Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting is a nutty and creamy yet tangy frosting with a smooth and fluffy texture. This not too sweet frosting makes the perfect pairing for chocolate cake, banana cupcakes, and more.

If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you may recognize this Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting from my banana layer cake.

However, that was for a big cake so I wanted to scale it down for my small banana cake.

This cream cheese peanut butter frosting is what you get when you add peanut butter to cream cheese frosting.

It’s a rich and creamy yet tangy frosting with a hint of nuttiness. Although there is powdered sugar in it, it’s not cloyingly sweet like buttercream.

This recipe is for when you’re not in the mood for chocolate cream cheese frosting but still need a show stopping frosting.

Or when you’re craving both chocolate and peanut butter so you can have the best of both worlds pairing it with my small chocolate cake recipe or small batch chocolate cupcakes.

Or maybe you find traditional peanut butter frosting too sweet so you want something more balanced for your mini peanut butter cake.

Whatever your reason, you don’t want to miss out on the best peanut butter cream cheese frosting recipe!

Ingredients For Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

To make your peanut butter frosting with cream cheese, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Cream cheese: It’s important to use a full-fat block of cream cheese rather than low-fat, fat-free, or whipped. Low fat/fat free tends to be more watery as they have to replace the fat with something else.
• Peanut butter: When I say peanut butter, I’m referring to the smooth, processed kind. I’m not referring to natural peanut butter where you have to stir the oil before using. If you do use natural, make sure you stir it really, REALLY well or your frosting may be oily and/or grainy.
• Butter: Add a pinch of salt if using unsalted.
• Powdered sugar: Thickens the frosting so you can easily spread or pipe it.
• Vanilla extract: It’s amazing how much more peanut butter-y your frosting will be once you add vanilla. Don’t believe me? Taste it before and after adding.

Not in the mood for peanut butter? Check out my Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting or Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting for a fruity twist.

How much does peanut butter frosting with cream cheese make?

Because I made this frosting for my 6 inch cake recipes and small batch cupcake recipes, here are some guidelines about how much your small batch frosting will make:

• If you’re piping Small Batch Banana Cupcakes, you can frost between 6-8 cupcakes, depending on how tall you make the swirls.
• If you’re frosting Small Batch Vanilla Cupcakes with an offset spatula, you can frost 1 dozen cupcakes because you typically don’t use as much as you would piping.
• If you’re frosting a 6 inch Small Vanilla Cake you can frost the top and edges with about a spoonful left, depending on how thick you like it.
• If you’re frosting an 8 inch One Chocolate Layer Cake, you can still frost the top and edges.
• If you’re frosting a two layer cake, you can frost the middle and top like a naked cake OR top and edges.

How To Make Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Here’s how you make your cream cheese peanut butter frosting recipe:

1. Beat together the butter, cream cheese, peanut butter, and powdered sugar until smooth and creamy.
2. Add the vanilla then beat for an additional minute. If it’s too thick, add a little more milk. If it’s not thick enough for piping, add more powdered sugar.

Can peanut butter cream cheese frosting be made in advance?

Yes, you can make your frosting in advance! Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

You may need to bring your frosting to room temperature if it’s too hard to spread. You can also refresh it by beating it for 30 seconds, adding milk if it’s too thick.

Does a cake with cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated?

Yes, you have to refrigerate a cake with cream cheese frosting because cream cheese is perishable.

Your frosted cake can sit out at room temperature for up to 2 hours but then it needs to go in the refrigerator ASAP.

How do you store a cake with cream cheese frosting?

To refrigerate a cake with this peanut butter cream cheese frosting recipe, first put it in the fridge uncovered for about 15 minutes. This will harden the frosting just enough so it won’t smear if accidentally touched.

Next, you want to cover the cake so it doesn’t dry out in the refrigerator, either with plastic wrap or airtight cake container (affiliate link).

Before serving, let the cake sit at room temperature for a minimum of 15-30 minutes. This allows the cake to lose its chill and have a better texture when eating.