Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
This spiced cream cheese frosting is perfectly tangy and sweet, and tastes amazing on just about anything!
While cream cheese is the star of the show, ground cinnamon and nutmeg give this frosting tons of warm, cozy flavor.
My favorite way to use this frosting is on carrot cake cupcakes or cinnamon rolls!
Better yet, it’s totally pipeable and can be used to fill and decorate layer cakes and cupcake alike!
What Makes This Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting Pipeable?
This frosting has equal parts unsalted butter and cream cheese.
This allows it to have that delicious cream cheese taste while still being able to keep its shape. It’s the perfect balance of flavor and structure.
How Much Frosting Does this Recipe Make?
This recipe makes about 3 cups of frosting, which is enough to frost about 2 dozen cupcakes or a dozen cinnamon rolls.
If you want to frost a 6-inch layer cake, make 1.5 batches. To frost an 8-inch layer cake, make 2 batches.
Tips For Making Best Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- Use full fat cream cheese that comes in a block! It gives the frosting the best possible texture and taste.
- Don’t bother sifting your powdered sugar! Most brands in the US contain cornstarch to prevent caking and clumping. Only sift if you notice large clumps in your powdered sugar.
- Make sure the cream cheese and butter are both at room temperature! If they’re not, they won’t properly mix together, and you can end up with chunks of cream cheese in your frosting.
- Use freshly ground spices if possible. If you use pre-ground spices, make sure they’re still fresh and haven’t expired or lost their potency.
- Seal off the top of your piping bag with a rubber band to prevent any frosting from seeping out the top of the bag and make the piping bags easier to use.
- Mix the buttercream on the lowest speed at the end of the process for a couple minutes to give the frosting a silky-smooth consistency.
Making This Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting in Advance and Storage Tips
Make your frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! Store this frosting in an airtight container or sealed piping bag in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again.
A frosted cake can last in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month. The buttercream locks in all the moisture, keeping the cake fresh and delicious!
If you cut into the cake and have leftovers, use any remaining frosting to cover the cut section to keep it moist and store in the fridge for up to a week.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this spiced cream cheese frosting recipe, I’d love to hear what you think!
Please leave a rating below and a comment to let me know your thoughts.
Other Recipes You Might Like:
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature 113g
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 113g
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 4ml
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 4 cups powdered sugar 500g
- 1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream, room temperature 15ml
Instructions
- Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat together 1/2 cup of cream cheese and 1/2 cup of unsalted butter. Mix on a medium speed for a minute until smooth.
- Add 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp fine salt, and 1/8 tsp nutmeg. Mix on a low speed until combined.
- Gradually mix in 4 cups of powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp of heavy cream on a low speed. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Continue to mix on a low speed for 30 seconds to make sure everything is mixed together properly.
- Cover with a piece of plastic wrap or place in a piping bag until you're ready to use this frosting.
Video
Notes
Yield
This recipe makes about 3 cups of frosting, which is enough to frost 2 dozen cupcakes or top a dozen cinnamon rolls.Tips for Making the Best Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- Use full fat cream cheese! It gives the frosting a better texture and taste.
- Don't bother sifting your powdered sugar! Most brands in the US contain cornstarch to prevent caking, and this means no sifting is needed. Only sift if you notice clumps in your powdered sugar.
- Make sure the cream cheese and butter are both at room temperature! If they're not, they won't properly mix together, and you can end up with chunks of cream cheese in your frosting.
- Use freshly ground spices if possible. If you use pre-ground spices, make sure they're still fresh and haven't expired or lost their potency.
- Seal off the top of your piping bag with a rubber band to prevent any frosting from seeping out the top of the bag and make the piping bags easier to use.
- If you make this frosting for a cake, mix the buttercream on the lowest speed at the end of the process for a couple minutes, to get out any extra air that might have been incorporated during the mixing process.
Thanks for your recipe. I just made it and it’s great. I did have to use half and half instead of heavy cream and I added a few drops (less than 1/4 tsp) of lemon juice.
Hi Chelsey, do you think this could be used for a Hummingbird cake? Or would the regular cream cheese frosting work better? Thanks!!
Hi Joan,
It depends on what you’re in the mood for! This frosting would be a fun twist, but if you’re after that classic flavor I’d stick with regular cream cheese frosting (I personally always love the classics!!). Hope that helps, happy baking!
Have you ever filled your gingerbread sandwich cookies with this? Looking for something other than buttercream because I’m not a huge sweet person. Trying to decide between regular cream cheese frosting or this spiced recipe. Thanks!