This strawberry cream cheese frosting is smooth, sweet, and infused with delicious strawberry flavor. Made with just 5 ingredients, it comes together in about 10 minutes and is the perfect topping for all your favorite desserts!
Why you’ll love this frosting recipe
Cream cheese frosting is my absolute favorite type of frosting. Thick, sweet, and slightly tangy, it pairs well with everything. However, if I’m being honest, I could eat it with just a spoon.
You can never go wrong with plain cream cheese frosting, but I like to experiment with different flavors, too. So far, I have a bright lemon cream cheese frosting, a decadent chocolate cream cheese frosting, and a fruity raspberry cream cheese frosting.
Strawberry seemed like the best next option, and it might be my favorite yet!
- Irresistibly smooth texture – This frosting is smooth, creamy, light, and fluffy, yet still sturdy enough to pipe.
- Perfectly balanced flavor – My secret to the best strawberry flavor is using freeze-dried berries in place of fresh strawberries or even strawberry jam!
- Large batch – As written, this recipe makes 4.5 cups of frosting, which is enough for 48 servings. It will cover an 8- or 9-inch 3-layer cake or 48 cupcakes.
Spread this frosting over vanilla cupcakes, a classic white cake, or a simple chocolate cake. No matter how you use it, you really can’t go wrong!
Key Ingredient Notes
- Freeze-dried strawberries – These are berries that have had all their water content removed, making them light, crisp, and shelf-stable. Once crushed, they add a sweet, berry flavor and beautiful pink color to the recipe without making the frosting runny.
- Cream cheese – For a smooth and creamy texture, use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese, softened to room temperature.
- Unsalted butter – This helps to stabilize the frosting, making it easier to pipe and spread.
- Powdered sugar – Also known as confectioner’s sugar, this sweetens the strawberry cream cheese frosting, without making it overly sweet or grainy.
- Coarse kosher salt – Just a pinch helps balance the sweetness, creating a well-rounded taste.
- Heavy whipping cream – This adds rich flavor and creates a smooth, creamy consistency while adding structure to the frosting so that it holds up well for piping.
How to make strawberry cream cheese frosting
1. Prepare the Strawberry Powder
- Place the freeze-dried strawberries in a small food processor.
- Pulse until fine powder.
- Sift the crushed berries through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Discard any seeds or large pieces.
Alternative Method
If you prefer, you can place the freeze-dried berries in a freezer bag and crush them into a fine powder with a rolling pin.
2. Make the Frosting
- Beat the softened cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar, strawberry powder, and salt.
- Beat again on low speed until well combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Add the heavy cream, and mix again on low until it is mostly incorporated.
- Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. This takes me about 3 minutes!
Tips for Success
- Bring the cream cheese to room temperature. This prevents the frosting from becoming lumpy and ensures a smooth and velvety texture.
- The butter should also be at room temperature. Room-temperature butter will leave a little dent when you press into it. If your finger sinks right through, your butter is too warm. Warm butter will result in a soupy, runny frosting.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl. Stop periodically, as needed, to scrape the sides of the bowl and ensure all the ingredients are completely incorporated.
- Don’t overbeat the frosting. Overbeating warms up the sugar, causing it to melt, which again, results in a runny frosting.
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Pin ItMake-Ahead Tips
This strawberry and cream cheese frosting is great to make ahead of time, which can make preparing for special occasions a lot easier!
- Prepared frosting can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
- Thaw frozen cream cheese frosting overnight in the fridge.
- Bring stored frosting to room temperature, and re-whip before using it.
Storing Tips
- Store homemade strawberry cream cheese frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Don’t leave this frosting at room temperature for long, or it will spoil!
- Decorated desserts should be stored in the fridge to keep the frosting fresh.
FAQs
I don’t recommend it! Fresh strawberries will add too much moisture to the frosting, and the added moisture will result in a soupy, loose consistency that doesn’t spread or pipe well.
The most common reasons for a runny cream cheese frosting are having too much moisture or overwhipping. Since we’re using freeze-dried strawberries, moisture is not typically a problem. So, be careful to beat the ingredients just until they’re well combined and fluffy.
If your frosting is too runny for your liking, I recommend adding up to ½ cup of cornstarch. A natural thickening agent, it will help soak up any excess moisture without changing the flavor. You could also add more powdered sugar, but I find that extra sugar makes the frosting way too sweet.
More Frosting Recipes
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 30 g freeze-dried strawberries
- 15 oz (450 g) cream cheese softened Note 1
- 1 stick (113 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 cups (520 g) powdered sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream cold
Instructions
TO PREPARE THE STRAWBERRY POWDER:
- Place the freeze-dried raspberries in a freezer bag and crush them with a rolling pin until fine powder.
- Sift the crushed raspberries through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the seeds and large pieces.
TO MAKE THE FROSTING:
- In a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Add powdered sugar, raspberry powder, and salt. Beat on low speed for a minute.
- Add heavy cream and mix on low speed until mostly incorporated. Then increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
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Tips & Notes
– Keep cream cheese frosting in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
– Freeze leftover frosting for up to 3 months.
– Thaw frozen frosting in the fridge overnight. Then, whip it until smooth and fluffy again.
– Any cakes or cupcakes frosted with cream cheese frosting will also need to be refrigerated!
Nutrition
