Sweet

Cream Cheese Icing for Cinnamon Rolls

Fluffy and rich, this cream cheese cinnamon roll icing nicely balances the spice found within the classic breakfast pastry.

So, you’re making cinnamon rolls! This cream cheese cinnamon roll icing is my husband’s favorite for this breakfast treat. It is rich, creamy, and a perfect counterpoint the cinnamon tang within the rolls themselves. It has a bit more structure than the cream cheese icing I like to use for cakes; while it is less malleable for delicate decorating, it is more robust, meaning it is going to stay put on top of your breakfast pastry.

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A cinnamon roll piled high with cream cheese icing sits on a white plate, which rests on a wooden surface.

Ingredients

The ingredients for this cream cheese cinnamon roll icing are fairly basic, and shouldn’t be too hard for you to pull together.

  • 1 block of room temperature cream cheese 
  • 1 stick of room temperature salted butter
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
  • 3 ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 4 teaspoons milk (optional – depends on how thick you want the final icing)

How to make cream cheese icing for cinnamon rolls

Start by creaming together your butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. Mix in the vanilla bean paste.

Mix in powdered sugar, about one cup at a time. Once all of the powdered sugar is mixed in, assess the texture of the icing. If you would prefer an icing that is thinner, add in up to 4 tablespoons of milk, one tablespoon at a time.

A bowl of completed cinnamon roll cream cheese icing sits in a clear bowl. (Top-down view.) Some icing has migrated up the sides of the bowl.

Spread the icing over cinnamon rolls that have cooled completely. If your rolls are warm, the icing will melt…which, although it makes for tasty rolls, might but a damper on the presentation.

A dollop of cream cheese icing for cinnamon rolls rests on the end of an offset frosting spatula.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you try it at home, please tag #WhiskAverseBaking in your posts on social media, or leave a message in the comments below.

Cream Cheese Icing

More robust than cream cheese frosting used for cakes, this icing nicely balances the spice found within the classic cinnamon roll.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 eight-ounce block cream cheese room temperature
  • ½ cup salted butter room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
  • 3 ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 4 teaspoons milk optional

Instructions
 

  • Cream together butter and cream cheese. Mix in vanilla bean paste.
  • Mix in powdered sugar one cup at a time.
  • If mixture is too thick, thin with milk until it reaches the desired texture.
  • Spread over cooled cinnamon rolls.

1 comment on “Cream Cheese Icing for Cinnamon Rolls

  1. Pingback: Mom’s Cinnamon Rolls – Whisk Averse Baking

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