Maple cream cheese frosting brings a cozy, sweet flavor to your fall bakes. With cream cheese, cinnamon, and maple syrup, it’s perfect for topping cakes or cupcakes—or even as a dip. It’s easy to make, stores well, and spreads smoothly every time!

A swirl of maple cream cheese frosting on the top of a cake.

Here is Why This Recipe Works

Perfect balance: Not too sweet, with just the right hint of cinnamon and maple for that cozy fall flavor.

Super easy: You can whip this up in no time—and no mixer disasters here!

Versatile: Frost cakes, cupcakes, or go wild and use it as a dip for fruit or cookies.

Add it to our brownies with cream cheese frosting for a brownie upgrade or our sourdough banana cake.

The Ingredients

Dairy: Cream cheese, butter
Pantry: Confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract
Condiments: Maple syrup

Ingredients used for maple syrup frosting.

Variations

Pumpkin Spice Icing: Add ½ teaspoon of pumpkin spice and a pinch of nutmeg to the frosting.

Brown Butter Maple Cinnamon: Swap the softened butter with browned butter for a deeper, nuttier.

Orange Maple Frosting: Fold in 1 tablespoon of fresh orange zest and a drop of orange citrus oil.

Beating the butter and sugar together for maple syrup cream cheese frosting. — beat butter and powdered sugar

Using and electric mixer to make cream cheese maple frosting. — beat butter and powdered sugar

Tips for Success

Make sure both the cream cheese and butter are softened to room temperature to avoid lumps in the frosting.
Mixing the sugar with the butter before adding the cream cheese helps coat the sugar in fat. This step prevents the water in the cream cheese from being drawn out and makes a more stable, less runny texture.
For the best flavor, use for pure maple syrup instead of artificial substitutes.
Let your baked goods cool down before spreading the frosting on them.
Use block cream cheese, not the spreadable kind from a tub. The tub has more moisture, which can make the frosting too runny.

This recipe was adapted from my cream cheese frosting recipe.

Maple cream cheese icing on top of a cupcake.

Storage

Fridge: To store leftover cinnamon maple cream cheese frosting, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

When you’re ready to use it again, let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then give it a quick mix to bring it back to a smooth texture.

Freezer: If you want to freeze the frosting, transfer it to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before using.

You Need This Frosting

This maple frosting is the sweet, cozy upgrade your desserts have been missing. With a handful of ingredients and one bowl, you’ll have it whipped up in no time. Frost cupcakes, dip fruit, or eat it straight from the spoon, we won’t judge.

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A cupcake topped with maple cream cheese buttercream.

Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

This Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting is what your cakes and cupcakes have been begging for. It’s creamy, rich, and packed with cozy cinnamon and maple goodness. Bonus: I’ve got a trick to keep it from turning into a sad, runny mess.

This recipe makes about 2 cups of frosting, which is enough to frost 12–16 cupcakes or a single-layer 9-inch cake. If you're using it as a dip or lighter spread, you might get a few more servings out of it!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 10

Servings: cups

Calories: 56kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese softened (227 grams)
½ cup unsalted butter softened (113 grams)
2 cups confectioners’ sugar (240 grams)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Instructions

With an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until the mixture is light and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
(Coating the powdered sugar in butter fat before adding the cream cheese will help prevent the sugar from drawing water out of the cream cheese).
Add the softened cream cheese and mix until smooth and fully incorporated.
Pour in the maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt, then beat for another minute until the frosting becomes light and fluffy.
Once your baked goods are completely cooled, spread the frosting over cakes or cupcakes. You can also use it as a dip for fruit or cookies.

Notes

Make sure both the butter and cream cheese are softened before mixing.
If you prefer a less sweet frosting, you can reduce the amount of confectioners’ sugar by ¼ cup without affecting the texture too much.
Store any unused frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before using, and give it a quick mix if it’s firmed up.
Mixing the sugar with the butter before adding the cream cheese coats the sugar in fat, which helps prevent the water in the cream cheese from being drawn out. This technique ensures your frosting won’t become too runny when you add the maple syrup.
Use block cream cheese instead of the kind that comes in a spreadable tub. The extra moisture in the stuff that comes in a tub can lead to a thinner, less stable frosting.

Video

Nutrition

Gena

Saturday 5th of October 2024

Delicious! The cream cheese is a great balance for the maple sweetness. My husband loves pancakes with maple syrup, so for his birthday I made a yellow cake with this frosting. I did not have unsalted butter - used salted butter and did not add the pinch of salt. I also added a half teaspoon of maple flavor in addition to the vanilla. This (imho) greatly enhanced the flavor.

Dahn Boquist

Sunday 6th of October 2024

Thank you so much! I love how you adapted the recipe, the extra maple flavor sounds like a great addition. Happy birthday to your husband!!