I am so excited to share this Cream Cheese Buttercream recipe with you because it is one of my most requested frosting recipes of all time! Although I include it with my recipes for Red Velvet Cake, Pumpkin Layer Cake, Lemon Layer Cake, and Pumpkin Cupcakes, I finally decided to create a standalone post just for this frosting. It’s the perfect consistency for piping, frosting cakes smooth, and decorating cupcakes, all without being too sweet or complicated to make. It’s become my go-to and I hope you love it as much as I do! 

Before this recipe, I dreaded working with Cream Cheese Buttercream because it’s usually so soft (unless you add way too much powdered sugar). After lots of experimenting and researching though, I found some ways to thicken it up for cake decorating and now it’s a joy to work with! To make it the perfect consistency, I like to add cornstarch in with the powdered sugar. It helps thicken and stabilize the frosting without adding any flavor – basically like adding powdered sugar without the sweetness! You can certainly skip the cornstarch and still have a great Cream Cheese Buttercream as well – it’ll just be a little bit softer. 

Another important ingredient in this frosting is brick-style full-fat cream cheese. It’s critical that you don’t use low-fat or spreadable cream cheese, as these variations contain way more water than the full-fat brick kind. That means your frosting will be extra soft, liquidy, and overall frustrating to work with. I always use the Philadelphia brand, but feel free to experiment with other brands as long as they meet the general requirements. 

One more tip for working with Cream Cheese Buttercream: if you find that your kitchen environment is humid or the frosting is still a bit soft, pop it in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes, then re-mix it on low in your stand mixer. The butter in the recipe will solidify a little bit in the refrigerator, so the overall buttercream should feel a bit thicker afterwards. 

Here’s a quick video to show you how to make this Cream Cheese Buttercream before you read all about it below:

If you love recipe videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube channel! I’ve got a growing collection of recipes, decorating tutorials, and Cake Basics over there. Hit the subscribe button on my page so you never miss a new video.

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Cream Cheese Buttercream

A delicious, borderline addicting cream cheese frosting that's the perfect consistency for piping, filling and stacking layer cakes, and decorating cakes and cupcakes.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Servings 3 Cups

Ingredients

• 4 Cups (480g) powdered sugar
• 1/4 Cup (32g) cornstarch optional*
• 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 8 Oz (226g) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature brick-style, not the spread
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

• Sift together the powdered sugar and cornstarch (if using) and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on medium-high until light, fluffy, and uniform (no lumps), about 5 minutes.
• Turn the mixer to low speed and add the powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture a few cups at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the vanilla and salt and mix on low for another minute, until fully combined and smooth.

Notes

*Cornstarch helps thicken the consistency of the cream cheese buttercream without adding any flavor. I highly recommend it if you’re using this frosting to pipe intricate details.

Yield: This buttercream makes enough to:

• Frost 12-15 cupcakes with a piping bag
• Fill and crumb coat a three-layer 6-inch cake or two-layer 8-inch cake. To have enough for frosting and decorating as well, double the recipe. 

To Make Ahead: You can store this Cream Cheese Buttercream in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix it with your stand mixer on low speed until it’s smooth and uniform. 

Storage: Decorated cakes and cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream should be stored in the refrigerator until an hour before serving.

Did you make this Cream Cheese Buttercream? I want to know how it went! Let me know in the comments below or feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram. I’d love to see how you used it!

The post Cream Cheese Buttercream Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

I’ve always been smitten with Red Velvet Cake. It’s quite the looker with that deep red crumb, and the subtle chocolate cake and cream cheese frosting combination is absolutely divine. Red Velvet is versatile too – it can be a fancy cake or completely hilarious (remember the armadillo cake in Steel Magnolias?), a total party hit or a cozy weekend bake, delicious all year round. It’s been on my list for awhile now, and with Valentine’s Day right around the corner I thought now is the perfect time. Well, any time is really the perfect time. 

This Red Velvet Cake is wonderfully soft and moist, has the perfect touch of chocolate flavor, and is extremely addicting when paired with cream cheese buttercream. I always thought Red Velvet Cake was just a chocolate cake with red food coloring mixed in but I was wrong. There’s actually only a few Tablespoons of cocoa powder added, but it tastes just perfect that way – just like a traditional Red Velvet Cake ought to taste. I was so thrilled when I cut into these beautiful layers! 

What Gives Red Velvet Cake Its Color? 

It may or may not come as a surprise to you that Red Velvet Cake is (gasp) dyed red with food coloring. I was actually shocked to see how much food coloring goes into a Red Velvet Cake recipe while I was researching recipes. I thought it would be something like one to two drops of red food coloring but nope. Some recipes call for 2 Tablespoons or an entire bottle. I wanted to see if I could get away with less food coloring and it turns out that 1 Tablespoon is just fine, especially if you’re using a concentrated food color gel like AmeriColor Super Red (it’s what I used). Since the food color gel doesn’t add any flavor to the cake, you could add even less (or none at all) and still have a great tasting cake. But what’s the fun in that? You know you’re going to want to dye this cake batter deep red! 

Cream Cheese Buttercream is the Perfect Pairing

Red Velvet Cake and Cream Cheese Buttercream are made for each other. It feels against the rules to top this cake with anything else (except probably the traditional Ermine frosting). I could sing the praises of this Cream Cheese Buttercream all day long because it’s oh so tasty and just the right consistency for not only filling and frosting the cake, but piping the decorations on top as well. I love it so much that it should probably have it’s own recipe post (next on my list!). 

How to Decorate a Red Velvet Cake

If you Google Red Velvet Cakes, you’ll see a lot of similar designs: plain white frosting and cake crumbs. It’s classic that way. You can decorate a Red Velvet Cake any way you want, but I chose to play off of the traditional design by adding a textured finish with a cake comb, some simple piping on top, and of course, those pretty cake crumbs. I will confess that I tried to top this cake with some more elaborate white chocolate decorations speckled with cake crumbs but they ended up looking like blood splattered glass shards. Maybe a better idea to stick in my back pocket for Halloween. 

If you want to replicate this cake design though, here’s how I did it: after filling and crumb coating the cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream, I placed it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to let the crumb coat firm up. This makes a stable foundation for the final layer (and pretty necessary since Cream Cheese Buttercream is always so much softer than other types of buttercream). Then, I frosted the cake with a final layer of Cream Cheese Buttercream and used a cake comb from this set to create the textured finish. I stuck cake crumbs to the side of the cake using this technique, piped a crescent of rosettes and stars on top with Wilton Tips 1M and 4B, and finished it all off by sprinkling cake crumbs over the top. Voila! 

However you decorate, this classic cake is sure to be a hit wherever it goes. Enjoy!

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Red Velvet Cake Recipe

The classic deep red layer cake that's perfectly moist, fluffy and beautifully paired with cream cheese buttercream. Traditional Red Velvet Cake at its finest!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 15 slices

Ingredients

Red Velvet Cake

• 2 1/2 Cups (260g) sifted cake flour
• 2 Tbsp natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 Cups (300g) white granulated sugar
• 1/2 Cup (120ml) vegetable oil
• 2 whole eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp distilled white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp red food color gel*
• 1 Cup (240ml) buttermilk, room temperature** DIY recipe in notes

Cream Cheese Buttercream

• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 16 Oz cream cheese, room temperature brick-style, not the spreadable kind
• 8 Cups (960g) powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

Instructions

Make the Red Velvet Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and placing a wax or parchment paper circle into the bottom of each one. Measure the sifted cake flour by spooning into your measuring cup and leveling it, or simply sift the cake flour into a bowl on your kitchen scale to measure it. Place the cake flour into a medium sized bowl and add the cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
• Cream the butter on high for two minutes, then add the vegetable oil and sugar. Cream together on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time. Once the eggs are incorporated, add the vanilla and white vinegar and mix on low for another 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and paddle once more.
• Mix the red food color gel into the buttermilk. With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until the ingredients start to come together, then whisk the batter by hand a few times to make sure there are no large lumps.
• Pour the batter into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 full) and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before carefully removing them and placing the cakes on a wire rack or cookie sheet. Allow the cakes to cool completely before assembling and frosting.

Make the Cream Cheese Buttercream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on high until light, fluffy, and uniform (no lumps), about five minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla and salt, mixing on low for another 30 seconds.

Assembly

• Once the Red Velvet Cakes are cooled throughout, level and torte the layers to your desired height. Reserve the cake tops for crumbles. Fill and stack the cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream. Crumb coat the cake and place it into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the crumb coat firm up before frosting with a final layer of Cream Cheese Buttercream.
• To create the look pictured, frost the cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream. Don't worry too much about getting perfectly smooth sides, but do run an icing smoother over them to get them level and straight. Then, use a cake comb to create texture. Crumble up the cake tops and add them to the bottom third of the cake using this technique. Pipe a crescent formation of rosettes and stars with Wilton Tips 1M and 4B on the top of the cake, then sprinkle more cake crumbs on top.

Notes

Make Ahead Tips: 

1. The cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.
2. The Cream Cheese Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency. 

*Red Food Color Gel: I recommend using any brand of red food color gel that is concentrated and flavorless. I used AmeriColor Super Red for this recipe. Feel free to use less food color gel if you don’t care for the cake to be as red (or none at all, but what’s the fun in that?)

**DIY Buttermilk Recipe: Add 1 Tbsp white vinegar into a mason jar or measuring cup. Add one cup (240ml) whole milk and let sit for at least 15 minutes before using in a recipe. 

To Make as Cupcakes: fill cupcake tins no more than 2/3 full and bake at 350ºF for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. This recipe makes 24-30 cupcakes. 

Did you make this cake recipe? I want to know how it went! Leave me a comment below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!

The post Red Velvet Cake Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

We spent the 4th of July bbq-ing with friends, and this year I thought I’d bypass the star spangled cake designs and flavors all together. Instead, I reached for the perfect lemon cake recipe (always a crowd favorite!) and paired it with the tastiest lemon cream cheese buttercream. It did not disappoint. I think this lemon cake is so perfect for any Summer gathering (or year round!), and I can’t wait to share this recipe with all of you lemon fans. 

Last month, after tons of recipe testing and plenty of fails, this magical lemon cake was created. My insides squealed as I took it out of the oven and discovered that I had finally stumbled upon a lemon cake that’s fluffy, moist, packed with lemon flavor, and has the perfect amount of rise! Since lemon is such an acidic ingredient, you’ve got to be extra careful with which rising agent ratios you choose. I’m happy to say that these ones are perfection, so you can expect a beautiful lemon cake every time you bake it!

The first time I attempted a lemon cake recipe, I was flavoring the batter with fresh squeezed lemon juice. It turns out that lemon juice doesn’t really do much for flavor because most of it bakes off in the oven, and the most potent flavors of lemon actually come from the peel. So in the end, fresh lemon zest and a little lemon extract (which is made from distilled zest) add the perfect amount of zingy lemon flavor to this cake. Don’t worry about wasting any lemon juice though, you can save that for the lemon cream cheese buttercream! 

I’ve paired this lemon cake with blueberry buttercream before, and it’s a beautiful flavor combination. This time around, I whipped up some lemon cream cheese buttercream and it is so, so dreamy with this cake. While cream cheese buttercreams tend to be on the softer side, this one is actually perfect for both frosting the cake and piping on designs, so it’s a real winner! And flavoring it with a little hit of fresh squeezed lemon juice really helps bring out the perfect amount of lemon flavor throughout the cake. So tasty!

As a finishing touch, I oven dried some lemon slices and stuck them onto the frosted cake. I think they’re so pretty, and really easy to make if you’ve got some down time. All it takes is slicing some lemons, baking them on a piece of parchment paper for 2-3 hours in a 200º oven (until they’re dry to the touch), and voila! The prettiest little lemon accents for your cake! However you choose to decorate, this lemon cake will have everyone reaching for that second (and third) slice.

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Lemon Cake With Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream

Layers of soft, zesty lemon cake topped with delicious lemon cream cheese buttercream.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Lemon Layer Cake

• 3 1/4 Cups (344g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 Cups (410g) white granulated sugar
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 Cup (75g) sour cream, room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp pure lemon extract
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon zest (about 1 small lemon)
• 1 1/4 Cups (300ml) whole milk, room temperature

Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream

• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 16 oz (452g) cream cheese, room temperature brick-style, not the spread*
• 8 Cups (960g) powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 small lemon)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Make The Lemon Layer Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with a cooking spray (Baker’s Joy is my favorite) and a wax paper circle fitted to the bottom of the pan. Alternatively, you can grease and lightly flour the pans. 
• Sift the cake flour and then measure by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. 
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter for on high for two minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Add in sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add sour cream, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon zest and mix for one minute on high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more. 
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the milk slowly and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. 
• Pour batter into prepared cake pans (no more than 2/3 of the way full) and bake for 30-35 minutes. They’re done when they spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan for five minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack for an additional few hours of cooling. Make sure they’re entirely room temperature before applying any frosting.

Make The Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on high until light, fluffy, and uniform (no lumps), about five minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the lemon juice and salt, mixing on low for another 30 seconds. 

Assembly

• After the lemon cake is cooled, torte each layer to remove the excess cake dome. Fill and frost with lemon cream cheese buttercream. To replicate the design pictured, after crumb coating the cake, divide the lemon cream cheese buttercream amongst three separate bowls. Color one bowl with yellow food coloring (I used Americolor Lemon Yellow). Mix a little of the yellow buttercream into another bowl of plain white to create a middle yellow shade. You should now have one bowl of deep yellow buttercream, one bowl of mid-yellow buttercream, and one bowl of white buttercream.
• Frost the bottom third of the cake with the deepest shade of yellow buttercream, the middle third with the mid-tone buttercream, and the top third with white buttercream. Smooth it with an icing smoother to create an ombre finish. Top with pretty piping, oven dried lemon slices, and a few yellow and white sprinkles for good measure.

Notes

*This frosting recipe only works with brick-style cream cheese, as the spread contains much more liquid and will result in runny buttercream. If you cannot find brick-style cream cheese, I recommend pairing this cake with either my Vanilla Buttercream or White Chocolate Buttercream. 

Make ahead tips: the Lemon Layer Cake can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered tightly in plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, you can cover with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to two months before thawing to room temperature. 

The Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip with your stand mixer to bring it back to frosting consistency.

Did you make this cake recipe? I want to know how it went! Let me know in the comments below or feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram. I love to see your cake creations!

The post Lemon Cake With Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

It’s officially feeling like Fall around here. Leaves are changing the prettiest colors, the weather’s getting colder, and I just spent the entire weekend wearing cozy sweaters and baking with autumnal flavors! One of my absolute favorite things to bake in the Fall are pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. They’re a seasonal classic, downright delicious, and they make the whole house smell incredible while they’re baking. I’ve been known to bake them and hoard them all to myself, but they also make great party cupcakes (that is, if you’re willing to share!). For all the more festive occasions, this All Hallows sprinkle mix by SprinklePop is perfect!

The All Hallows sprinkle mix features the classic Halloween color palette. There are plenty of orange, black, and white jimmies mixed with metallic silver dragees and rods, plus wafer paper pumpkins and bats to make it extra spooky (but oh so pretty!). These sprinkles are the perfect festive touch for Halloween party cupcakes, cookies, and more:

Let’s talk about the flavors going on underneath all the pretty sprinkles. As far as the cupcakes go, the use of pureed pumpkin (be careful not to use pumpkin pie filling!) makes them so moist and melt-in-your-mouth good. The crumb is fluffy and rich without being too dense from all the added moisture, making them a little dangerous because it’s easy to eat more than one! I’ve spiced the batter with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg just to up the cozy factor and really take the flavor of the pumpkin to the next level. And I know I said it before, but these cupcakes will make your kitchen smell like heaven!

Cream cheese buttercream is the perfect pairing for pumpkin cupcakes, and while cream cheese frostings tend to be on the soft side, the recipe I use is perfect for piping! It’s decadent and flavorful without being overly sweet, and holds its shape long enough to pipe some pretty designs. I’ve used Wilton Tip 6B to pipe large open stars over the surface of the cupcakes before sprinkling with the All Hallows sprinkle mix.

Since I couldn’t decide whether I wanted a white or orange buttercream backdrop for these sprinkles, I went ahead and tinted some of the cream cheese buttercream with orange food color gel. I actually ended up liking both looks, so I paired them together for all these photos! I’m sure that the All Hallows sprinkle mix would look amazing on any spooky buttercream color palette or piping design. Whatever your Halloween event, these cupcakes will be a sure hit looks-wise and flavor-wise!

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Pumpkin Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Buttercream

Moist and flavorful spiced pumpkin cupcakes topped with decadent cream cheese buttercream that’s the perfect consistency for pretty piping.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 19 minutes

Total Time 39 minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

Pumpkin Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, measured correctly*
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs, room temperature

Cream Cheese Buttercream

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Make The Pumpkin Cupcakes

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare a muffin pan by lining with cupcake tins. *Measure the flour by spooning into your measuring cup and leveling it, then whisk it together with the rest of the dry ingredients and set aside. 
• Cream the butter on high for 1 minute. Add the white and brown sugars and cream on high for another 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin and vanilla and beat for 3 full minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle once in between. Turn the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. With the mixer still on low, add the dry ingredients until combined. The batter will be thick. 
• Spoon the batter into prepared cupcake tins ⅔ of the way full, then bake for 19 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for five minutes before removing and continuing to cool on a wire rack or flat surface. 

Make The Cream Cheese Buttercream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on high until light, fluffy, and uniform (no lumps), about five minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla and salt, mixing on low for another 30 seconds. 

Assembly

• After the cupcakes are fully cooled, prepare a piping bag by fitting with Wilton Tip 6B (or other favorite piping tip) and filling the bag with cream cheese buttercream. I’ve chosen to pipe a few open stars over the surface of each cupcake. Finish by sprinkling with the All Hallows sprinkle mix. 

Notes

Make Ahead Tips: The cupcakes can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to two days.

The cream cheese buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip with your mixer to bring it back to the right consistency.

This cupcake recipe is a Fall staple in my book, and I hope it makes its way into yours. Whether you decorate them for Halloween, make them for another occasion, or hoard them all to yourself (like I do!), they’re guaranteed to please. Happy Fall, y’all!

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