1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (250 g) butter (room temperature)
5 ½ cups (600 g) powdered sugar (sifted)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
10 ½ ounces (300 g) plain, full-fat cream cheese spread
Steps
Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, one third at a time, and beat on high speed for several minutes until mixture is light and creamy. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process until all of the powdered sugar is well incorporated. Beat in vanilla. You should now have a very stiff buttercream.
Add the cream cheese and beat on high for a couple of seconds to incorporate. Scrape bowl and beat on high again for a couple of seconds.
The frosting can now be spread on cake or cupcakes or chilled until it is firm enough to pipe. Store frosting and frosted baked goods in the refrigerator.
Reviews
Jonas on 2025-11-23 (5 stars): After seven years in Iceland, and much hang-wringing and soupily frosted red velvets, you have come to the RESCUE with this recipe. I whipped up our amazing Nordic butter and powdered sugar and our crappy, plasticky Nordic “cream cheese” and I got a beautiful spreadable cream cheese! It was wonderfully smooth, piped with great detail and held up a hefty, 3-layer red velvet (I used 1.25x the large recipe). You are a lifesaver!
Danny on 2024-11-28 (5 stars): FINALLY. i honestly should have saved myself the headache and thought to look for this recipe rather than try to brute force an american recipe with monchou and other cheeses. This whipped up beautifully, and while still a bit soft compared to other buttercreams, was able to hold the weight of the upper cake layer, and didn't run at all. i did replace the vanilla extract with fresh lemon zest and a pinch of salt, due to personal preference.
one thing i would add for those wanting to make this with a handheld mixer, i BROKE mine whipping the last of the powdered sugar through the butter since it was so stiff. to be fair, it was €15, about 6 years old at this point and i had been baking all day, so. Guess the recipe isn't entirely foolproof!
