Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting
Tangy cream cheese frosting with a smooth, lightly earthy matcha flavor. Balanced, pipeable, and not overly sweet—perfect for cakes and cupcakes.
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Servings: 2.5 cups frosting (enough for 12–18 cupcakes or 1 2-layer cake)
Equipment
- Equipment
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- Mixing Bowl
- fine mesh sieve
- Spatula
- Piping bag + tip (optional)
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 tbsp ½ stick unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2 tbsp matcha green tea powder sifted
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Cream
- Beat softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
- Add base flavor
- Add half the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon matcha, and vanilla extract. Beat until fully combined.
- Finish frosting
- Gradually add remaining powdered sugar, mixing until smooth and desired sweetness is reached.
- Adjust matcha
- Add additional matcha in small amounts until you reach your preferred flavor strength.
- Chill (optional)
- Refrigerate for 30–60 minutes if piping to help the frosting hold its shape.
Notes
- Sift matcha and powdered sugar to prevent lumps.
Start with less matcha and build—too much can turn bitter. - If frosting is too soft, chill and re-whip. If too stiff, add a splash of cream.
- Best used slightly chilled for clean piping results.
- I used a basic chocolate cupcake from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes because I really didn’t know what would go with matcha.
- I refrigerated my icing for about an hour to get a better flow when I was decorating the cupcakes. I used the Giant Star Pastry tip from Bake it Pretty.