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.
Eva
Hi, I’m from Europe. We don’t have brick cream cheese. What is the problem with the one in the thub?
Sam Merritt
Hi Eva! Typically the ones in the tubs have additives to make them spreadable, which doesn’t work well for this frosting. 🙂
Palwasha
would this frosting hold well in hot/humid areas?
Sam Merritt
I don’t recommend this one in heat and humidity. 🙁
A happy baker
If you mix the cream cheese and the butter together until it’s fluffy, then it turns out extra EXTRA delicious!!!
Ellie
will it still be sturdy if i add a lot less powdered sugar?
Sam Merritt
The powdered sugar creates the stability here so unfortunately not. 🙁
Susan Sentman
This is an excellent cream cheese frosting! I like the ratio of cream cheese to butter. Most recipes require too much butter. However, I did cut the powdered sugar down to 3 cups rather than 4 cups. It works just fine if you refrigerate what ever you frost. I usually make a single layer chocolate cake and frost it with this recipe cream cheese frosting. I save the leftover frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for future cake or cinnamon rolls! It lasts a long time.
Mildred724 Douglas
this is my go to recipe for icing anything i am baking cake cookie etc. your recipes are so easy to follow keep them coming.
Nicole
If I were to add fresh strawberries, would I need to add more powdered sugar?
Sam Merritt
Hi Nicole! You could add fresh strawberries, but I would proceed with caution as the strawberries could potentially weep and break the frosting. I’m not sure if adding extra powdered sugar would help here.
momofthree
Excellent
Elizabeth Scott
Made this with half real powdered sugar and half powdered sugar substitute. Turned out great.
Grace S
I followed the recipe. It did not taste like cream cheese icing to me.
It was still okay as icing, but definitely could not taste cream cheese.
If I make it again, I will add one more cream cheese brick.
Sam Merritt
Hi Grace! I’m so sorry to hear this! You may need to adjust the sugar in the recipe if you add more cream cheese or your frosting may not be as stable. 🙁
Rachael
This is the best cream cheese frosting ever! I use this all the time on my feed velvet cakes.
Sallie VanNieuwenhze
I cut the powered sugar by half so it is not too sweet and tastes more like cream cheese.
Angela
Good morning! I was wondering if this recipe can be doubled or is best to make two separate batches? I am making cupcakes(50 total!!) for my daughter’s gender reveal on Friday. She has requested my homemade strawberry cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting(not the “whipped” version, mom:-)). I always use your recipe here(it is super yummy) if I am not making “whipped” cream cheese frosting.
Sam Merritt
Hi Angela! You can certainly double this recipe as long as you have a mixer/bowl big enough to hold all of the frosting. 🙂
Martha
Hi! Can I turn this into a coffee cream cheese frosting?
Sam Merritt
Hi Martha! You could try adding a bit of espresso powder to the frosting to flavor it a little bit, but I haven’t personally tried it to say for sure how it would turn out. If you do try it I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
cheryl meehan
This was easy and delicious.
Corinne L Schaldenbrand
never a fan of carrot cake. my husband wanted carrot cake muffins. wow! these were amazing!
Kim
Hi! I am baking a smash cake using this icing recipe, I have to travel an hour with the cake – how do u think it will hold up? Should I freeze the cake or just refrigerate before heading to the party?
Sam Merritt
Hi Kim! As long as it’s not super hot in the car or wherever you are storing it, it should be fine. If you can refrigerate it when you get to your location that would work even better. 🙂
Chefbuzzrwp
it was real nice I used stevia and used about 3 1/2 cups of stevia because that stuff is really sweet a little more vanilla to thin it piped it on a sugar free banana cottage cheese nut bread out…. could of used a splash of spiced rum to help thin some more so next time🙄
liz
I am making this for a graduation party next week. If I make them on Saturday, I imagine they should stay in the fridge until just before serving?
Sam Merritt
Yes, Liz! I would keep this frosting in the refrigerator. 🙂
Amanda
I love this recipe it is my absolute go to for anything I might need to frost. I always get a lot of compliments with this recipe.