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Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·★★★★★4.2 from 24 reviews
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If you don’t know this already, Friday means CARROT CAKE!!! I mean, no, Friday does not actually translate to carrot cake lol. What I mean is that on Friday I am sharing a carrot cake recipe. Right here, on this very blog.
Just in time for your Easter celebrations!!
But first, before the carrot cake, I am here to talk about the frosting. Cream cheese frosting…without powdered sugar, to be exact.
Yes, you read that right. A cream cheese frosting. Without. Powdered. Sugar.
But, is there even such a thing? Yes, actually there is a method for making frostings without powdered sugar by cooking a milk and flour and sugar mixture together on the stove, allowing it to cool then adding that to your whipped cream cheese. That sounds like WAY too much work. Especially when you’re already baking a cake.
I want my frosting to be simple, quick, easy, and done in 10 minutes. No cooking or cooling or more dishes to wash. TYVM!
But I also want to not have to use powdered sugar in my frosting, which is the thickener and glue to any good frosting. Are my expectations too high for a cream cheese frosting?
The answer: No. There is a way.
This cream cheese frosting is sweetened with honey. YES! Natural, minimal processed, beautiful golden honey. And guys, you can use maple syrup or agave nectar if you choose. These babies are three of my fave ways to sweeten things in a more natural and healthier way.
Sweetener is done, but now we need a way to thicken things up just a bit so that the frosting stays on our cake.
Solution: corn starch.
Yes, I know that corn starch sounds weird, but all you need is a tablespoon or two and it does the trick nicely. A little milk to give it a spreadable consistency and we have frosting perfection.
Did you think that an easy 10 minute cream cheese frosting without powdered sugar was even possible?! I had my doubts, but I am so happy to be able to share a cream cheese frosting that is naturally sweetened. Most recipes call for 2 to 3 cups of powdered sugar. It just makes my teeth and stomach hurt thinking about it. All we need with this frosting is a few tablespoons of honey. That’s it.
The result is a sweet and slightly tangy, velvety smooth, thick, vanilla scented cream cheese frosting that is awesome for spreading onto cakes, cupcakes, cookies, or other baked goods.
And let’s just be honest, the one cake cream cheese frosting was born to be on is carrot cake!
Coming Friday!
With this cream cheese frosting on top.
Be here…or be….I dunno…..very sad because you didn’t get a slice of carrot cake to go with your cream cheese frosting.
Choose happiness.
See you Friday!!!
More healthier frosting recipes for you to love:
- yogurt cream cheese frosting
- Vegan “Buttercream” Frosting
- 5 minute vegan chocolate frosting
Yummy desserts to use this frosting on:
- carrot cake
- pumpkin cake
★★★★★4.2 from 24 reviews
- Author: Emily Koch
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: about 1 1/2 cups 1x
- Category: dessert, refined sugar free
- Method: mixing
- Cuisine: gluten free, vegetarian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A healthier version of cream cheese frosting, without powdered sugar. This frosting is perfect for spreading on cakes, cupcakes, cookies, or other baked goods.
Ingredients
Scale
- 10 ounces, full fat brick cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 ounces butter, room temperature
- pinch of salt
- 2 to 4 tablespoons honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar (depending on how sweet or tangy you like you frosting. I used 3 tablespoons of honey)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 to 2 tablespoons corn starch (or sub arrowroot starch)
Instructions
- Cream : Add the room temperature cream cheese and butter to to bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer. Cream on high, until well mixed. Add the salt, sweetener of choice, and vanilla extract, and milk, mix again on high until well incorporated – scraping down sides as needed.
- Finish: Add 1 tablespoon of corn starch and mix until well incorporated. At this point you can adjust the consistency of your frosting as desired. If you want it to be a little thicker add 1 teaspoon of corn starch at a time until it’s thick enough – NOTE: do not add more then 2 tablespoons of corn starch total. To thin it out add 1 teaspoon milk at a time. How much milk you need to add will depend on the consistency your prefer, and how much sweetener you add. Also, keep in mind that if you are using maple syrup, or agave nectar, which is more runny than honey, you may not need milk at all. Keep checking the consistency as you go. It should be thick enough to not fall from a spoon when held up, yet it should be easy to spread.
- Frost: frost cooled cakes, cupcakes, cookies, or other baked goods immediately. You could make the frosting up to several days in advance, just bring it to room temperature before frosting. This frosting especially works great carrot cake.
Notes
This cream cheese frosting is just enough to frost two layers of a 9 inch cake, but without frosting on the the sides . If you want to frost the sides or are making a larger cake you may want to up the recipe by half or double.
I have not tried piping this frosting, although I imagine it might work well, I don’t have any experience with how the consistency of piped frosting should look or act. If someone tries to pipe it please let us know how it goes in the comments below. Thanks! 🙂
Keywords: cream cheese frosting, cake, frosting, vanilla frosting, cake, dessert
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