Quick and easy honey frosting recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. This cream cheese buttercream frosting has no powdered sugar. It's perfect for spreading and piping swirls on cakes and cupcakes. It has a tangy flavor with hints of vanilla and cinnamon spice.
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As a baker and cake decorator, I have necessary ingredients in my pantry all the time but last weekend, I did not have powdered sugar which was surprising because that's never happened before. We had friends coming over in an hour and I needed to make a quick icing to pipe swirls on my Easy Almond Cupcakes (Sour Cream Cupcakes).
I saw that I had a lot of honey. I have wonderful friends who have their own bee hives and they always give me bottles of the most delicious raw honey ever. I decided to make a new recipe. This topping is very creamy and fluffy, not too sweet and has a bit of tanginess with a touch of vanilla and cinnamon spice flavor. I think it would compliment my Honey Cake (From Scratch) perfectly, too.
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Key ingredients for whipped honey buttercream icing
- Cream cheese- Use full fat for the most creamy consistency.
- Butter- Use unsalted so your frosting isn't too salty.
- Honey- The base flavor for this recipe.
- Cornstarch- Used to thicken the frosting.
- Vanilla extract- Brings in a warm flavor.
- Pumpkin spice extract- A nice compliment to the vanilla and honey.
- Sea salt- A pinch of salt balances out the sweetness.
Variations
- Add lemon- For a completely different flavor profile, use lemon zest and lemon extract. It will become a very tangy and zesty frosting that's perfect for the Summer time. This will then pair even better with Lemon Cupcakes or Lemon Cake.
- Glaze- Thin it out with milk and turn this into a honey glaze that will go really well over Easy Cranberry Orange Scones, Easy Pumpkin Bread (With Cake Mix), or a Chocolate Bundt Cake (From Scratch).
- Tint- Use gel food coloring to change the color for any occassion.
- Try other extracts- Such as almond extract, maple extract, peppermint extract, and others for new flavors.
- Use honey flavored cream cheese- For an even stronger honey flavor.
- Add sprinkles- Of various kinds to add some fun, color, and complement a party theme.
How to make easy honey frosting recipe without powdered sugar?
- Place butter and cream cheese- Together in a mixing bowl (Image 1).
- Cream together- Those ingredients until combined (Image 2).
- Measure out the honey- Then pour it into the bowl (Image 3).
- Add in- The cornstarch, extracts, and salt (Image 4).
- Mix everything together- Then chill in the refrigerator (Image 5).
- Pipe or spread- On a dessert of your choice (Image 6).
What goes well with this buttercream?
- Cakes- Such as spiced cakes like Easy Pumpkin Cake, Easy Ginger Cake, Easy Spice Cake, or Moist Carrot Cake. You can also try the classics like this Best Vanilla Cake Recipe, Best Red Velvet Cake, or Chocolate Sheet Cake.
- Cupcakes- Including fruit inspired recipes like Blueberry Cupcakes, or Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes. Of course you've got the traditional Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes, Vanilla Cupcake Recipe, and Yellow Cupcakes. You can also use try these Carrot Cupcakes or Gingerbread Cupcakes.
- Cookies- Since this topping is not that sweet, it balances the sweetness of cookies like these Carrot Cake Cookies, Easy Rose Cookies (Piped), Champagne Cookies, Easy Ginger Cookies, or this Small Batch of Sugar Cookies.
- Brownies and bars- Use a spatula to spread it on top of these Carrot Brownies of pipe a big swirl in these Brownie Bowls.
- Pancakes and waffles- Although frosting may not be your first go-to for pancakes and waffles, this honey flavor pairs well with Fluffy Cinnamon Pancakes, Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes, Lemon Blueberry Pancakes, Lemon Blueberry Waffles, Fluffy Chocolate Pancakes, and Chocolate Waffles.
Tips and techniques
- This icing will never be pure white- It will be an off-white to light beige color. The color will also vary slightly based on the color of the raw honey you end up using.
- Chill icing before decorating- Because this helps to firm it up, making it easier to pipe.
- Do not omit cornstarch- Because this will help stabilize the frosting, making it easier to pipe and decorate with it.
- Use raw honey- Because it is thicker than regular honey and will improve the consistency.
- Honey variations- Depending on the color and flavor of the honey you use, this will vary the color and flavor of your icing.
- This frosting will cover- An 8 inch round cake as well as 20 simply frosted cupcakes.
- Do not use in high temperatures- Because this icing will melt.
- Use room temperature ingredients- Because this will allow everything to mix together smoothly.
Storage
- Room temperature- As long as it isn't too hot, this frosting can be placed in a container on the countertop for 2-3 days. But keep in mind that this recipe is best kept in the fridge.
- Freeze- Place in a sealed container for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator and use to decorate.
- Refrigerate- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Make ahead- Make this up to 1 week a head and place in the fridge or 1 month a head if you keep it in the freezer.
Recipe FAQs
Your ingredients were likely not mixed together well enough. Using an electric mixer can help as well as using room temperature ingredients. Also, if your honey is crystalized it will yield a grainy icing. To fix this, melt the honey in the microwave in 30 second intervals and let it completely cool before using.
That depends on the recipe. In this recipe, yes powdered sugar is replaced with honey but if you are using another recipe, this substitution will not work because the ratio of the other ingredients like butter, shortening, cream cheese e.t.c would also need to be adjusted.
It is a but tricky but can be done. The main goal is not to get to the point of runny icing. But if it happens, you may have no choice but to add powdered sugar to thicken it. Adding more cornstarch would alter the flavor and give an after-taste that no one would like.
Add in some more honey or you can also use milk, heavy cream, or water. Mix in a little at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
More homemade icing recipes
- American Buttercream
- Best Cream Cheese Frosting
- Easy Orange Frosting
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Recipe
- Almond Buttercream Frosting
- White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Blackberry Buttercream Frosting
Recipe
Easy Honey Frosting (Without Powdered Sugar)
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Ingredients
- 8 oz. Cream cheese Full fat, Room temperature, Can also use honey cinnamon or honey cream cheese
- ½ cup Butter Unsalted, Room temperature
- ⅓ cup Honey I highly recommend using raw honey because it is thicker and sweeter
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Pumpkin spice extract Can also use cinnamon spice extract
- ⅛ teaspoon Sea salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese and butter until smooth.
- Add honey, cornstarch, extracts, salt and mix until icing is fluffy and very creamy. It will end up having an off-white or pale beige color to it.
- Chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to make it firmer.
- Fill a piping bag with this buttercream and attach Wilton tip 1M (big star tip) and pipe a swirl on cupcakes. You can also use a spatula to spread icing instead of piping. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You can pipe immediately upon making this icing but I recommend chilling for 20 minutes first to make it firmer and easier to pipe.
- If you can find honey flavored cream cheese in your grocery store, definitely use that for a stronger honey flavor.
- Do not omit the cornstarch because it adds stability.
- You can use gel food coloring to tint the buttercream any color you want.
- Use raw honey because it is thicker. Regular honey has a thinner consistency and will make the icing thinner.
- The color and flavor of the icing can vary slightly based on the color and flavor of the honey.
- Try other extracts for a different flavor profile.
- This frosting is enough to pipe simple swirls (not high ones) on about 20 cupcakes. It's also enough to fill and frost an 8 inch round cake.
- This icing will melt outside in hot weather.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Read additional tips and variations above.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
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