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
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Tristan
So good, this tasted awesome
Sam
So glad you enjoyed the cream cheese frosting, Tristan! Thank you for commenting 🙂
Ruchi kukreja
Hello mam if i make 6 cupcakes what is quantity for that please tell thankyou i will try this receipe sure looking tempting !
Sam
This recipe makes enough frosting for about 24 cupcakes, so if you are only frosting 6 cupcakes you could just do 1/4 of all of the ingredients. 🙂
Mirelle
Hi Sam! This looks delicious! Do you know how many cupcakes this recipe is enough for? And does anyone know if you can get this kind och creme cheese in Sweden?
Sam
Hi Mirelle! It will make enough for about 24 cupcakes. 🙂
Danielle
I often find when pipping icing, after a little while in my bag gets warm and then I don’t get nice peaks anymore. How do I stop my hands from constantly warming up the bag? I find it’s not even a few minutes.
Sam
That’s definitely a problem with piping cream cheese frosting or buttercream frosting, especially during the summer, so I feel your pain! Personally I will usually just try work quickly and will put the bag in the fridge when it gets too warm, even if it means pausing every few minutes or so. Sometimes I will use several bags, though that can be more of a pain than it’s worth.
Gweneth
What about light cream cheese in a brick (like the full fat) it looks the same and has the same consistency. Looking forward to trying this recipe on my granddaughters smash cake this weekend.
Sam
Unfortunately I have not had a good experience using light cream cheese, the frosting comes out much too runny for me 🙁
Veronica Sepulveda
Hi!
Can this be made with less sugar and still be delish? I’m making cupcakes for a ton of littles! Thank you
Sam
Hi Veronica! If you use less sugar it will be a lot softer. This frosting is stiff and pipe-able. 🙂
Ramona
Hi Sam,
Is it ok to make the frosting at night, refrigerate and do piping on cupcakes in the morning?
Thank you for the recipe,
Ramona
Sam
Hi Ramona! It may stiffen up a little bit in the refrigerator over night so you may need to let it warm up a little bit at room temperature before it is spreadable again. 🙂
Elizabeth
How do you fix runny frosting?
Sam
Hi Elizabeth! Add a little more powdered sugar. You can check the post for further instructions on thickening the frosting if need be. 🙂
Wendy Pope
How long would unused icing last in the fridge?
Sam
Hi Wendy! Covered in the refrigerator it should last about a week. It will be very firm after that time though so it may need to warm up for a little bit at room temperature to soften. 🙂
Bianca Tran
Hi,
Can this recipe be used for cake?
Sam
Hi Bianca! This cream cheese frosting makes enough to cover a 2 layer 8 or 9 inch cake. 🙂
Brenda
My icing is to thick. What can i thin it with?
Sam
You could use a little milk or cream to thin it out. 🙂
Tessa
I’ve never made homemade icing before but I will always make it from now on. This was delicious!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cream cheese frosting, Tessa! Thank you so much for commenting 🙂
Catherine
What number piping tip did you use in your cupcake picture? It looks gorgeous!
Looking forward to making the cupcakes and frosting for a birthday celebration!
Thank you so much!
Catherine
Sam
Hi Catherine! I used an Ateco 848 tip. I hope everyone loves the cupcakes and frosting. 🙂
Jan M
I made this to put on cinnamon rolls and it was delicious!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the frosting, Jan! 🙂
Karin Økern
Hi,
I want to try this recipe, but I’ve never seen that kind of Philadelphia cream cheese here (I live in Norway😉).. Would it be ok to use the kind that you can spread? Or won’t the frosting be thick enough for piping If I use that kind?
Karin😊
Sam
Hi Karin! Unfortunately the kind of cream cheese that is spreadable does not work for this cream cheese frosting and it would be too runny, I’m sorry 🙁
Karin Økern
Thanks! Do you know if it’s ok to use mascarpone? I read somewhwere that that is a bit firmer than the ordinary Philadelphia cheese..?
Elin
Karin, I’m from Norway and I’ve made this recipe with TINE Kremgo Naturell, which is a bit firmer than the spreadable Philadelphia cream cheese. Came out perfectly and firm enough to use for piping. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe, Sam!
Sam
Thank you for sharing this, Elin! And I’m so glad you like the cream cheese frosting! 🙂
Theresa Griggs
Awesome