Tangy, creamy, with a warm kiss of cinnamon, this Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting takes everything you love about a classic cream cheese frosting and transforms it into pure fall comfort. It is perfect for topping pumpkin cupcakes, apple pie cake or even classic cinnamon rolls.
Trang’s Recipe Highlights
- FLAVOR: tangy with the warmth of ground cinnamon.
- TEXTURE: creamy, soft and spreadable immediately after whipping, but will stiffen up in the refrigerator.
- EASE: You can whip up this cinnamon cream cheese frosting recipe in under 5 minutes with 5 ingredients!
Just 5 simple ingredients
You need just 5 ingredients to whip up this easy frosting. The complete list of ingredients with quantities and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card, as always.
Here are some notes on the key ingredients:
- Unsalted butter – always use unsalted butter for frosting. I don’t recommend substituting salted butter or you’ll end up with really salty frosting, especially because all of my frosting recipes don’t contain a whole lot of sugar.
- Cream cheese – full fat brick cream cheese is best.
- Powdered sugar – for a smooth texture, don’t try to substitute granulated sugar or you’ll end up with gritty frosting. Note that this recipe uses a minimal amount of sugar for a very lightly sweet frosting. If you prefer yours sweeter, feel free to increase the amount of sugar 1.5x or 2x.
- Vanilla – always add to enhance the overall flavor, don’t skip and don’t go cheap with artificial flavoring.
- Cinnamon – feel free to add more or less cinnamon to adjust the intensity of the flavor to your preference.
Testing notes and tips
I’ve been making cream cheese frosting for years and years, well before I even started this blog with absolutely no issues. My classic recipe is super forgiving in all weather conditions as well as how much and how long you beat the frosting. But recently, I’ve been experiencing cream cheese frosting splitting very easily.
For this particular recipe, I tested it during the hottest month of the year, so my ingredients were very soft. After mixing it all together, I refrigerated it for about 30 minutes before beating further until fluffy. If the frosting is too loose, it won’t get fluffy and the more you beat it, the higher chance it will separate.
After refrigeration, it takes just a minute of beating to get a reasonably fluffy frosting. More than a minute or two would have split the frosting.
At this point, the frosting is still pretty soft which is perfect for spreading but not for detailed piping. If you need a stiffer consistency for piping, just pop it back into the fridge for a bit longer until it firms up. Increasing the amount of powdered sugar can also stiffen up your frosting further if you’re okay with a sweeter frosting.
Pairing suggestions
🍌 When I was little, I used to snack on banana and cheese with my grandpa, so that is a nostalgic flavor combo for me. This frosting is a perfect match for my miso banana cupcakes and my miso banana cake.
🥕 Upgrade all your spiced cakes with this spiced frosting. Pair it with my mini carrot cake, carrot cupcakes, full size carrot cake and even this hummingbird cake.
Hungry for more?
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz cream cheese, 340 g, room temperature
- 6 oz unsalted butter, 170 g, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, 140 g
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients – Add room temperature cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract to your stand mixer bowl, fitted with the wire whisk. Sift in the powdered sugar and ground cinnamon. Stir to incorporate the powdered sugar at first. Then gradually increase the mixer speed to combine all the ingredients. Refrigerate as needed if the frosting seems too loose before beating until fluffy.12 oz cream cheese, 6 oz unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- Beat until fluffy – Beat on medium high speed for just a minute or two until the frosting is fluffy and creamy. Give it a taste and stir in more powdered sugar if a sweeter frosting is desired. Don’t overbeat cream cheese frosting or it will separate.
Notes
- Yield: This cinnamon cream cheese frosting recipe makes about 3 ⅓ cups, enough to frost 15 – 18 cupcakes or a 9”x13” sheet cake.
- Storage: Store frosting in the fridge for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let come to room temperature and re-whip until fluffy before using.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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