Light, tangy and creamy, this Greek yogurt frosting with cream cheese and maple syrup is perfect for topping cakes and cupcakes, or as a fruit dip.
I love icing that isn’t too sickly-sweet or gritty from sugar. This frosting is thick and creamy, with a light tang from the combination of Greek yogurt and cream cheese.
Why make frosting with Greek yogurt?
Traditional frostings for cakes like carrot cake are usually made with:
- cream cheese
- butter
- icing sugar
- vanilla essence
For this recipe, I’ve swapped the butter with Greek yogurt and the icing sugar with maple syrup. The result is a frosting that’s lighter, tangier and less heavy than traditional frostings.
The combination of Greek yogurt, cream cheese and maple syrup creates a creamy, thick frosting that isn’t overly sweet. It’s perfect for cakes, cupcakes and even as a fruit dip. This frosting spreads beautifully, pipes easily and tastes indulgent without feeling too rich. It’s moreish, tangy and versatile—I could spread it on about anything!
Why use Greek yogurt?
Replacing butter with Greek yogurt gives the frosting a smooth, airy mouthfeel while keeping it thick, creamy and satisfying. Beyond texture, Greek yogurt gives a subtle tang and a boost of protein, along with prebiotic and nutritional benefits. Of course, the main reason to use it is for taste and texture—the protein is just a bonus!
Why use maple syrup for this frosting?
Swapping icing sugar for maple syrup adds a subtle caramel flavour that perfectly complements the yogurt’s tang. Maple syrup also keeps the frosting smooth, creamy and naturally sweet without the grittiness that white or raw sugar can sometimes create.
Is this Greek yogurt frosting recipe sugar-free?
This frosting recipe contains no refined sugar. However, this does not mean that it is sugar-free!
Maple syrup is a simple sugar like white or raw sugar. There are no health benefits to choosing maple syrup over white sugar.
My choice of sweetener in this frosting recipe is more about taste and texture than it is about it supposedly being a healthier option.
You could use brown sugar instead of maple syrup. However, I think the flavour of maple syrup contrasts the tartness of the Greek yogurt and cream cheese best, and brown sugar may result in a gritty texture.
Is Greek yogurt frosting healthier than regular frosting?
I can’t deny that many other recipe developers would declare this a healthier version of frosting, due to omitting butter and icing sugar and then combining it with probiotic-rich Greek yogurt. Yes, it is lower in saturated fat than regular frosting and does contain health-promoting probiotics. Still, labelling food as healthy or unhealthy is unhelpful and, at worst, can be harmful, leading to disordered eating and orthorexia.
When we label a food as healthy, for example, we can create the perception that we can eat it with abandon. When we label a food as unhealthy, we can feel immense guilt and shame for indulging in it.
Cake with frosting is one of life’s joys!
In my humble opinion, dessert is not where we ought to assess the nutritional value of food. We don’t eat cake for nourishment but for enjoyment. So, let’s release the guilt.
I chose this combination of ingredients for taste and how it feels in my body, which I believe are more important than any label of healthy or unhealthy.
So, whether you think this combination is tempting or want to stick to what you’ve always enjoyed, it is up to you.
Greek yogurt frosting ingredients
To prepare this frosting recipe, you will require:
- Cream cheese: typically used in tangy frosting. Use block cream cheese as it is firmer than the cream cheese you can purchase in a tub. Further, full-fat cream cheese will give a thicker, more luscious texture than low-fat cream cheese.
- Greek yogurt: use a thick, natural, full-fat and unsweetened Greek yogurt to give your frosting flavour and smoothness. Low-fat yogurt results in runny frosting, while full-fat Greek yogurt yields thick, creamy frosting that holds its shape on cakes and cupcakes.
- Maple syrup: gives a caramel sweetness without the grittiness of sugar and a luscious off-white colour. I chose maple syrup over honey, which can become gritty when cooled. However, the sweetener you use will depend on your taste preferences and what you have available. Hey, there is no reason you can’t use icing sugar!
- Vanilla extract: gives a light vanilla flavour to your frosting.
How to make cream cheese frosting with Greek yogurt
Mix the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and vanilla extract together with a whisk or a handheld mixer for 1 to 2 minutes. If using a Thermomix, 30 seconds is sufficient to evenly combine the ingredients.
You may need to scrape and repeat a few times to thoroughly combine all the ingredients and achieve a creamy frosting. Once combined, the frosting should be smooth with no lumps.
How to use yogurt frosting
You can use your Greek yogurt frosting on anything you’d normally put frosting on, such as carrot cake and cupcakes. I slathered it on my pumpkin, prune and coconut loaf—yum!
However, this frosting is so moreish you may like to enjoy it on bagels with sliced stone fruit or strawberries.
You can spread frosting over cakes and bagels with a spatula, or use a piping bag to pipe it onto cupcakes. To pipe frosting onto cupcakes, use a piping bag or fill a sandwich bag with frosting, then cut a corner off. Depending on the room temperature, you can generally pipe it immediately, or it may need to be chilled first.
This recipe makes enough to generously top a cake, a layered cake or 12 cupcakes.
Try as a Greek yogurt cream cheese fruit dip
There is no reason you couldn’t use this frosting as a dip for fresh fruit on a sweet grazing platter. Double the Greek yogurt, and ta-da —you have a fruit dip to die for.
Storage of your frosting
Store your frosting in an airtight container or piping bag in the fridge for up to one week.
The frosting will soften at room temperature. If you use it to top cakes or cupcakes, store them in the fridge as well.
Tip for perfectly creamy yogurt frosting every time
Achieving a thick, creamy yogurt frosting is straightforward. However, here are some tips to help you get it just right:
- Chill for the right texture: if your frosting turns out a bit too soft, pop it in the fridge for 10–15 minutes before spreading or piping to help it firm up.
- Avoid overmixing: cream cheese has a high water content and can separate if overprocessed. Stop mixing as soon as the frosting reaches a smooth, creamy consistency.
- Choose the right ingredients: using full-fat Greek yogurt and block-style cream cheese gives a thicker, richer frosting. Yogurt with less fat or cream cheese from a tub tends to make the mixture runnier, as they have a higher water content.
- Start with room-temperature cream cheese: this helps it blend more easily with the yogurt, giving you a lump-free frosting.
Have you tried this frosting?
I’d love to hear if you have tried this frosting. Let me know if you enjoyed it or whether you changed up the recipe in any way. Leave your comment below.
If you are looking for other frosting recipes, you may enjoy my recipe for wholesome chocolate frosting made with sweet potato and dates. Yes, you read that right!
Greek Yogurt Frosting
Equipment
- 1 handheld mixer or Thermomix
Ingredients
- 225-250 g full-fat cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place cream cheese, Greek yogurt, maple syrup and vanilla extract into a mixing bowl.
- Combine ingredients with a handheld mixer on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
- You may need to stop a few times during mixing to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to ensure all the ingredients are evenly combined and no lumps remain.
- Spread over your chosen cake, cupcake or loaf. Enjoy!
- Alternatively, store in the fridge for later use or pipping onto cupcakes.
10 comments
It tastes like a tangy caramel frosting! so good!
So delicious and easy to make!
I can’t wait to share this with my mom. She’s going to absolutely love it. I had no idea you could use greek yogurt for frosting – so good!
It’s really yum. I hope your mum enjoys it.
What a great idea, thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe and so much kindness and wisdom in your posts. Lovely!!
Thanks, Sharon.
I love Greek yogurt and this is such an interesting recipe. Cannot wait to try it. Thank you for the recipe.
You’ll see from my recipes that I put this on so many cakes and cupcakes, like carrot cake, parsnip cake and pumpkin loaf. It is so delicious, I could eat it by the spoonful.
This recipe does not thicken like the picture shows. I added corn starch and had to add several cups of powdered sugar for any hope of being able to pipe it on to cupcakes. It never thickened and was just soupy
G’day Abbey,
I’m sorry to hear the recipe didn’t work out for you.
I wonder whether the cream cheese was over processed, causing water to separate from the fat? I have done this before and it does cause it to become runny.
Another, consideration is whether you used full fat yogurt?
I find that the ingredients are thick themselves and just need combining.
Let me know if any of the above could have been a cause. I would love to figure out why it didn’t work for you to avoid others facing the same issue. Many appologies.
Kind Regards,
Tansy