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Maple Cream Cheese Frosting, made with pure maple syrup and maple sugar, is a creamy sweet topping that is excellent for fall season cookies and cakes!

maple cream cheese frosting

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting – how have I never made you before? Sure I’ve made cream cheese frosting hundreds of times and have even made a few variations. But never have I added pure maple syrup and real maple sugar to create a perfectly sweet, unbelievably smooth rich frosting that tastes like fall. I think about all of the carrot cake inspired recipes I’ve made in the past and am kicking myself for not making this maple cream cheese frosting to go with them!

A close up of cream cheese frosting

For this frosting, I new I wanted a rich maple flavor without having to use any kind of extracts. If I were to sweeten only with pure maple syrup, I would have ended up with a maple glaze rather than a maple frosting. If I wanted it to remain thick enough to spread but still have a strong maple flavor, what was I to do? Enter pure maple sugar. I’ve had a small bag of Trader Joe’s pure maple sugar stashed in my pantry for quite some time and I was saving it for just the right recipe. This was it. You can totally play with the amounts to adjust for thickness and taste, but I found the ratio to be perfect.Keep in mind that this maple cream cheese recipe isn’t as firm as your straight up butter and cream cheese frosting. I recommend keeping it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use and not photographing it in your garage on a 100 degree humid day (I’m not referring to anyone in particular).

Recipe variations:

  • You can add some cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and orange zest to this maple frosting to give it a more fall spice flare
  • You can omit the maple syrup and maple sugar and instead add freeze dried blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries to make it a fruit frosting without impacting its thickness
  • You can add cocoa powder to the frosting base to turn it into a chocolate cream cheese frosting, or even better a sprinkle of cinnamon to make it Mexican chocolate or instant espresso powder to make it a mocha frostingcream cheese frosting on a spoon

Tools used to make this maple cream cheese frosting:

Stand mixer: This is a kitchen must-have. I use mine almost any time I bake. It’s one of the few appliances I will allow to always remain on the counter rather than be put away.
Silicone spatula: Any time you’re working with a batter or frosting, you’ll need a good quality scraper. These are the ones I use because they do the job right and don’t leave a nasty silicone taste when I like the batter off at the end!
Frosting Decorator Set: In a pinch you can always use a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off, but when I like to get fancy, I use a real metal tip!

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep10 minutes
Total10 minutes
Servings 12 servings
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting, made with pure maple syrup and maple sugar, is a creamy sweet topping that is excellent for fall season cookies and cakes!

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, cream together cream cheese and butter until completely smooth, about 3 minutes on high speed.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and blend until well mixed.
  • This frosting will not be as firm as typical cream cheese frosting, so it’s best to keep refrigerated until ready to use. Frost cookies, cakes, or cupcakes! If making a large multi-layer cake, you’ll want to double this recipe.

Notes

Recipe makes 3 cups.

Nutrition

Calories: 206kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 31mg, Sodium: 96mg, Potassium: 66mg, Sugar: 26g, Vitamin A: 370IU, Calcium: 38mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this? Leave me a comment below

Hi! I’m Krissy.

I love to create the BEST versions of your favorite recipes. If you love to cook, love to eat, or just have a deep appreciation for good food, you’re in the right place! Stick around… I have hundreds of recipes for you to make.

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5 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made this for a cake I was baking, but wanted a better frosting recipe to go with it. This maple frosting is beyond delicious!! Can’t wait to make it again!