Here's The Fastest Method For Softening Cream Cheese

Nothing sends a baker into a panic more than when they're mid-mixing all the ingredients together and realize — horror upon horrors — their cream cheese had to be room temperature. Forgetting to leave the cream cheese out of the fridge before using it in a cake or loaf — or even for a perfect spread on your morning bagel or English muffin — can be a real pain in the you-know-what, but luckily your microwave has come to save the day yet again.

You'll first remove your cream cheese from its foil packaging or its plastic tub (unfortunately, plastic cream cheese containers should never go in the microwave), place it in a microwave-safe dish or bowl, and zap it for about 15 seconds on high. It's really that simple. You can add little 10-second spurts, depending on how strong your microwave is, or how much you're microwaving, until the cream cheese reaches the desired consistency. But keep an eye on it, because you don't want it to melt. Also, if some liquid comes off the cream cheese, that's totally normal; just stir it back into the solids.

There are other ways to soften your cream cheese that take slightly longer, but will still work much more quickly than just waiting for it to soften on the counter. First up, remove the cardboard box the product comes in and submerge the block of new, unopened cream cheese (with the foil still on) in a bowl or small tub of warm water. You might have to weigh it down with something (another heavy bowl or a mug would do the trick), and it does help if you turn it every so often so that it softens evenly. This method works in about 15 minutes.

Another way is if you have a rice bag for heat therapy to soothe sore muscles, pop that in the microwave and when it's hot, place it over your blocks of cream cheese. It only takes about 10 minutes, with a flip onto the other side for the cream cheese at about the halfway point for even softening.

If none of these approaches appeal to you, and you just want to use the tried-and-true method of softening that thick spread on the countertop, here are some tips for speeding along the natural process, which can take anywhere from about half an hour to an hour (depending on how warm your kitchen is). You can actually remove the cream cheese from its diabolical packaging and cut it into little squares, cover the pieces with plastic wrap, and let them sit out. Cutting it up into smaller pieces lets the air get in and around all the individual parts, so it warms up faster than when the block is whole.

Further, if you don't actually need the whole block in your recipe or to spread, you can cut off the part you do need and put the rest back in the fridge (it's never a good idea to let cream cheese sit out for longer than two hours). Then, cut up the piece you're leaving out into blocks and let the air work its magic.