Can You Freeze Cream Cheese Frosting? – The Best Way

For those of us who love to bake, you will be accustomed to the practice of making way too much frosting than what you really need, and when it comes to delicious cream cheese frosting, the last thing you want to do is see it go to waste.

Everybody loves cream cheese frosting, so being able to keep any leftovers, or having some on hand for when you need it, it really is worth it.

But can you freeze cream cheese frosting? Yes, you can freeze cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese has a tendency to crumble up a bit when frozen and thawed, but with the additional ingredients in the frosting, the crumbly effect can be brought down to a minimum. A slight amount of work needs to be done to bring the frozen and thawed cream cheese frosting back to its original consistency and taste.

Now that you know that cream cheese frosting can be frozen, it would really help to know how to freeze it properly!

How To Freeze Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is incredibly easy to freeze and can be kept safely away in the freezer until you need to thaw it out and top it on some delicious baking.

Here is how to properly freeze and store cream cheese frosting.

• Make your cream cheese frosting using your favorite recipe
• Place the frosting into a plastic freezer bag, removing all the excess air by flattening the bag down
• Seal the bag tightly, checking for any tears and leaks
• Label the freezer bag with the date of preparation and freezing
• If there is more than one freezer bag of cream cheese frosting, lay the freezer bags one on top of each other, flat, in the freezer to save some much-needed space
• If you are wanting to place a large amount of cream frosting in the freezer and not portion it out, you can place it into a freezer-safe container and then wrap it in plastic wrap for an extra level of protection
• Label the freezer container with the date of freezing.

Freezing the cream cheese frosting in plastic freezer bags is great for a number of reasons.

The first is that the plastic freezer bags can be laid flat and stacked on top of each other to save some space.

You are also able to portion out smaller servings of frosting if you have made a particularly large batch, so you will not need to defrost the whole batch if you only wanting to use a small amount.

Lastly, plastic freezer bags are perfect to use to pipe the frosting onto the cake or cupcakes. You simply need to wait for the cream cheese frosting to thaw and then snip a piece away from the bottom corner of the plastic freezer bag, and use this to pipe onto your baked goods.

This way you don’t need to dirty any other dishes, and you can freeze, store and pipe all with one handy plastic bag!

How Long Does Cream Cheese Frosting Last?

As cream cheese frosting has quite a high-fat content, it does freeze quite well. If stored properly in an airtight container, the cream cheese frosting can stay in the freezer for up to 3 months.

The frosting will still be fine to use after this, but the texture and taste will start to deteriorate, so to ensure you make the most of the frosting, use it within this 3 month period.

Cream cheese frosting can be left at room temperature for 2 hours before it needs to be placed in the freezer. If it is left out for longer than this, it is safer to just dispose of it. 

As cream cheese frosting needs to be refrigerated, any cake or cupcake with cream cheese frosting needs to be refrigerated as well. If you don’t want to eat chilled cake, you can remove it from the fridge an hour before serving, so you can enjoy it at room temperature.

The Danger Zone

As it obviously contains cream cheese, you need to pay more attention to storing cream cheese frosting properly, than what you would with other standard frosting mixtures.

Cream cheese is a soft cheese and does not have such a long shelf life compared to hard cheeses. Because of this, you have to be careful to properly store the cream cheese frosting.

It needs to be kept outside of the danger zone, which is between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. If exposed to this temperature range, it could encourage bacterial growth, which could turn the cream cheese frosting dangerous to eat, and it could spoil quicker as well.

The sooner you can get your cream cheese frosting into the fridge or freezer, the safer it will be to eat and enjoy!

Thawing Cream Cheese Frosting

The safest way to thaw cream cheese frosting is to leave it to thaw in the fridge overnight. This does require some planning as you will need to take the cream cheese frosting out of the freezer the day before you are planning on using it.

Leaving the cream cheese frosting to thaw in the fridge overnight is the safest way to do so, as the frosting will won’t be exposed to temperatures that might increase bacterial growth. The gentle thawing will not ruin the texture of the cream cheese frosting either, allowing it to stay as close to its true texture as possible.

When thawed, the cream cheese frosting might be crumbly and have a watery texture. To fix this, you might have to use an electric mixer to beat the frosting back to its creamy and light texture.

Once the cream cheese frosting has been thawed and kept in the fridge, it should be used within 3 days. Using it within 3 days ensures that it keeps its best quality and taste and that it is still safe to be eaten.

When the cream cheese frosting has thawed, you should never refreeze it.

Not only does this make the cream cheese frosting unsafe to consume at a later stage if there has been an increase in bacterial growth, but it will really decrease the quality of the frosting, and it really will not have a great taste or texture and might end up ruining your dessert or cakes!

Freezing Frosted Cakes

For the best results, you should try to freeze the frosting and the cakes separately, but you can freeze cream cheese frosted cakes and cupcakes.

To do this, you can choose to either place the cake into an airtight freezer container and wrap the container in plastic wrap for added protection, and place this into the freezer, or wrap the cake in an aluminum wrap and cover with plastic wrap.

For smaller portions, you can slice the cake beforehand, being careful not to ruin the frosting, and wrap individual slices in aluminum foil and plastic wrap, and place these inside a plastic freezer bag.

This way, you can enjoy a slice of cake whenever you feel like it, without having to defrost the whole lot, which might just end up going to waste.

To defrost a frosted cake, you can leave it in the fridge overnight to thaw.

Related Questions

Can you use salted butter in cream cheese frosting?

You can use salted butter in cream cheese frosting, but it is better to use unsalted, as you won’t have too much control on how salty the frosting turns out.

However, if you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it and whip up the recipe, but only add more salt to the frosting once you have tasted it. You might not need to add any additional salt in, and you really don’t want to land up with overly-salty frosting.

What is the difference between icing and frosting?

Icing usually has a thinner consistency and is much more sugary than frosting.

Frosting is thicker and fluffier and has a more refined taste. Icing is perfect to use to create detailed decorations, while frosting is used to cover a cake, add flavor, and to bring some extra moisture to a cake.

Can you add milk to cream cheese frosting?

If your frosting turns out too thick, for instance, if you have added too much powdered sugar, you can add in one or two tablespoons of heavy cream or milk, working to thin the mixture out slightly without making it too runny.

You can still freeze the cream cheese frosting the same way if there is a small amount of milk or cream added.

Freezing Cream Cheese Frosting

You are able to save any leftover cream cheese frosting you have made by safely placing it in the freezer! Not only does this reduce waste, but it ensures you have cream cheese frosting on hand for when you need it, and maybe don’t have all the ingredients you use to make it.

As the cream cheese might become slightly clumpy and watery, you will have to beat the thawed cream cheese frosting a bit, but after that, you will have perfectly good cream cheese frosting to use!

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