Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting is not too sweet, made with maple syrup and heavy cream, and sprinkled with a generous amount of cinnamon. The frosting is delicious spread on cakes, cupcakes, or used as a filling in your favorite fall dessert.
Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
If you are looking for a light frosting for all the fall baking you’re likely doing, then look no further! This frosting would pair deliciously with gluten free pumpkin cupcakes, or as a tasty filling in a vanilla orange cake. And for a breakfast treat, it will make a perfect fall glaze for maple cinnamon rolls or a filling in homemade croissants!
Typically, cream cheese frosting includes butter, but not this recipe. The frosting is still luxurious without the butter. Whipped cream cheese and heavy cream make the silkiest topping. It is thick enough to dollop onto cupcakes and works wonderfully as the complementary filling in pumpkin spice whoopie pies.
And because the frosting is primarily sweetened with maple syrup, it is not too sweet. The maple syrup adds a buttery caramel flavor which evokes all the fall vibes. Combine that with a healthy dose of cinnamon and you have a frosting that will be a fall baking staple.
What Does Cream Cheese Frosting Taste Like?
Wondering if the frosting taste like your bagel shmear? It does not. Whether that is good or bad, this frosting allows the other flavors to be front and center. And while I love a tasty shmear of cream cheese on my bagels, I don’t want to eat spoonful’s of it on my cakes.
- Light – There is a proper ratio of cream cheese and heavy creamy to keep this frosting airy, yet stable enough to hold up as a topping or filling.
- Creamy – The whipped cream cheese will make sure the frosting stays velvety.
- Maple and Cinnamon – Does it get anymore fall than these two flavors? Ok, pumpkin baking recipes do have a tendency to take center stage this time of year, but they can share the limelight!
Only 5 Ingredients For frosting
- Cream Cheese – I recommend full fat cream cheese to get the thickest result.
- Heavy Cream – When whipped, the heavy cream increases in volume and creates lightweight frosting.
- Maple Syrup – I love maple syrup for its flavor, being a refined sugar free option, and its wonderful ability to make maple syrup caramel sauce!
- Powdered Sugar – I use a little powdered sugar to act as a stabilizer. You can certainly add more if you want a thicker frosting you can pipe.
- Salt – The salt balances the flavors and sweetness.
And It’s Easy To Make
- Mixing Bowl – You only need one small mixing bowl, all of the ingredients go into the bowl, and mix it all until it’s creamy and smooth!
- Hand Held Mixer – You could certainly break out your stand mixer with a 3-quart mixing bowl to make the frosting. But I like to keep it a little easier and just use my hand held mixer with whisk attachments.
Tips For Success
- Bring the cream cheese to room temperature – This will ensure the cream cheese mixes smooth and free of lumps.
- Use full fat cream cheese – For a thick and creamy frosting, full fat cream cheese is what you need.
- Make sure it is pure maple syrup and not pancake syrup – We want rich and pure maple syrup. Not high fructose corn syrup!
- Don’t omit the salt – The salt does great things to balance all of the flavors and sweetness.
- Refrigerate the frosting – Whether you are making it in advance, or using it right away, the frosting will need to be refrigerated. Because of the dairy.
- Try different spices – This cinnamon maple cream cheese frosting is pretty pure in that we only use cinnamon. But you could try pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, or even your own mixture!
- Add more powdered sugar for a thicker frosting – If you want a pipeable frosting.
Different Flavor Options For Cream Cheese Frosting
One of the (many) great things about cream cheese frosting is how versatile it is. I like to cream cheese in my frostings because it offers a lighter alternative to buttercream. Plus, it can be combined with a lot of different flavors.
I use a traditional vanilla flavor in the gluten free carrot cake cupcakes and on the mini carrot cake. The opposite of that is the chocolate filling in the pumpkin cake, and a thicker whipped chocolate ganache frosting.
But my favorite flavored cream cheese frosting (besides this one!) has to be the apple spiced frosting on the gluten free spice cupcakes. This frosting is made with a little more powdered sugar to make it pipeable, and it is quintessential fall!
faq’s: cinnamon cream cheese frosting
Yes! No adjustments are necessary.
The recipe will yield enough to fill 4 cookie sandwiches, frost 4 to 6 cupcakes, or frost 1 single layer 6-inch cake.
You don’t, but I recommend it to stabilize the frosting so it isn’t too loose.
I have only tested the recipe as written. You can certainly try your own ingredient swaps to fit dietary needs. I just can’t say how the frosting will turn out.
The frosting will firm up a little if it is refrigerated. But it doesn’t necessarily set up hard.
Because the main ingredients in the frosting are dairy, I wouldn’t keep the frosting out all night. It will be fine for a few hours, but if you have leftovers, I would recommend just popping them into the fridge.
Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and maple syrup. Use a hand held mixer on medium speed to beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and creamy.2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature, 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Continue to beat on medium high speed until light and fluffy. This may take about 2 minutes. Do not overmix, or the frosting may separate.1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon salt
- The frosting is ready to use immediately, or it can be covered and refrigerated where it will thicken as it chills. Note – The frosting is not as thick as buttercream or other frosting, and it may not hold its shaped if piped. It is great simply spread on top of cakes or cupcakes, and is delicious as a filling in cookies or whoopie pies.
RECIPE NOTES
- Serving Size – The recipe is intended to be a small batch to accompany other small batch recipes on the blog. However, it can easily be doubled (or tripled!)
- Yield – The recipe makes approximately 1/2 cup of frosting – enough for 4 to 6 cupcakes, fill 4 cookie sandwiches, or frost 1 single layer 6-inch cake.
- Cream Cheese – I recommend full-fat cream cheese for a rich frosting. Low fat may yield a looser frosting.
- Maple Syrup + Powdered Sugar – The maple syrup is the primary sweetener and imparts a buttery caramel flavor. Powdered sugar aids in the consistency to make the frosting creamy.
NUTRITION ESTIMATES
about the author ...
I'm Erin and I'm all about desserts - and a little bit of butter!
I've tested, written, and photographed hundreds of recipes on my website. Here you'll find the tastiest small batch gluten free and traditional desserts - all homemade, all simple, and all for you!
Turned out entirely liquid even with one and a half times as much powdered sugar and whipped for three times as long.
It warns not to omit the salt and then doesn’t say how much salt to add.
I’m sorry to hear the frosting didn’t work out for you. Coincidentally, I made some this weekend and I’m not sure where it may have gone wrong for you. Let me know if you want help troubleshooting! Thanks for bringing to my attention the salt omission in the recipe – that’s been corrected.