Cream Cheese Frosting - Love and Lemons (2024)

FAQs

How do I add lemon flavor to store bought frosting? ›

Add 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of fruit juice, such as from a fresh-squeezed lemon or lime, to the bowl. Mix it well by hand or with an electric mixer. Taste the frosting, and, if desired, add another tablespoon or two of fruit juice to strengthen the flavor.

Whip it good.

Canned frosting has a tendency to be on the denser side, but the solution to this textural dilemma is simple. Dump your canned frosting into a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or into the bowl of an electric mixer and whip it up.

Unfortunately occasionally cream cheese frosting does liquefy and this mainly comes from the liquid in the cream cheese mixing with the icing (confectioners') sugar and dissolving it, leading to a runny icing. Adding extra sugar will not correct the problem and will also lead to a frosting that is too sweet.

Creamy ingredients like Nutella, cream cheese, marshmallow creme, peanut butter or another nut butter will give the store-bought frosting tons of flavor with some additional smoothness. Mix in 1 cup of cream cheese or 1/2 cup of marshmallow creme or nut butter per can of frosting for a creamy delight.

Rub lemon zest into sugar

Sugar granules act as an abrasive to release the zest's essential oils, so this is a great trick for heightening lemon flavor in your desserts. Use a Microplane or zester to grate the zest directly into a bowl with your sugar.

And in the supermarket baking aisle, Duncan Hines Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting is the best on the shelf. It should be noted that, being a shelf-stable frosting, Duncan Hines Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting does not contain any cream cheese; instead, it uses flavorings and additives to (sorta) replicate its flavor.

And then recently, I discovered how to make purchased frosting stretch further with an equally easy hack: whipping it. Yes, the canned frosting hack is simply whipping straight-from-the-can frosting with your electric mixer.

Allow the cream cheese and butter to soften at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour, but don't let the butter melt. If the butter is too soft, the frosting can be too soft as well. Overbeating cream cheese frosting can make it too runny.

What does adding butter to store-bought frosting do? ›

It turns out that mixing softened butter into your canned frosting can work wonders to upgrade its flavor, offsetting that store-bought taste and creating a silky, rich, and delicious topping.

Mix 1 tablespoon (25 grams) of cornstarch into the frosting. If it is still too runny, add a little more. Continue to add cornstarch until you are happy with the texture. Avoid adding more than 1/2 cup (62.5 grams) of cornstarch per 8 oz (226 grams) of cream cheese.

Cream cheese frosting will hold its decorative piped shape if you refrigerate it prior to piping. Fit your piping bag with a piping tip, fill your bag with the frosting, then refrigerate it for 20-30 minutes before piping. However, don't expect it to be as sturdy as buttercream.

When making your filling, overmixing can lead to incorporating too much air into the batter. Once baked, the air bubbles will burst, and the cheesecake will fall and crack. THE FIX: The number one reason why you'd overbeat your batter is because you're having dificulty incorporating cold ingredients.

Adding Flavor to Store-Bought Frosting

Adding extracts, fruit or peanut butter are some of the easiest ways to take your store-bought frosting up a notch! To give your vanilla icing that homemade taste, try mixing in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

To add extra lemon flavor to baked goods, use 1 tablespoon lemon juice powder for each cup of flour. For lemon glaze, use 1 to 2 teaspoons per cup of confections' sugar.

It lasts practically forever in the cupboard and packs a potent punch. You'll need 1 teaspoon of lemon extract for every 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract for any lemon zest called for in a baking recipe.