Delicious and easy, this strawberry cream cheese frosting recipe will give you light, fluffy and fruity frosting with a fresh strawberry flavor (even with zero fresh strawberries required! ). The whipped, creamy texture is heavenly, and this frosting has just the right balance of sweetness and subtle tang from the cream cheese.
Our easy strawberry cream cheese frosting will work for cakes of all types and all sizes!
The recipe makes enough frosting to cover a single layer 9-inch cake or the top of a 9 x 13-inch sheet cake. And it’s also enough for 1-1/2 tablespoons of frosting on 24 cupcakes. Or, if you like your cupcakes frosting heavy, this strawberry frosting recipe results in enough frosting to pipe a generous mound of frosting on 10 cupcakes total.
If you’re looking to frost a 8-inch or 9-inch layer cake like our Chocolate Ganache Cake or White Chocolate Cake, you will need to make a double batch of frosting.
Why This Recipe Works
Cream cheese and strawberries make a delicious pair, don’t you think?
Similar to our Strawberry Basil Goat Cheese Ice Cream, the combination of a rich and tangy cheese with sweet strawberries tastes decadent yet mellowed.
We love the subtle tanginess that cream cheese offers. It balances out the sweet flavor of strawberries and makes it a touch less sweet than traditional strawberry buttercream.
Our strawberry cream cheese frosting is:
- easy to make
- sweet and tangy
- rich, fluffy and creamy!
This strawberry spin on plain cream cheese frosting is so versatile, and we made it a little differently than the buttercream in our chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. You can smooth it in between cake layers to create a fruity cake filling. Frost your favorite birthday cake, homemade strawberry cake or chocolate cakes.
It’s a fun and delicious topping for strawberry cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, or red velvet cupcakes. And the pretty pink color makes it festive, too (perfect for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or birthdays!).
The Ingredients
For the best strawberry cream cheese frosting, it might be a surprise that we’re skipping fresh strawberry puree (and fresh berries altogether!). Instead, you’ll use powdered freeze-dried strawberries and strawberry jam.
Since freeze-dried strawberries are real strawberries that are dried and pulverized into a powder, they give the frosting a more natural strawberry flavor. And the pretty pink color is a plus, too! The jam adds even more strawberry without making the frosting runny.
Here are the simple ingredients you will need:
- powdered sugar
- unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- strawberry jam
- powdered freeze-dried strawberries
- vanilla extract
- salt
- softened cream cheese
If you can’t find powdered freeze-dried strawberries at your grocery store, you can make your own powder! We’re sharing those details in the recipe notes.
Our Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
This frosting is about as easy as it gets! Be sure to add the ingredients in the correct order for the best results. Check out the full recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
In a large mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, powdered strawberries, and butter. Beat with the paddle attachment of an electric mixer (or use a hand mixer) for several minutes.
Add the strawberry jam, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat until it’s mixed well.
If you want to make a strawberry puree with fresh strawberries instead of the jam, you can make our strawberry topping and puree it with a stick blender. However, jam worked better in our tests.
Add the softened cream cheese to the large bowl.
Beat the frosting for another 1-2 minutes until it is smooth and creamy. It’s now ready to use! Try it on our strawberry jam cake.
Tips for Success
For perfect strawberry cream cheese frosting, here are a few tips that will help you achieve the best results!
- Add the cream cheese last. Creaming the butter and sugar first will allow the sugar to get completely coated in butter fat. This prevents the sugar from drawing the water out of the cream cheese and making a loose, runny frosting.
- Use full-fat, block-style cream cheese. We don’t recommend low-fat cream cheese or the kind that comes in a tub. It will give you a thin and runny frosting.
- If you don’t have freeze-dried strawberries, you can substitute the strawberry powder with 1 teaspoon of strawberry extract. The powder is recommended since it gives the frosting a natural flavor, but extract will work too. Be careful not to use too much of it.
- For a brighter pink color, add a couple of drops of red food coloring to the strawberry cream cheese frosting.
- Store leftover frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. To store in the freezer, place the frosting in a freezer-safe bag. Store in the freezer for up to two months.
How to Make Strawberry Powder
If you can’t find powdered freeze-dried strawberries, you can easily make your own! Place 1/2 ounce of whole freeze-dried strawberries into a food processor. Turn it to low speed, then increase and process until the strawberries turn into a fine powder.
You want to make sure you purchase the freeze dried strawberries and not traditional dehydrated strawberries which have a different texture.
How to Use Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Once the frosting is all mixed up, you can use it right away or place it in the refrigerator until a later time. It’s best to frost a cake or spoon it into a piping bag when the frosting is at room temperature.
Here are a few recipes you can enjoy with strawberry cream cheese frosting:
- Strawberry Crunch Cake is the strawberry cake recipe to make immediately! We love it with Ermine frosting but you can certainly use strawberry cream cheese frosting for a fruitier punch of flavor.
- Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting! Swap plain cream cheese frosting for a thick layer of this sweet strawberry cream cheese frosting on top of fudgy brownies. The combination is heavenly!
- Our banana layer cake plus strawberry cream cheese frosting will make a delicious and festive treat that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day or any occasion!
- Fill and frost this 6-inch yellow cake for a small birthday celebration.
- This hot milk sponge cake has a light, tender texture that goes perfectly with fruit and strawberry frosting.
- Replace the whipped cream with strawberry cream cheese icing in this strawberry shortcake.
⭐️ Helpful Tools
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- stand mixer or hand mixer
- piping bag set
- freeze-dried strawberry powder or freeze dried strawberries
? More Recipes You Will Love:
Our Strawberry Crunch Recipe makes a crunchy, delicious crumble topping. We created it for our homemade Strawberry Crunch Cake, but it’s also the perfect topping for any cake that needs that special something extra.
Strawberry Spoon Cake is the easiest summer cake that makes the most of strawberry season! Just a little bit of effort will give you a sweet and buttery cake with a jammy strawberry center. It’s a low lift kind of dessert that is easiest scooped out warm into bowls and extra tasty topped with vanilla ice cream.
This Six-inch White Cake is the perfect size for a small gathering! It’s an elegant, three-layer cake that is small but makes a big statement. The pure-white cake is lightly flavored with almond extract and it’s topped with a fluffy white almond ermine frosting.
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Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
This recipe makes enough frosting to cover a single layer 9-inch cake or the top of a 9×13-inch sheet cake. You can frost 24 cupcakes with about 1-1/2 tablespoons each or pipe a generous mound of frosting on 10 cupcakes.You will need to double the recipe if you want to frost a double-layer 8-inch or 9-inch cake.
Ingredients
- 1-½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup butter softened
- ¼ cup strawberry jam
- 3 tablespoons powdered freeze dried strawberries*
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
Instructions
- Add the powdered sugar, powdered strawberries, and butter to a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for several minutes until creamy and fluffy.
- Add the strawberry jam, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat until well combined.
- Add the cream cheese and beat for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
Notes
- To make powdered freeze-dried strawberries, place ½ ounce of freeze-dried strawberries in a food processor and process with a blade until the strawberries turn into a fine powder. A half ounce of freeze dried strawberries will make 3 tablespoons of powdered strawberries.
- If you can't find freeze-dried strawberries, you can replace the strawberry powder with 1 teaspoon of strawberry extract. The strawberry powder will give the frosting a more natural flavor, but the extract works as long as you don’t use too much.
- Make sure you add the cream cheese last. Creaming the butter and sugar first will allow the sugar to get completely coated in the butterfat. That will prevent the sugar from drawing the water out of the cream cheese and making a loose, runny frosting.
- Make sure you use full-fat, block style cream cheese. Low-fat cream cheese, or the kind that comes in a tub will make the frosting thin and runny.
- If you want the frosting to have a brighter pink color, you can add a couple of drops of red food coloring.
