Today, I’m sharing the best maple frosting recipe. I made some delicious maple bacon cupcakes for Fathers Day weekend. These cupcakes are one of my husbands very favorites, and I can’t blame him! Anything topped with bacon is always a good idea. We love these cupcakes because they melt in your mouth with every bite. My maple bacon cupcakes are made with yellow cupcakes and maple frosting, topped with delicious candied bacon with brown sugar sprinkled on top.

My favorite part of the cupcake though, is the maple frosting. You guys, it is the BEST! This icing is fluffy and sweet and its the perfect addition to a variety of sweet treats.

Some of my favorite ways to use maple frosting:

As a filling in cupcakes
As a filling in cake
As a flavor for cakesicles or cake pops (since the icing is mixed in with the cut up cake pieces)
On top of cookies
On top of donuts (especially spiced donuts)
On top of bread (hello apple bread)
Piped on top of cupcakes

The best part about this maple frosting, is that its so easy and quick to make and you only need a few ingredients. The recipe uses both butter and a little bit of cream cheese. When adding the cream cheese and butter, make sure they are both at room temperature. You don’t want to mix them together if they’re cold. When mixed cold, cream cheese is a little chunky instead of creamy, and those chunks are so hard to get out.

Before sharing the recipe, lets talk about the consistency of the maple icing. This icing will be a little creamy (of course, with adding cream cheese and whipping cream), but, if it seems too thin, you can pop it in the fridge for a few minutes to help it thicken up for piping. If its still too thin, you can add a little more powdered sugar.

This recipe does include heavy whipping cream, which is my personal preference over using milk, and this too will make it more creamy. When making the icing, I like to add less cream at first, but if the icing seems too thick, I’ll add a little bit more cream until I have a good constancy (this really depends on what I’m using the icing for). This maple icing does crust over, which is great because it holds up well on top of cupcakes.

Maple Frosting Recipe:

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Maple Frosting

Ingredients

4 oz Cream Cheese softened
1 Cup Butter softened
2-3 teaspoons maple extract to taste
1 1/2 lbs Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream* See note

Instructions

Beat the softened cream cheese and butter for 1 minute with a stand mixer.
Add the maple extract, starting with 2 teaspoons (use 1 extra teaspoon to taste). Mix until combined well.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Continue slowly mixing until the powdered sugar is combined well. Mix by hand for a minute, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl well.
With the stand mixer, slowly add in the heavy whipping cream. Mix the icing by hand, to check the consistancy. *This is usually enough cream for the right texture, but to make the icing more creamy and a little thinner you can add in a few tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. Mix the icing until all ingredients are well incorporated.