This White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting is rich, smooth, and creamy with a unique blend of tangy and sweet. The white chocolate gives the frosting a little extra stability making it perfect for piping on cupcakes, cookies, icing cakes and more.
If you’re looking for a white frosting that is less sweet than buttercream and a little more sturdy than plain cream cheese frosting, this is your recipe. It’s simple to make and tastes great with a wide range of cake flavors. Whether you’re clebrating a special event or just want to dres up a batch of upcakes, this recipe makes any dessert feel bakery-worthy, right from your own kitchen.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Balanced Sweetness! The tang of cream cheese and a touch of salt balance white chocolate’s sweetness.
- Great for Piping. White chocolate adds stability, so it pipes beautifully and holds shape great.
- Smooth and Creamy. No gritty sugar, just a silky, luscious finish every time and with just a handful of basic ingredients.
White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
White chocolate sometimes gets a bad wrap for being too sweet, but I am here to make the case that it’s all about balance. Yes—white chocolate has a higher sugar content than regular chocolate, but that is why you make adjustments accordingly.
For example, this recipe has about half the amount of powdered sugar as our regular cream cheese frosting. I also suggest using salted butter, or at least adding a pinch of salt to really balance things out.
Main Ingredients Needed
- Butter – make sure your butter is soft but not melted. It needs to be creamy enough to mix well with the soft cream cheese but not so warm that it melts and makes the frosting runny. I used salted butter but if you use unsalted butter, just add a pinch of salt to the recipe.
- Cream Cheese – for frosting you always want to use brick cream cheese rather than whipped. It will hold its shape much better. I also recommend using full fat cream cheese.
- White Chocolate – for the best flavor, use a high quality white chocolate such as Guittard. Cheaper white chocolate brands tend to have a more fake flavor that is overly sweet while good quality white chocolate has a more milky flavor.
- Powdered Sugar – if your powdered sugar has any large lumps be sure to push it through a fine mesh strainer before using.
- Vanilla Extract – pure vanilla extract adds a pop of flavor to the frosting.
How to Make White Chocolate Frosting
- Melt the white chocolate. Place white chocolate in a microwave safe container and alternate between heating for about 30 seconds and stirring. Heat until only a few lumps remain, then mix until completely smooth.
- Cream the cream cheese and butter. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy, then add the cream cheese and cream again until fluffy. Add the vanilla.
- Add the melted chocolate. Slowly stream in the white chocolate while mixing on low speed. Add the vanilla, then mix on high until light and fluffy again.
- Slowly add the sugar. Add the powdered sugar slowly, mixing until completely incorporated before turning on high to finish.
- Use or store. Either use immediately or store in the fridge until you are ready to use. Enjoy!
Tips for the Best White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Use Full-Fat Cream Cheese: Avoid whipped or spreadable cream cheese- it won’t create a stable frosting.
- Cool the White Chocolate: Mix gently and let it cool slightly before mixing in, so it doesn’t melt the butter/cream cheese.
- Room Tempreture Ingredients: Let the butter and cream cheese soften at room temperature for ultra-smooth mixing.
- High Quality White Chocolate: Invest in a good brand for flavor and texture such as Guittard. You can also use a white chocolate bar—just chop it into small pieces before melting. Cheap baking chips don’t blend as well and can be a tad grainy.
- Do not melt the chocolate completely in the microwave, or you risk overheating it. White chocolate, especially, burns quite quickly because of all of the milk solids in it. The chocolate should still have a few lumps that can be melted by mixing.
- If your frosting is a little too soft to pipe, toss it into the fridge for about 30 minutes and then try again.
- A tiny bit of salt goes a long way in balancing the sweetness of this frosting. You can either use salted butter or add a pinch of salt to the frosting.
Recipe Variations
- Citrus Twist- Add a teaspoon of orange or leon zest for a bright flavor boost.
- Chocoalte Chip- Stir in mini chocoalte chips or finely chopped nuts at the end.
- Espresso- Add 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso for a mocha frosting.
- Berry Swirl- Gently swirl in 2 tablespoons of raspberry, strawberry, or blueberry puree.
- Vanilla Bean- Replace vanilla extract with vanilla bean pasts for specks an ddeeper flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Runny or soft cream cheese frosting generally means that the ingredients are too warm. Therefore, the best way to thicken the frosting is to put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (or up to a few hours) to give it a chance to cool down.
If your frosting gets a curdled look to it, it has broken which means that the fats are no longer emulsified. As long as you followed the recipe, the most likely reason for it breaking is that it got either too hot or too cold. The best way to fix broken cream cheese frosting is to chill it down if it’s too warm, or warm it up if it’s too cold.
To chill you can place a bowl of ice water under the bowl of frosting and mix to try and get it to come back together. If it’s too cold you can try gently warming with a hair dryer on the bottom of the bowl and mixing until it comes back together.
Storing Instructions
- Refrigerator: store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: store in an airtight container, or freezer bags, in the freezer for up to 2 months. To thaw, transfer to the fridge overnight.
- To use: once you are ready to use the frosting again, remove it from the fridge and let it warm up to room temperature. Then, using an electric mixer, hand mixer, or a stand mixer, whip the frosting back up until it is nice and fluffy.
More Recipes to Use White Chocolate Frosting
White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Add the white chocolate chips to a microwave safe container and microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until only a few small lumps of chocolate remain. Continue to stir until the white chocolate is completely smooth. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature if at all warm.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and beat with the paddle or whisk attachment until light and fluffy—about 2-3 minutes. Add the room temperature cream cheese and beat again until light and fluffy, or about 2 minutes more. Slowly drizzle the room temperature melted white chocolate and the vanilla extract into the butter and cream cheese mixture and mix until light and fluffy again.
- Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time on low speed, mixing until fully incorporated each time. Once all powdered sugar has been added, beat on high for about 30 seconds until it is light and fluffy.
- Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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More of the Best Frosting Recipes
- Easy Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Classic Buttercream Frosting
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- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Mint Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- German Chocolate Frosting
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This White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting is silky smooth, perfectly sweet, and sturdy enough to pipe on cupcakes or use as icing. It’s quick to make and be used immediately or saved for later.
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