The Best Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
This is my family favorite BEST cream cheese frosting recipe! It goes great on Carrot Cake, Red Velvet Cake, and just about any other flavor cake or cupcake you can imagine. I’ve been making this cream cheese icing for years!
If I had things my way, every cake and every cupcake would be be buried beneath a mountain of cream cheese frosting.
Not buttercream — Never rarely buttercream — always and only cream cheese. For someone with such a rampant sweet tooth, it’s alarming the number of times I’ve turned down a slice of cake or a sky-high frosted cupcake because the buttercream just makes my teeth hurt (OK full disclosure I have a buttercream recipe coming up on the blog next month, and it’s delicious, but cream cheese frosting will always win over my heart, even over my favorite chocolate frosting).
While buttercream frostings are usually too sweet, cream cheese frosting I could eat with a spoon, and this recipe is every bit as versatile as buttercream — it’s sturdy, pipe-able, can be dyed, and, most importantly, it’s delicious.
Tips for Making Cream Cheese Icing:
- Make sure that you are using full-fat brick cream cheese, not low fat or spreadable cream cheese (which is usually sold in a tub rather than in brick form).
- I always like to use unsalted butter and add a dash of salt so that I have complete control over the flavor of the frosting. However, if you only have salted butter on hand then just omit the salt called for in the recipe.
- Make sure you allow your cream cheese and your butter to soften before making your frosting! Softening the butter and cream cheese ensure that your ingredients will combine well and be lump free.
- If you intend to pipe your frosting, I recommend sifting your powdered sugar before mixing it into your butter/cream cheese mixture, as small lumps of sugar can clog up your piping tips, especially if you’re using a smaller tip.
Can cream cheese frosting be used for piping?
- Yes! Especially with this recipe because it is nice and thick. Now, this frosting (as with most) is prone to melting in hot weather, but it pipes nicely and as you can see in the photos it holds its shape neatly as well.
How do I make my cream cheese frosting thicker?
- What I love about this recipe is that it already makes a nice thick frosting, but if needed you can add more powdered sugar to make your cream cheese frosting even thicker. I recommend adding about 2 Tablespoons at a time until the desired thickness is reached. Alternatively you can add cornstarch… see more on that below.
Can I add cornstarch to my cream cheese frosting?
- Yup! While this recipe does not call for it, if you need a particularly stiff frosting or are looking to make your frosting thicker without making it sweeter, you can add cornstarch (in fact, I use this technique for my carrot cake cookies). I don’t recommend adding more than a few Tablespoons, so start with just one Tablespoon at a time until desired thickness is reached.
Alright, while (in my humble opinion) cream cheese frosting goes great with everything, there are certain cakes and cupcakes that complement it particularly well. Wednesday I’ll be sharing one of my favorite cupcakes with you — the exact cupcakes seen in the photos above.
Can you guess what flavor they are???
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened (113g)
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened (brick-style, not spreadable) (226g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar*, (500g)
Instructions
- Combine butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (or you may use an electric mixer) and beat until creamy, well-combined, and lump-free.
- Add vanilla extract and salt and stir well to combine.
- With mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined.
- Use to frost completely cooled cake or cupcakes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Can icing be made ahead one or more days? Can icing be frozen after it’s made and then defrosted before use?
Hi Marilyne! The frosting is typically good in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Yes it can be frozen. 🙂
Incorrect order of mixing ingredient shown here. I followed same and frosting turned runny. Later I researched and found we should never mix cream cheese and butter first. We should mix butter with sugar and then add firm cream cheese.
Hi Manisha! This is the correct order, you can watch me make it in the video. If your frosting was runny your butter may have been too warm. Did you use all of the sugar called for? Did you use brick style cream cheese and not the spreadable kind?
Making this for my daughter’s cake!! Will it hold up in the heat? It’s gonna be about 80 degrees this weekend. I don’t want it to melt. Should I add a stabilizer like gelatin?
Hi Jackie! Unfortunately this frosting won’t hold up well to heat 😞
As written, is this stable enough for a dam and lemon curd? I’m planning a 2 layer, 8” round Thanks
Yes! We do this with our lemon cake 🙂
So good! Love Sugar Spun Run frosting recipes. Never fail, always delish!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe!!! Simple yet truly delicious!!! Made this to go on my pumpkin muffins and lemon pound cake muffin!
Can you use salted butter
Yes, just omit the salt. Hope you love it, Judy! 🙂
How long can this be stored in the fridge?
Hi Katie! This can be stored in the refrigerator for 5-7 days 🙂
Hi. I haven’t made but am planning to today. Can you use Swerve confectioners? Grandpa is diabetic. Thank you!
Hi Regina! I don’t have much experience with that particular type of sugar, but if it is similar to powdered sugar it could potentially work. Let me know how it turns out if you try it. 🙂
Family member requested a carrot cake but I want to make it a three layer 6” cake. Can I use this frosting for layered cakes? I tried my own recipe and it wasn’t stable
Hi Teresa! You shouldn’t have any issues making a 3 layer 6 inch cake with this frosting. I would say this particular frosting is just about as stable as a typical buttercream. 🙂
Ooooo need to tell folk to mix real slow, and may e with a paddle, my food mixer mixed too long and too strong so it was very runny, couldn’t save it … butter and sugar first and then add cream cheese maybe ..it didn’t go to waste, just couldn’t work with it once it reached room temp or even near room temp , taste is good though , will keep tweaking it until it’s right
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Sally! In step 3 I do tell you to use the mixer on low speed and add gradually. Make sure you start with softened butter and cream cheese and mix those together first by themselves to remove any lumps and make it nice and creamy. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
so good! this frosting is so yummy, and rich with flavor!
10/10! would definitely recommend!
I made this recipe as written but it was too soft and the frosting was way too runny. Never made a stiff peaks. I ended up adding 5 tablespoons of corn starch, 1 tablespoon with each cup of powdered sugar, adding it in one cup at a time. It was much too runny even then. And it was way too sweet. I ended up adding another brick of cream cheese, but it was still soft and not very tangy. So I added another tablespoon of cornstarch, another quarter teaspoon of salt, and a squeeze of a lemon wedge. That definitely brought the flavor back to a tangy cream cheese, instead of just sweet from the powdered sugar. But still, the consistency I doubt will hold up to frosting a cake. It is chilling in the fridge now to firm it up again. I am frosting 2 frozen 8in cakes, and I hope the cool temperature helps keep everything together as well.
I’m so sorry to hear this happened! Did you add the powdered sugar gradually with the mixer on low speed? If you over-mix the frosting it can be really thin. 🙁
I’m excited to try this recipe! Do I use the paddle attachment or the whisk to combine the butter and cream cheese?
Hi Raye! I would recommend the paddle attachment. 🙂
Would this be a good recipe for a cookie cake? If so, would it be stable enough to go between two layers of cookie cake with more ice bc decoration on top?
This could certainly be a good option for a cookie cake. How big of a cookie cake are you trying to make? They are typically pretty heavy so it may squish out a bit.