I Examined 5 Strategies for Softening Cream Cheese—That is the Quickest, Best Manner

I am an unabashed dairy fan and avid baker, which suggests there’s at all times—at all times—cream cheese in my fridge. The ingredient is crucial for a lot of desserts, pastries, and frostings, its tang serving to to steadiness desserts that may in any other case be too candy. In most recipes, cream cheese must be at room temperature earlier than you incorporate it; for those who do not, you threat grainy outcomes.r Softening a chilly block of cream cheese, although, can really feel prefer it takes endlessly, which is not any enjoyable when a towering cheesecake or tangy-sweet pastelitos is ready to be made.

In my haste and desperation, I’ve tried many strategies to melt cream cheese rapidly. The web abounds with ideas and methods: Some advocate microwaving it; others dunk packaged cream cheese in heat water; and impatient bakers use their stand or hand mixers to beat it till it is gentle and workable. Decided to search out the easiest way to melt cream cheese, I zeroed in on 5 in style approaches to see which might work greatest—and get me nearer to a chew of cheesecake the quickest.

Why Soften Cream Cheese?

For those who, like me, have added cream cheese or butter to a recipe earlier than it was prepared to make use of, you’ve got most likely regretted it. What you would possibly achieve in time, you lose in texture: When cream cheese is absolutely softened, it blends seamlessly into frosting or cake batter, making a {smooth}, silky end. Use it chilly, and your batter or frosting might be marred by grainy specks, seen blobs, or streaks of white. That is most evident in cream cheese frosting, which ought to have an ultra-smooth, billowy texture. (Baking knowledgeable and former Severe Eats editor Stella Parks even goes as far as so as to add a custard ingredient to her cream cheese buttercream frosting recipe to make sure it’s as {smooth} as attainable.)

Easy methods to Inform When Cream Cheese Is Correctly Softened

The easiest way to evaluate the softness of your cream cheese is to test its inner temperature with an instant-read thermometer, inserting the probe into the middle, the place will probably be coldest. Some recipes name for “room temperature” cream cheese, however this may be complicated, as ambient temperatures fluctuate extensively relying on the time of yr and your location. As former Severe Eats editor Kristina notes in her information to softening butter, 70°F (21°C) is often thought of room temperature. This, nonetheless, is on the nice and cozy aspect for cream cheese. At this temperature, the cream cheese might develop into too gentle and runny throughout mixing, particularly as friction from mixing continues to lift its temperature. 

Typically, an inner temperature of 60 to 65°F (15 to 18°C) yields correctly softened cream cheese for baking. It ought to yield simply to mild strain, leaving an indent when pressed with a finger or spoon, however should not be so gentle that it presents no resistance. It is also necessary to not go away cream cheese out for too lengthy, even after it has been integrated right into a frosting. The FDA advises leaving perishable meals at room temperature for not than two hours. Any longer, and the ingredient might start to harbor micro organism that may trigger foodborne sickness. As soon as softened, cream cheese ought to be used instantly—and any leftovers promptly refrigerated.

The Testing

In my analysis, I got here throughout a number of widespread strategies for softening cream cheese: leaving it at room temperature complete and cubed; submerging a sealed bundle in heat water; microwaving it; or utilizing a stand mixer to beat it till gentle. These are essentially the most extensively really helpful approaches, and those I examined for this text.

Throughout testing, my kitchen’s ambient temperature was 71°F, very shut to plain “room temperature.” I used 8-ounce blocks of Philadelphia Authentic cream cheese, a nationwide model that is extensively accessible and usually thought to be the usual for baking. Utilizing an instant-read thermometer, I recorded the beginning temperature of every refrigerated block, then timed how lengthy it took to achieve 60 to 65°F (15.5 to 18.3°C) within the heart. I additionally famous any inner temperature variation (e.g., whether or not the ends warmed quicker than the middle in complete blocks) and assessed every technique’s remaining consistency, comfort, ease, and cleanup necessities.

• Complete Block on a Sheet Pan: I unwrapped an 8-ounce block of cream cheese and laid it flat on an aluminum baking sheet. As former editor Kenji famous in his information to defrosting meals rapidly, aluminum is likely one of the greatest kitchen conductors of warmth. To maximise contact, I set the block flat, inserted a probe thermometer into the middle of the block, and began a timer, recording the temperature each 5 minutes. Initially, the middle’s temperature rose by three to 5 levels each 5 minutes, climbing from a cold 37°F (2.7°C) to 52°F (11°C) in 20 minutes. After that, the temperature plateaued, rising only one to 2 levels per interval. It took 50 minutes for the cream cheese to achieve the minimal benchmark of 60°F (15°C), and a full hour to achieve 63°F (17.2°C). The ends of the block warmed barely quicker than the middle, studying usually only one or two levels hotter than the center. 
• Cubed Block on a Sheet Pan: For this technique, I used the identical setup, however minimize the block into eight 1-ounce cubes. I spaced the cubes about 1/2-inch aside on the baking sheet to permit air to flow into. This technique proved a lot quicker: The cubes reached 61°F (16°C) in simply 25 minutes and 65°F (18°C) on the 30-minute mark. Every dice was at a constant temperature all through the take a look at.
• Wrapped Block in Heat Water: Many bakers advocate a heat water tub to hurry up softening. For this take a look at, I left the cream cheese in its foil wrapper and positioned it in a bowl of 90°F (32°C) water. The block’s inner temperature rose from 37 to 60°F (2.7 to fifteen°C) in simply 10 minutes, and reached 64°F (17.7°C) after quarter-hour. Nevertheless, this technique solely works for those who’re planning to make use of a full 8-ounce block of cream cheese, and piercing a thermometer via the foil lets water seep in. With no probe, it is exhausting to inform by really feel how gentle the block is thru the packaging.
• Complete Block within the Microwave: When velocity is the aim, the microwave is commonly the primary answer that involves thoughts. For this take a look at, I unwrapped a block of cream cheese and laid it flat on a plate. Utilizing 50% energy, I microwaved it in 10-second bursts, checking the interior temperature after every. Beginning at 39°F (3.8·C), the middle hit 61°F (16°C) after 4 10-second bursts. The ends of the block, nonetheless, warmed up a lot quicker: At 20 seconds, the middle was 54°F (12.2°C) whereas the ends had been already at 63°F (17.2°C). By 40 seconds, that they had reached 72°F (22.2°C), and had been visibly gentle, runny, and starting to bubble—indicators of not simply over-softening however overheating.
• Cubed Block within the Microwave: For this take a look at, I adopted the identical technique within the microwave as above, however minimize the cream cheese block into eight 1-ounce cubes and positioned them about 1/2-inch aside on the plate earlier than microwaving. Much like the outcomes from the room-temperature baking sheet take a look at, this technique proved considerably quicker than leaving the block complete, taking simply 20 seconds for the entire cubes to register 60°F (15.5°C) or above when microwaved at 50% energy. Nevertheless, much like the entire block within the microwave, the cubes on the outer fringe of the plate heated quicker than these on the heart, registering 71°F (21.6°C) on the 20-second mark, whereas the middle dice had solely reached 60°F (15.5°C) and confirmed indicators of being over-softened.
• Complete Block in a Stand Mixer: Many bakers advocate utilizing a stand mixer or hand mixer to paddle cream cheese as a fast method to soften it. For this take a look at, I unwrapped a block and positioned it instantly within the bowl of my stand mixer. Utilizing the paddle attachment, I beat the cream cheese on medium-low velocity (to keep away from incorporating extra air), pausing each 30 seconds to test the temperature. After 2 1/2 minutes, the middle reached 60°F (15.5°C), and it took a full 5 minutes to hit 65°F (18.3°C). I scraped down the bowl periodically to make sure the cream cheese was absolutely agitated, however regardless of my efforts, loads of it remained caught to the beater, spatula, and bowl—leaving me with lower than the complete 8-ounces by the tip. 

The Outcomes: What’s the Greatest Solution to Soften Cream Cheese?

The easiest way to melt cream cheese is to chop the block into smaller parts, similar to 1-ounce cubes, place them on an aluminum baking sheet, and allow them to sit at room temperature for 25 to half-hour. As a result of aluminum is such a superb conductor of warmth, it softens cream cheese rapidly and evenly. The cubes come to temperature in about half the time of a complete block, with no particular tools or further cleanup required. For those who do that step first, your cream cheese will probably be prepared by the point you’ve got measured your different elements and preheated the oven. 

Whereas a microwave can soften cream cheese in seconds, it is simple to overdo it, leading to uneven texture and overly gentle spots. Energy ranges fluctuate considerably from one mannequin to a different, so the settings that work for one microwave might not work in one other. You possibly can, after all, study your explicit microwave’s quirks and alter accordingly, however doing so requires trial and error, and should pose the chance of overheating some parts of the cream cheese.

As for the warm-water technique, the 5 to 10 minutes saved is not definitely worth the threat of water seeping into the cream cheese via a gap made by the thermometer’s probe—or the uncertainty of skipping the thermometer and making an attempt as a substitute to gauge its softness via the wrapper. The mixer technique, in the meantime, was by far the messiest and least sensible: It requires cleansing a bowl, paddle, and spatula, and also you lose treasured cream cheese to the tools. Subsequent time I want softened cream cheese, you may guess I will be reaching for my trusty quarter-sheet pan and exercising a bit little bit of endurance.