Can you decorate with cream cheese frosting, and if so does anybody have a good recipe? Thanks

I just added a pic to my photos that was decorated with cream cheese frosting (the strawberry kiwi one). It was my first time making it, and I think it held up well for the simple borders and stuff that I did. If you needed to do anything more "sturdy" than that, I would probably add more powdered sugar.

Here's the recipe I used:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 (1 lb.) box powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Combine icing ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread on cooled cake.

My recipe is similar, but I usually add more powdered sugar to make it stiffer for decorating. I did my pool ball cake this morning all in cream cheese icing, and it worked out alright. Here's my recipe:

4 Tbsp butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth, add vanilla and sugar until well incorporated.

I did 2 triple batches of this today and used an additional 8oz of powdered sugar in each batch.

This is the recipe I use.

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 butter (1 stick)
1 tsp vanilla
full pinch of salt (I use Morton's popcorn salt)
8oz cream cheese
1Tablespoon water

Cream butter, shortening, salt and vanilla. Add water then cream cheese and mix well. Slowly add in 1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar and mix for about 2 min on med. Add more sugar for desired consistancy.

I then mixed mine for an additional 4 minutes on medium and then low for another min. This served to whip the icing pretty fluffy and then settle it down. Hard to describe but it fluffed up very well but not too much air.

Does that make sense to anyone but me?!?

Smoothed out very nicely. And delish! Was wonderful on my first red velvet cake. It's now my sil's favorite cake.

I use mostly cream cheese icing. Most of the cream cheese icing recipes aren't really made for decorating. I basically go for a ratio of 1 cup fat (crisco, butter, cream cheese) to 1 pound of ps. I start with a splash (maybe up to 2 tbsp) of heavy cream and add more heavy cream or ps as needed. There's a cake in my photos that has roses around the edges and those are cream cheese icing. It was left over icing from a my little pony cake and I did add a little extra ps to stiffen it. You do have to keep it refrigerated, but they held up fine for 1.5 hours outside the fridge until the cake was eaten. Now, if I'm doing roses I do at least half crisco because it's just easier, but everything else can be done with cream cheese if you get the consistency right. Keep in mind that it will be gooier LOL. That comes in handy for things like leaves, but not so much for smoothing a cake.

I want to make sure that I am following this right. The more sugar you use the more stable it becomes and the more you can do with it, RIGHT?? I have been having a rough time w my cream cheese icing lately. Thanks Megan

the crusting cream cheese icing on this site is yummy!!!!

I use the crusting cream cheese icing also.

I have been using the crusting cream cheese recipe but it seems to take forever to crust or doesnt crust at all.

I have the same problem with it not crusting!!!! What are we doing wrong????

I had to decorate a cake in cream cheese icing once and I used the following recipe from Wilton. I added a little extra powdered sugar to make it stiffer to pipe with. Everyone raved about the icing. Good luck!

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 lb. (8 cups) confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoon milk
NOTE: Do not use light cream cheese or butter substitute. If margarine is used, icing will be softer.

In a medium mixer bowl cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add sugar and milk. Beat on high until smooth (only 30 seconds to 1 minute). Thin to ice cake smooth; use full strength for piping borders.

YIELD: Makes 5-1/2 cups.

WOW, I am so glad I am not the only one that has been having this problem! I am in a bind bc someone wants and easter cake with cream chees icing done in the basketweave! So please if anyone can help us out, thank you!

This icing is my most requested and I use it almost exclusively. Almost all the cakes in my gallery are done with it:

1 8z. brick cream cheese
1 cup hi-ration shortening
1 TBS. Magic Line Butter Vanilla
1 Tsp. popcorn salt
2 lb. bag powdered sugar
4-6 TBS. heavy whipping cream

Cream the cheese and shortening for about 3 minutes and add the flavoring. Go another minute. Add the salt to the powdered sugar and add to the mix alternating with the whipping cream until you get the consistency you want. Because of the flavoring, the mixture will lokk ivory colored but if you let it go for about 5 minutes at #4 speed on your mixer it will turn whiter in color and be fluffier also. This will crust in about 15 minutes so that you can smooth with a roller or paper towel,