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This strawberry cream cheese frosting gets its flavor from two sources: freeze-dried strawberries for concentrated berry flavor and strawberry jam for a deeper, jammy finish. The combination gives you a frosting that actually tastes like strawberries without turning soft or runny.
The freeze-dried berries add a bold flavor without adding extra liquid, while the jam rounds everything out with a richer strawberry flavor that tastes more like real fruit and less like candy. It has the tangy richness of classic cream cheese frosting but with a fresh berry flavor that works beautifully on cakes and cupcakes.
Why This Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe Works
Big berry flavor: Freeze-dried strawberries and strawberry jam bring vibrant, concentrated strawberry taste.
Pipeable and sturdy: Beating the butter and powdered sugar together before adding the cream cheese helps the frosting stay thick and stable instead of soft and loose.
Balanced sweetness: The cream cheese keeps the frosting tangy and rich so it doesn’t taste overly sweet.
Naturally pink: Freeze-dried strawberries give the frosting a soft pink color without needing food coloring.
Spread it on a Strawberry Crunch Cake or Strawberry Jam Cake for double the berry factor, or swirl it onto Lavender Cupcakes for something a little unexpected.
Ingredient Notes
Freeze-dried strawberries: This is what gives the frosting concentrated strawberry flavor without making it watery. Regular dried strawberries will not work because they cannot be ground into a fine powder. Look for freeze-dried strawberries in the snack aisle of the grocery store.
Strawberry jam: The jam adds a deeper strawberry flavor and helps round out the freeze-dried berry powder. Use a good-quality jam with real fruit flavor.
Cream cheese: Use full-fat block cream cheese, not the whipped tub-style version. Tub cream cheese contains more moisture and will make the frosting softer and less stable.
Butter: Softened butter creams properly with the powdered sugar and helps create structure before the cream cheese is added.
Powdered sugar: The amount of powdered sugar controls how stiff or soft the frosting becomes. Use less for spreading and more for piping tall swirls on cupcakes.
Vanilla and salt: Vanilla rounds out the berry flavor, while salt keeps the frosting from tasting flat or overly sweet.
Recipe Tips
Powder the strawberries: Blend the freeze-dried strawberries into a fine powder before adding them to the frosting. A food processor, spice grinder, or small blender all work well. This keeps the frosting smooth instead of speckled with chewy berry bits.
Cream the butter first: This step matters more than it might seem. Coating the powdered sugar in butterfat first helps prevent the sugar from drawing moisture out of the cream cheese later.
Stick with block cream cheese: The tub-style cream cheese is too soft and contains stabilizers that can make frosting loose and runny.
Don’t use cold cream cheese: Cold cream cheese does not blend smoothly and can leave small lumps throughout the frosting. Let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour before starting.
Need a bolder pink? A drop or two of red food coloring will boost the color if the natural hue isn’t quite vivid enough for your cake.
Add ingredients in order: Start by beating the butter with the sugar, then mix in the cream cheese. Coating the sugar in butterfat first prevents it from drawing water out of the cream cheese and making the frosting too soft.
This strawberry cream cheese frosting pairs perfectly with all kinds of cakes and cupcakes. Try it with our Chocolate Layer Cake for a chocolate-berry combo. Or my banana layer cake for all the fruit.
Questions and Answers
Runny frosting usually comes from using tub-style cream cheese or adding the cream cheese before properly creaming the butter and powdered sugar together. If the frosting still seems soft, refrigerate it for 15 to 20 minutes before piping or spreading.
Fresh strawberries add too much moisture to cream cheese frosting and will make it soft and loose.
Real Strawberry Flavor, No Runny Mess
This strawberry cream cheese frosting is rich, flavorful, and easy to work with. The real berry taste comes through, and the texture holds up. Swirl it onto cupcakes or use it as a filling for a layer cake.
It is a dependable frosting that tastes as good as it looks. Want a chocolate version instead? Try my chocolate cream cheese frosting for a cocoa-rich twist.
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Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ¼ cup strawberry jam
- 3 tablespoons freeze dried strawberry powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch 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
Yield and Scaling:
This recipe makes enough frosting for:- One single-layer 9-inch cake
- The top of a 9×13-inch sheet cake
- 24 cupcakes with a modest 1½-tablespoon swirl
- Or 10 cupcakes with tall, piped mounds of frosting
- For a double-layer 8- or 9-inch cake, double the recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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