Hi - if I wanted to make cream cheese into a topping/frosting, do I have to melt it first over heat?? Would I need to add flavorings to it while it’s being heated?
(i know my questions are evidence that I have no fundamental cooking skills - I readily admit that I do not).
I don’t know what recipe your using. But I don’t heat mine, it can’t be too warm otherwise you’d probably end up with a lumpy but liquidy sauce.
You let the cream cheese and the butter 
sit for a while (1 hour?) at your counter. When it has softened to room temperature, you add the flavouring and beat it with the hand mixer or whatever tool your using to fluff it up.
Don’t put this on a warm cake, let whatever goes underneath cool first.
we make a cream cheese filling 3 tablespoons of butter per 2oz of cream cheese, using softened butter, mix in your preferred sweetener to taste, using a granulated sweetener does help with texture of frosting… can use vanilla or other flavorings… we use this as a quick sweet snack, sometimes adding lily’s chocolate chips, pecans, ect…
I’d avoid heating the cream cheese…it will likely separate and/or curdle, losing its cream cheesy texture.
Depending on how much flavouring you want to add. If it’s just a bit, add to cream cheese directly.
If it is a lot, you can heat up a bit of HWC, or you can melt a bit of butter or clarified butter. Add flavourings and/or artificial sweeteners to that. Let it cool down, and then whip into cream cheese.
Cream cheese easily gets softer & warmer in the microwave. I usually put 1 package in a small covered bowl and nuke for 1 minute to make it easy to add to recipes. Try 30 secs and repeat as needed till soft enough for what you need.
thanks!!! With Keto, I’ve “cooked” more than I ever have in my life. Can’t say that I’m loving it, but it feels so good. I love this WOE. Learning each day.
P.S. “cooked” for me is a loose term for assembling things from the easiest recipe that I can find.