avoid overwhelming your mixer.
Check out my posts on the perfect moist sponge cake recipe and the best cupcake recipes to try with this frosting.
❄️ Storage and Freezing
The raspberry cream cheese frosting can be stored in an airtight container (or in a piping bag) in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. It will need to soften slightly before using it, so take it out in advance.
I do not recommend freezing cream cheese frostings as they can go grainy when defrosted. You can, however, make the reduced raspberry puree ahead of time and freeze it for later use. Simply decant it into a suitable airtight container and defrost before making the frosting recipe.
🔍 Troubleshooting
Here are some common issues with raspberry cream cheese frosting, and how to fix them like a pro!
- The frosting is lumpy - this can happen if the butter is not sufficiently softened before use or if some of the other ingredients are too cold. If the frosting goes lumpy, warm it gently over a double boiler or even use a hair dryer (pro tip!) to melt the edges before continuing to whip again.
- The frosting breaks - the raspberry fruit reduction needs to be added very slowly. If the frosting starts to split, stop adding it and keep whipping to let it stabilize before continuing to add it very slowly.
- The frosting is runny - Either the butter was too soft or the raspberry puree wasn't cool enough before you added it. Put the raspberry butter cream cheese frosting in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up before continuing.
- The frosting is too hard to pipe - Leave the frosting out on the counter for 30 minutes to soften.
🎓 Expert tips
- Always weigh ingredients by the gram with a digital scale for accuracy, the cup system is imprecise.
- To further enhance the color and taste, add a ¼ cup freeze-dried raspberries to the frosting at the end. You can also add a teaspoon of vanilla extract. I do not recommend making a solely freeze dried raspberry cream cheese frosting, as they are a very expensive ingredient, and fresh raspberries do give you a really amazing taste.
- You can also skip a step and make this raspberry cream cheese frosting with jam! Instead of making a homemade reduced raspberry puree, use the same quantity of good quality seedless raspberry jam.
- Grate the zest of a lemon into the frosting at the end to further enhance the citrus flavor, and make this a lemon raspberry cream cheese frosting.
- Because this delicious and fluffy frosting contains butter, it will harden in the fridge over time. For the best texture, let frosted cakes come to room temperature on the counter before consuming them.
🥣 Equipment Notes
Use a Digital scale to weigh all of your ingredients. Whip up the raspberry cream cheese butter frosting in a Stand mixer or use an Electric hand mixer. If you use a handheld electric mixer, it will take a bit longer.
❓Recipe FAQs
Buttercream frostings usually contain heavy cream or milk in addition to the butter, sugar, and flavorings. Using cream cheese instead adds an additional rich and tangy taste and makes them slightly denser, too.
Yes, you need to keep cakes with raspberry cream cheese filling or frosting in the fridge to prevent the dairy from spoiling.
Yes, and this can cause it to go runny. Once all the sugar and flavorings have been incorporated, stop beating. If at any point, the frosting becomes too soft and runny, put it in the fridge for 30 minutes and then continue.
Slowly whisk reduced raspberry puree or raspberry jam into the frosting at the end.
🧁 More Frosting Recipes
If you love this raspberry frosting, I recommend trying these recipes next.
Have you tried this recipe?
Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your dessert turned out and your feedback also helps other Readers!
Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Raspberry Cream cheese frosting
- 190 g (1 cups) Raspberries
- 20 g (1½ tablespoon) Granulated sugar
- ¼ tablespoon Lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 113 g (½ cups) Unsalted butter 82% fat, at room temperature
- 60 g (½ cups) Powdered sugar sifted
- 226 g (1 cups) Cream cheese full fat (33%+) eg. Philadelphia
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- First, bring your butter to room temperature. Here is how to soften butter. In the meantime, prepare a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Alternatively, use your electric hand mixer.
- Puree the raspberries and run it through a sieve to get rid off the seeds. Then, cook the mixture in a medium saucepan together with the granulated sugar and lemon juice over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until the mixture is reduced to 60g / ⅓ cup. Then, let the mixture come to room temperature.
- Cream the room-temperature butter at medium-high speed for 3 minutes until it becomes light in color and fluffy in texture.
- Next, add the sifted powdered sugar and continue whipping for another 2 minutes until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
- Then add the full fat cream cheese and continue whipping for 2 more minutes.
- Now, very slowly, start adding the room temperature raspberry reduction one tablespoon at a time with the mixer running. You can stop whipping once the raspberry mixture is incorporated.
- Transfer the frosting into a piping bag and chill it for 30 minutes before using.
- The frosting can be stored refrigerated for 2-3 days.
Notes
- Make sure you read my Expert Tips section above to maximize your success. A short recipe alone is not able to cover all the necessary details and science behind baking.
- Measure your ingredients with a digital scale for accuracy.
- Alternatively, instead of the raspberry reduction, use good quality seedless raspberry jam.
- You may further enhance this frosting with a small amount of freeze dried raspberries (¼ cup). However, it is not required, the raspberry reduction alone will provide a lovely color and raspberry flavor.
- The cream cheese needs to be high in fat. Using the low-fat version may result in a thinner frosting due to the excess water content.
- Make sure to let the raspberry reduction come to room temperature before adding to the cream cheese frosting.
- Adding the fruit reduction to the frosting needs to happen very slowly step-by-step or the frosting might break.
- Because softened butter is being used, the frosting may still be on the softer side right after it's whipped. If this is the case, chill it for 30 minutes before piping. However, if it's chilled for too long, the butter will solidify, and you might find it difficult to pipe. If this happens, just need to let it soften a little before using it.
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