Whipped Cream Cheese Ganache Frosting
This whipped cream cheese ganache frosting is a twist on a classic cream cheese frosting. It’s light, velvety & perfect for layer cakes, cupcakes & desserts.
Here’s an easy cream cheese frosting that’s a cross between a classic frosting & a whipped chocolate ganache! It’s incredibly light, creamy & smooth which makes it perfect for carrot cake, as well as sheet cakes, brownies, cheesecakes, profiteroles & loads more. It’s super easy to prepare & only takes a few minutes to whip up, when you want to use it!
This style of cream cheese frosting is prepared like a regular white chocolate ganache but with the addition of cream cheese. Then once set, it’s whipped in a stand mixer (or even by hand!) into a light, fluffy frosting. It’s even better than regular cream cheese frosting & even easier to make! There’s a whole vanilla bean in there as well, so you get those beautiful speckles of vanilla seeds in your frosting.
The key to making this cream cheese frosting is letting it set in the fridge overnight. I like to let my cakes chill in the fridge overnight anyway (layer cakes especially!) as this gives the flavours time to develop & makes the sponge easier to work with. This just means that you can make both components ahead of time then assemble your cake the following day. Although if you’re short on time, this ganache will set in about 8 hours.
For more baking recipes, check out every growing baking recipe collection! There’s plenty to choose from here, from chocolate chip cookies & brownies, to homemade breads, pastry & loads more. And for a layer cake that uses this frosting, take a look at our brown butter carrot cake recipe!
Ingredients For Whipped Cream Cheese Ganache
- Cream Cheese – For the creamiest texture, make sure to use a full fat brick of cream cheese. Avoid spreadable cream cheese as this will make the frosting too thin.
- Double Cream – Like a regular ganache, this ganache frosting is made with double cream (heavy cream). This gives the ganache the ideal thickness & creamy flavour.
- White Chocolate – Using a good quality bar of white chocolate works best for this frosting. Chopped bars of chocolate melt more easily than chocolate chips!
- Butter – Adding butter to ganache makes it set softer, making it perfect for using as a frosting. We’re using unsalted butter so that we can control how much salt is in added.
- Gelatine – Gelatine is added to this ganache to help it set & also to stabilise it, meaning that it will retain its fluffy texture for longer. This recipe was developed using sheet gelatine so I wouldn’t recommend leaving it out or swapping it for powdered gelatine.
- Golden Syrup – Adding golden syrup to ganache adds a touch of sweetness & gives the ganache a glossier finish. Light corn syrup will also work.
- Vanilla – For the best flavour & for speckles of vanilla seeds, I like to use a vanilla pod for cream cheese frosting. A good quality vanilla paste will work as well.
- Salt – A pinch of salt brings out the flavours from the chocolate.
How To Make Whipped Cream Cheese Ganache Frosting
This frosting is a cross between a whipped ganache & a classic cream cheese frosting! We start by making a white chocolate ganache which has cream cheese blended into it. This is then set in the fridge overnight before being whipped into a light, fluffy frosting the following day.
- Soak Gelatine
This ganache contains a sheet of gelatine, which we need to soak in cold water before using. I like to do this first, so that the gelatine has plenty of time to soak. To soak gelatine, we fill a small bowl up with cold water then simply add in the gelatine sheets. - Warm The Cream
Next, add double cream, chopped butter, golden syrup & a good pinch of sea salt into a pan then warm it up over a low heat, until the butter has melted & the cream is steaming hot. Make sure not to let the cream boil though as this can affect how the gelatine sets. - Chop The Chocolate
Whilst the cream is warming up, chop the white chocolate into small pieces, no bigger than 1 cm. - Add Gelatine
Once the cream is warm, squeeze as much water as possible out of the gelatine sheets then add into the cream, stirring to melt. - Pour Cream Over Chocolate
The warm cream gets poured over the chopped chocolate then we let the mix stand for 2 minutes. This just helps the chocolate melt more evenly. - Stir To Combine
Next, use a spatula to gently stir the cream & chocolate together until melted & smooth, starting from the middle, working outwards. - Blend In Cream Cheese
Once you’ve got a smooth ganache, add in cream cheese then blend together with a stick blender. The blender helps the ganache emulsify properly. - Set Overnight
Now the ganache needs to be poured into a large, shallow dish then it needs to set in the fridge for at least 8 hours (overnight is best!). To prevent a skin forming on top, it’s best to lay a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the ganache. - Whip Into A Frosting
The next day, transfer the set ganache to the bowl of a stand mixer then whisk on a medium speed for 3-4 minutes until you’ve got a light, whipped frosting that’s the consistency of softly whipped cream. Be careful not to over whip it!
Uses For Whipped Cream Cheese Ganache
Layer Cakes
I developed this cream cheese frosting to use for carrot cake. More specifically, my brown butter carrot layer cake! It’s a lighter, creamier version of a classic cream cheese frosting that’s actually easier to make. This recipe makes enough frosting to use for the layers & outside of a 4 cake layer cake but can easily be scaled down to use for a smaller cake or for just the outside/inside layers.
Other than carrot cake, you can use this cream cheese frosting for loads of other cake flavours, including red velvet cake, chocolate cake, banana cake & classic vanilla. It’s essentially a creamy vanilla frosting so it works with pretty much everything!
Sheet Cakes, Cupcakes & Cheesecakes
Cream cheese frosting’s not just good for layer cakes, it also works really well spread on top of sheet cakes & brownies and piped onto cupcakes & into macarons. You could even use this cream cheese frosting inside profiteroles, instead of whipped cream or scoop it onto portions of homemade cheesecake.
Tips, Tricks & Troubleshooting
Tips & Tricks
- For the best flavour, use a good quality bar of white chocolate. A chopped up bar of chocolate will melt more easily than chocolate chips.
- For the creamiest texture & flavour, use full fat cream cheese & double cream (heavy cream).
- Give your ganache a quick blend with a stick blender, to help emulsify it properly.
- Let your ganache set in the fridge for at least 8 hours before whipping.
- Add a small amount of gelatine to your ganache (I use sheets!) to stabilise it.
- Whip your ganache until it reaches medium peaks (like whipped cream). This is key to making a fluffy cream cheese frosting with a smooth texture.
Troubleshooting
- The ganache isn’t set – The ganache will take at least 8 hours to set in the fridge, so make sure to give it enough time to chill!
- The white chocolate didn’t melt properly – The chocolate won’t melt properly if the cream wasn’t warm enough or if the chocolate was chopped too big. To avoid this, warm the cream until it’s steaming hot & chop the chocolate into small pieces.
- The frosting is too runny once whipped – You need to keep whisking the ganache! The ganache will seem runny at first but will soon turn into a fluffy frosting.
- The frosting is grainy – The frosting will become grainy if it is over whipped. To avoid grainy frosting, stop whisking once it reaches medium peaks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cream cheese ganache frosting will keep for up to 5 days & needs to be refrigerated. It’s best to whip the ganache just before you plan to use it.
It’s best to whip ganache just before you plan to use it as it will keep it’s light, fluffy texture for longer.
Yes cream cheese ganache frosting needs to be refrigerated as it contains fresh dairy. This means that when you use the frosting for a cake, the cake will also need to be stored in the fridge.
Spreadable cream cheese will make the frosting too runny so it’s best to use a brick of cream cheese.
Whipped cream cheese frosting will be runny if it didn’t set properly in the fridge, if gelatine wasn’t used, if too much cream was added or if the frosting was under whipped. To avoid this, make sure to give the ganache at least 8 hours in the fridge before whipping, add in gelatine, weigh the cream out accurately and whisk the ganache to medium peaks (like whipped cream).
More Baking Recipes To Try!
- Whipped Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Ganache
- Mascarpone Dark Chocolate Ganache
- Mascarpone Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- Brown Butter & Vanilla Glazed Cookies
- Tres Leches Cake (3 Milk Cake)
- Rapeseed Oil Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake
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Whipped Cream Cheese Ganache Frosting
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Digital Food Probe
- Stick Blender
- Mixing Bowl
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 Gelatine Sheets (See Notes)
- 800 g Double Cream
- 150 g Unsalted Butter (Chopped Into Small Pieces)
- 80 g Golden Syrup
- 1 Vanilla Pod (Or 2 Teaspoons Of Vanilla Paste)
- A Pinch Of Sea Salt
- 300 g White Chocolate
- 450 g Cream Cheese (Full Fat)
Instructions
Cream Cheese Ganache
- Fill a small bowl with cold water then add in the sheet of gelatine. Leave this to soak whilst you make the ganache.
- Next, add the cream, butter, golden syrup & salt into a medium saucepan. Use a small knife to scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod then add both the pod & seeds into the pan of cream.
- Set the pan over a low heat then leave to warm up gently, stirring often until the cream is steaming hot. But not boiling! If you take the temperature of the cream, it will be around 80°c/176°f when ready.
- Whilst the cream is warming, chop the white chocolate into small pieces (no bigger than 1cm) then place into a heatproof bowl.
- Once the cream is hot, take the pan off the heat. Squeeze as much water as possible from the soaked gelatine sheet then add into the cream & stir to dissolve.
- Next, pour the cream over the chocolate, let it stand for 2 minutes then use a spatula to gently stir the cream & chocolate together until melted & smooth, starting from the middle, working outwards.
- Once the chocolate has melted, add in the cream cheese then use a stick blender to blend it into the ganache. The mix may look split at first but keep blending & it will come together, to make a smooth, shiny ganache.
- Transfer the ganache to a large shallow dish, cover the surface with a piece of clingfilm then chill in the fridge until set. This will take at least 8 hours but overnight is best!The ganache will set quite softly, this is normal!
Whipping & Using
- The next day, transfer the ganache to the bowl of a stand mixer then whisk on a medium speed for 3-4 minutes until it reaches medium peaks. Be careful not to over whip the ganache!The whipped ganache should have the consistency of softly whipped cream when it's ready.
- Once whipped, use the ganache frosting straight away!
