This is touching on the refrigerated/non refrigerated debate. I will have non refrigerated cupcake display cases in my storefront. Now, I realize that cream cheese bc needs to be refrigerated, but for example, Gigi's Cupcakes just leave theirs out. Do you think they use some sort of faux cream cheese for the bc or what? Do any of you have non refrigerated cases and leave cupcakes out? The thought of hard cold frosting on a hard cold cupcake is not appetizing and apparently there is a way to get around this.

Please know this is not meant to stem another heated debate, I just want to know what you do if you are in this particular situation. Thanks for any information!

They have a sleeved filling which is shelf stable that's probably what is used.

Thanks for the reply, but I am referring to the buttercream. I know they make a shelf stable filling, but this is actual frosting on top.

Maybe they add the sleeved filling to the buttercream, plus some flavoring? It could work.

You can add Lorann's cheesecake flavoring or powdered cheesecake pudding to your buttercream for a mock cream cheese frosting. Earlene's cakes has a decorators cream cheese frosting that she says is shelf stable but I still can't figure out how people determine shelf life on custom recipes. I wonder if they get sign off from a lab or health department or something. One thread suggested using buttermilk instead of regular milk in buttercream to get a mock cream cheese frosting.

Thanks Anna bakes cakes. I think if I ever open a bakery I may invest in having labs test the recipes I have questions about. It will just make me feel better. And of course I'll take the food safety courses as well. I may never eat again after that class though

Hello!

Using cream cheese in icing is no different then using any other perishable ingredient like butter, Crisco, milk, cream, half & half, meringue, raw eggs (like in royal icing) etc.

Sugar, an organic compound in the form of carbohydrate, is a natural food preservative. Sugar inhibits the growth of microorganisms through the phenomenon of osmosis. Sugar acts by drawing out water from the bacteria and other microorganisms, which either kills the bacteria or inhibits their growth.

Hence, using dairy products in icings and buttercreams then not refrigerating them is A-OK. If left out too long the cake/icing will get stale, dry out, and probably mold, but this mold is generally not considered harmful. Obviously not something we want to eat though.

People think Crisco lasts forever but it gets rancid just as fast as any other perishable food item - but add powdered sugar and it gains a one year shelf life. Same with Royal Icing - one-year shelf life despite using raw egg whites.

Anyway, yeah, we've always done it that way, because we quite literally have always done it that way - sugar is one of the oldest natural preservatives known to man.

Hope this scientifically answers your questions, but my disclaimer is to always check with your local health inspector. But honestly, if you walk into any bakery most of those cases are not refrigerated. (Exception, cakes containing real whipped cream, fruit not treated/coated with pectin [piping gel], custards, or mousses, all of which are typically made with a LOW sugar to dairy content).

Jen

Hi Jen,
Thanks for the info. My issue with cream cheese is the quantity. 2lbs of powdered sugar to say 8 tablespoons of milk to me is very different than 2 lbs of powdered sugar to 8 ounces of cream cheese. I know I fall under the paranoid camp I just want to know the breaking point. How much sugar do I need to add to 8 ounces of cream cheese to stabilize it? I'm a geek at heart...can you tell Thanks again.