The BEST White Chocolate Frosting ever! Full of buttery flavor, our White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream is creamy, light and fluffy. Just the right amount of butter, cream cheese, white chocolate and sugar is used to create a buttercream that not only pipes beautifully, but has the texture of mousse and tastes just like White Chocolate Cheesecake! Everyone will love this recipe. Perfect for special occasions and holidays like birthdays, Christmas and Valentine’s Day!
A Special Buttercream for Holidays & Special Occasions:
White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream
My friends, The Buttercream Series continues here at Wicked Good Kitchen and I am thrilled to share with you my absolute favorite recipe for White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream! It is the ideal buttercream frosting—especially for white chocolate lovers—for special occasions such as birthdays, weddings and anniversaries, and holidays. Trust me.
Upon creating a special layer cake (upcoming for y’all for Valentine’s Day), I decided to put my favored ratio of butter to cream cheese, 1:1 by weight at 8 ounces each as used in my recipe for Best Ever Cream Cheese Buttercream, and create an improved White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting.
Not only did I use the same amount of butter and cream cheese, by weight, I also used the same amount of fine-quality white chocolate chips at 8 ounces. This theory of mine, that using 8 ounces each of these three (3) key ingredients would create the perfect White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting, paid off in spades. I’m am telling you, I did a major kitchen victory dance and could not stop sampling this ethereal buttercream right from the spoon! I say this often, but it is true.
Since our recipe for White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting calls for confectioners’ or powdered sugar, I decided to add the word “frosting” to the title and to distinguish it from the very first buttercream recipe I shared here on the blog, White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream, adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s recipe. Rose’s recipe is indeed phenomenal. However, this one is my new favorite for many reasons.
This incredible buttercream is everything you dreamed White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting would be. There is a pleasant tang from the cream cheese and the subtle touch of lemon juice keeps the flavor profile from being so “one-note” like other White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipes.
In addition to keeping the flavor profile balanced between buttery and “cheesecake” to white chocolate and a salty-sweet balance, it was important for me to offer up a recipe that anyone could make with fine-quality, all-natural white chocolate chips since blocks of white chocolate can be difficult to find at times. Locally, our shops generally carry it around Valentine’s Day, Easter and Christmas. This scarcity makes it especially challenging to create desserts calling for white chocolate in the off-season such as summertime. Well, no more worries—so long as you can get your hands on white chocolate chips!
Our White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting would be the perfect frosting for our White Velvet Layer Cake, white chocolate cake, pink or red velvet cakes, or your favorite chocolate or yellow layer cakes and cupcakes.
If you are in need of a special buttercream to frost or fill cookies for Valentine’s Day, this one will fit the bill and then some. It is rich and creamy and everything you would expect it to be without overwhelming or overpowering the flavor of your sugar cookies, chocolate cookies or red velvet cookies and will only complement them. In fact, I can’t wait to use this recipe to frost that special Valentine’s Day cake I have been planning to share with y’all! The ideas are truly endless.
As stated previously, the secret to making an exceptional Cream Cheese Buttercream is to use equal amounts, by weight, of butter to cream cheese—that is, 8 ounces each. This, of course, translates to two (2) sticks of butter and one (1) brick of cream cheese. Most cream cheese frosting recipes call for far too much cream cheese (read: too much moisture and not enough fat) and the frosting just does not want to pipe well.
In addition, the frosting is so loosey-goosey that cake layers actually slide! No fun—especially if transporting layer cakes. Essentially, you would have to add an incredible amount of confectioners’ sugar to stiffen it up in order to pipe nicely. For most of us, this translates to a frosting that is just too cloyingly sweet.
Just in case you missed it in previous posts, this is what I wrote: “Just as with my carrot cake recipe, my Cream Cheese Buttercream recipe was inspired by the one found in my New Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. It is quite the opposite of Mrs. Fields’ recipe that calls for two 8-ounce packages (16 ounces) of cream cheese and only one stick (½ cup or 4 ounces) of salted butter. The BHG recipe calls for one 8-ounce package of cream cheese to one stick of butter (again, at 4 ounces). However, I increased the amount of butter from the BHG recipe to create a true “Cream Cheese Buttercream” in a 1:1 ratio (8 ounces to 8 ounces) of cream cheese to butter with enough confectioners’ sugar to thicken the consistency to pipe beautifully. Sometimes, I even use one stick of salted butter with one stick of unsalted for a nice salty-sweet balance.”
What makes our White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting wicked good?
This exceptional cream cheese buttercream literally melts on the tongue. It is buttery-rich, creamy with white chocolate flavor, silky-smooth and light and fluffy like mousse. A slight tang from the cream cheese and lemon juice balances the vanilla and sugar so as not to be overly sweet. This cream cheese buttercream tastes just like White Chocolate Cheesecake! Due to the adequate amount of fat from the butter, this special buttercream pipes beautifully.
Our recipe for White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream is versatile and pairs extremely well with white cakes, yellow cakes, spice cakes and chocolate cakes alike as well as cookies, brownies, cupcakes, cheesecakes and other sweet treats like baked doughnuts. Quite simply the best White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting! Definitely, wicked good.
For holidays and special occasions—especially Christmas, Valentine’s Day and birthdays—you really must treat yourself to a batch of our White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream to frost your favorite baked sweets. You, your loved ones and guests will love it! I promise.
Below are Pinterest-friendly sized images to pin at Pinterest!
White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: About 5 cups
Description
Creamy, light and fluffy with just the right amount of butter, cream cheese, white chocolate and sugar to create a buttercream that pipes beautifully. The texture is like mousse and it tastes just like White Chocolate Cheesecake!
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick/113 grams) salted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (1 stick/113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 (8-ounce/226 grams) package cream cheese, such as Philadelphia®, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) pure vanilla extract, such as Nielsen-Massey®
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 1/3 cups (8 ounces/226 grams) fine-quality all-natural white chocolate chips, such as Guittard® Choc-Au-Lait™ Vanilla Milk Chips
- 2½ cups (300 grams) confectioners’ sugar, spooned in cup, leveled off & sifted
Directions
- Using an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or handheld mixer and large bowl, beat butter on medium speed until creamy. Add cream cheese; beat until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and lemon juice and mix until well blended. Gradually increase mixer speed to high and continue beating until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of bowl as necessary with rubber spatula. Cover work bowl and set aside while melting the white chocolate chips.
- To Melt the White Chocolate Chips: Add an inch or so of water to a medium saucepan or bottom pan of a double boiler set. Bring water to a simmer over medium heat. Place white chocolate chips into medium sized metal bowl (or heatproof glass bowl) or top pan (insert) of a double boiler set. Place over hot water (but, not hotter than 160ºF) over medium-low heat and melt, stirring constantly.
- Do not allow water to touch the bottom of the metal bowl, glass bowl or top pan (insert) of the double boiler as this could scorch the chocolate. Do not allow the chocolate to get too hot and be sure no moisture gets into the melted chocolate or it could seize up (become grainy, very thick and unworkable). Carefully remove the bowl or top pan (insert) of the double boiler from the heat; stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Cool slightly, stirring often, to ensure a smooth consistency.
- Add melted white chocolate to creamed butter and cream cheese mixture; beat until fully incorporated and smooth. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating on low speed (stir), until well combined. Beat on high speed until well combined, smooth and fluffy while scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, about 2 minutes.
- Before filling, frosting, icing and piping cakes, rebeat buttercream to ensure smoothness.
- Yield: Makes about 5 cups; enough to fill and frost a 9-inch two layer cake, or 8-inch three layer cake, or 20 to 26 cupcakes—depending on amount used to simply ice cupcakes with a knife or icing spatula (in the traditional manner) or pipe elaborate swirls, or decorate with other piping details.
Recipe Notes
Tips:
IMPORTANT: Do not melt the white chocolate chips by direct heat in a saucepan on range cooktop or in microwave oven. Both of these methods were tested using the finest quality white chocolate chips, Guittard® Choc-Au-Lait™ Vanilla Milk Chips. The best and only method to use for this recipe is the double-boiler method as indicated in the recipe. Doing otherwise will cause the melted white chocolate chips to become a thick, unworkable mass.
Chopped white chocolate may be substituted in an even swap at 8 ounces or 226 grams for the white chocolate chips.
If not using immediately, the buttercream can be kept at room temperature up to 1 day when covered tightly, refrigerated for up to 1 week in an airtight container or frozen up to 2 months if well wrapped. Before using, bring to room temperature before beating smooth again.
If using the buttercream to pipe details, be sure to use chilled hands when handling pastry bag as warm hands can melt the buttercream.
Cook Time above simply means Active Time for preparing buttercream.
Original Recipe Source: WickedGoodKitchen.com
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All I want to do is dip a spoon (make it a soup spoon!) in this frosting! Your white chocolate version is brilliant. I think I’m already on my way to the kitchen to whip up some cupcakes so then I have an excuse to make frosting ;). Have a great rest of your weekend, Stacy!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) recently posted…raspberry amaretto cookie bars
Thank you, Laura! I hope you whip up a batch of this dreamy buttercream soon. You will love it. Thanks for dropping by, my friend. 🙂 Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Buttercream is a tricky one for me so I find this post very inspiring. GREG
Thank you, sweet Greg! You will love this recipe for buttercream. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week ahead. 🙂
WoW! This recipe for the white chocolate cream cheese buttercream frosting is wild!
I’m with Laura’s idea, cupcakes are a must right now. 🌝
This is going into my keeper file, right next to all of your frosting recipes that are already in there.
Have a nice evening Stacy!
Thank you, Dalila! Last week was full of wild abandon in the kitchen making buttercream frostings for upcoming cakes. 😉 I hope you will enjoy this recipe as well as drop by for this year’s pink (berry-based) silk buttercream, so appropriate for Valentine’s Day. Thanks for dropping by and have a wonderful week, my friend!
This post is so interesting and helpful. You make it so clear for us. I am always a bit overwhelmed by frosting, this is perfect Stacy.
I never knew the science behind a perfect frosting. You are right, if the frosting is not good, the cake just slides and messes. This is so perfect and comes at the right time for Valentines.
Great one again my dear.
xx
Thank you, Ash! You are going to love this buttercream recipe. It’s my new favorite. Thanks for dropping by, my friend. Enjoy the rest of your week! xo
I’m wondering what you did with that gigantic bowl of frosting. I could have helped! 😉 White chocolate and cream cheese are so delicious together. I know I’d love this!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking recently posted…Paleo Lemon Cookies
LOL! The bowl really does look gigantic in the images, doesn’t it? However, it’s the medium size in the set. All of my buttercreams go onto test cakes and my more than willing taste testers enjoy and provide feedback. I wish I could email you some! Thanks for stopping by, Erin! 🙂
Does the lemon juice give it a lemon flavor? Could it be left out?
Have you tried this recipe on a carrot cake cupcakes? I’m doing cupcakes for my brother’s wedding and an friend l trying to find something different yet taste awesome this recipe sounds amazing just seeing the lemon juice threw me 🙂
Hi there, Rachel!
To answer your excellent questions, the lemon juice in this recipe provides enough tang to make the White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream taste like cheesecake. It is subtle, yet there, and prevents the buttercream’s flavor profile from being too one-note by adding a complementary layer of lemon flavor. However, it does not taste like my very lemony Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream.
Meanwhile, here is a link to my latest rendition that I think you will really like as it only calls for 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice and the buttercream is substantial and not as fragile as the other – especially in warm weather: White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting.
My recommendation is to review both recipes to see which you prefer – perhaps even doing a test run with tastings of each. I really like and recommend my latest rendition of White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream (via the link) as both the texture and flavor are phenomenal for Carrot Cake and Carrot Cake Cupcakes!
Good luck making all those fabulous cupcakes for your brother’s wedding! They will surely be the hit of the party. 🙂
~Stacy
P.S. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to write and ask.
Whoops! My sincere apologies, Rachel. I thought I was answering your question from the recipe page for White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream. Well, you get the idea of what I am saying. This recipe for White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting calls for only 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice whereas the other calls for 1 1/2 tablespoons. You could definitely leave the lemon juice out, but I think you would rather have it in. The lemon flavor really is very subtle and does make the buttercream balanced and not so one-note and too sweet, if you know what I mean. So, don’t be thrown by it. 🙂
I am making a layered unicorn cake for my daughters birthday party. I am wanting to use your recipe. Will it be a good icing to cover a layer cake and also pipe flowers on the top and down the side without the cake having to be refrigerated or should I ice then keep it cool to maintain it’s form? I am new to decorating cakes. First one and I want it done correctly for my daughter.
Hi there, Nicole! Thank you for writing with such a great question. Please accept my sincere apologies for this tardy reply as, at this time, my blog is undergoing an extensive overhaul and redesign. Because of this, I will not be posting new recipes for a while. However, periodically, I will still be answering important baking questions whenever I can. My hope is that the new site will launch by the end of summer.
Meanwhile, this particular buttercream recipe, White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream, frosts and pipes beautifully. However, factors such as warm days and warm kitchen conditions can play havoc with buttercream frostings. The best advice that I can provide you with is to use your own judgment once you have made the buttercream.
If you feel the need to provide a quick-chill to set the buttercream once you have decorated the cake, a 30-minute chill (or up to 1 hour) in the fridge will definitely help. You really do not want to chill the cake longer than 1 hour if it is a butter cake as the longer chill will create a firm cake that will seem less moist. In fact, a brief chill for the sake of the buttercream will help when it comes time to slice the cake for nice even and neat slices.
Nicole, I hope that I have answered your question thoroughly and completely. I just know that your next batch of cream cheese buttercream will be fabulous! Thanks again for writing and… Happy baking!
~Stacy
This was my first time making buttercream frosting. It came out a little soft. My question is, what do you think I may have done wrong? The chocolate melted perfectly and was no problem. Could it have been not enough powdered sugar? I was having a terrible time with my sifter and may have lost more amount than I thought. (definitely time for a new one😄) please help!! The taste was delicious!! I made the cake look nice so all was not lost I will definitely do this one again if I can figure out what I may have done wrong.
Hi there, Joyce! Thank you for writing and sharing your results with our recipe for White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream. To answer your question, what could have gone wrong could be a few possibilities. The soft texture of your buttercream could be due to a) a warm day and kitchen, b) ingredients that became too soft (warm), c) the cream cheese was a bit too watery (I have found that cream cheese can be a little watery after opening a fresh package and now I pat the brick dry with paper toweling before using in buttercream recipes), d) the type of white chocolate chips used (as artificial additives can often break down buttercream frostings) or e) too much or not enough confectioners’ (powdered) sugar was added to the recipe. Contrary to what most home baker’s think, adding more confectioners’ sugar, as a “dry” ingredient, will not thicken a buttercream. Sugar is hygroscopic and an excess in buttercream frostings will cause them to break down and become too soft to work with when icing a cake or piping decorations. The very best remedies are a) adding a little bit more fat (softened butter or shortening, at room temperature) and/or b) providing a few trips into the refrigerator to chill the buttercream at 5-minute intervals and stirring well with a rubber spatula between chill times until desired consistency or thickness is reached. These remedies, used alone or in combination, always work for me. Thanks again for writing with such a great question, Joyce. 🙂 I hope that I have answered your question thoroughly and completely. Wishing you much luck and success with your next batch of homemade buttercream!
Thank you for your response. I’m excited to try this again and I will let you know how it turns out when I do.
Thanks again!
My pleasure, Joyce. 🙂 Good luck with your next attempt and please let me know how it turns out. Happy baking!
Is this recipie enough to cover an 8″ round cake? I’m making it with Rossetts buttercream
Hi there, Luz! Thank you for writing with such a great question. What I think you are asking, and hope I can answer, is that you are wanting to frost, fill and decorate an 8-inch round cake (either with 2 or 3 layers) with rose swirls or “rosettes”. If so, as I state in my recipe for White Velvet Layer Cake with Strawberry-Raspberry Mascarpone Buttercream, which is a “Rose Cake”, you will need 1 1/2 recipes of Strawberry-Raspberry Mascarpone Buttercream. The same holds true with this recipe for White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream as it makes almost the same amount, around 5 cups, and my White Velvet Layer Cake is an 8-inch 3-layer cake. Thanks again for writing, Luz. I hope that I have answered your question thoroughly and completely. Happy baking! 🙂
Couldn’t read the full recipe. Half the directions were cut off down the side. This would be perfect for me as I can not have the other chocolate.
Thank you for your comment, Becky! My sincere apologies for the less than stellar display. Currently, I am working behind the scenes with a blog designer and a coding expert to redesign the blog for easier reading. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy my recipe for White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream. It’s phenomenally good. Thanks again for writing and happy baking!
I am testing this recipe out to use on my brother’s wedding this June in BC. I’ve followed the recipe, but halved it. It doesn’t seem to be very stiff. Im very nervous that this would turn into the liquid frosting of my nightmares in a little heat. Will this recipe hold up on a 30° day?
Hi there, Sydney! Thank you for writing with such a great question and sharing your concerns. With such warm temperatures expected for the wedding day, I would not recommend this recipe for buttercream on a wedding cake as it would be too fragile for a 30°C or 86°F day.
What you could try would be to use part palm shortening for the unsalted butter in this recipe for White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream. If you have not yet tried palm shortening in buttercream frostings, you simply must try it if you can find it locally. (It is very solid at room temperature and therefore holds up well in warm weather, but whips into buttercream recipes beautifully with no fuss. The performance of palm shortening is amazing.) If not, try ordering from Amazon. I use and highly recommend Spectrum® Organic Non-hydrogenated All-Vegetable Shortening. It is made of 100% mechanically pressed (no chemicals) organic palm oil. In fact, I use it in my Best Ever American Buttercream recipe as well as my Best Ever Baileys Irish Cream Buttercream, Ivory Silk Buttercream Frosting, Pink Champagne Buttercream and Raspberry and Strawberry Silk Buttercream.
Alternatively, I do have a recipe that could work out very well for your wedding cake project, Best Ever Decorator’s Cream Cheese Buttercream. It is a “crusting” buttercream, but you could possibly add a little melted white chocolate to it and whip it in. The added fats would probably create a buttercream that would not “crust”, but it would certainly stand up to warmer summer temps.
My sincere apologies for not answering your question sooner. I’ve been extremely busy behind-the-scenes to make Wicked Good Kitchen a better experience for my readers. I am also in a mad-red-hot-rush to get my berry and cherry recipes posted soon. Thanks again for writing, Sydney. I hope that I have answered your questions thoroughly and completely. Your cake will be phenomenal and everyone will rave at the wedding! Congratulations and best wishes to your brother! 🙂 Meanwhile, happy baking and buttercream making!
Hi Stacy, I was wondering if this frosting is suitable to frost a cake that I’m going to cover with fondant?
Thanks!
Hi there, Melissa! Thank you for writing with such a great question. I just wish that I could answer it based on personal experience with this particular recipe for White Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream and covering fondant over it on a layer cake. My rule of thumb has always been NOT to cover cream cheese based buttercream frostings with fondant. The reason is because the liquid in cream cheese can break fondant down. On the other hand, just like you, I am wondering if the addition of the white chocolate will help prevent the break down of the fondant and for how long. I will definitely have to add this to my growing list of recipe tests! If you do try to cover this buttercream with fondant, please write back and share your results with me and fellow readers. Thanks again for writing, Melissa. I wish that I had a solid answer for you. Good luck and happy baking!