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 - 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!
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 frosting
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
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
- 4 tablespoons butter (softened)
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons maple sugar
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.
Eden
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!
Kimberly
Oooh, I really love that touch of maple flavor, I can think of lots of ways I want to use it!
Cheryl S
This frosting took my pumpkin cake to a whole new level!! Wonderful recipe!
Lauren Kelly
This is the most perfect frosting ever! We have made it several times. It's perfect for fall!
Alli
This was just the cream cheese frosting I was looking for! It so sooooo good.