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.
Alejandra Hernandez
My frosting was kind of runny, almost like a honey consistency, i dont know how thick it should be and if i should add more powder sugar.
Sam Merritt
Hi Alejandra! It should be stiff enough to pipe. Are you using spreadable cream cheese? You can always add more powdered sugar to thicken it. 🙂
Sonja
I’d like to use this for topping sugar cookies then bagging them. But, will the frosting stay too soft for a bagged cookie…or does the frosting crust over a bit?
Sam Merritt
Hi Sonja! I wouldn’t recommend sticking this in a bag. It will crisp a little bit on the outside, but I’m not sure it would hold up well in a bag. 🙁
Sonja
Thank you!
Eleni
This recipe was amazing, thank you! I added more nuts and less sugar. Everyone love them!
Shannon M
I was left with a super runny frosting after using all the sugar and even adding cornstarch. The instructions were not detailed enough, I followed a different recipie and got a beautiful fluffy frosting that uses half the sugar required here.
Sam Merritt
Hi Shannon! Did you make any substitutions? Did you have full fat cream cheese? Were your ingredients really warm when starting?
Raluca
My frosting was also very runny.
I ve put it in the fridge in hopes it will thicken.
Cornstarch made it just very floury. It gave the frosting a funky texture. Cornstarch do no dissolve in butter and cheese.
Sam Merritt
Hi Raluca! Are you using full fat brick style cream cheese? Is it melty soft? Are you using any other substitutes? It’s not expected to be runny after 4 cups of powdered sugar. I don’t recommend adding cornstarch here. 🙁
Lindsay
Your recipe as written says 4 cups of icing sugar (500g). I weighed my powdered sugar this time without thinking and ended up with a very, very runny frosting which I found odd because the first time I made it, it was fantastic.
Of course, that’s because 4 cups of powdered sugar should be 1kg, NOT 500g!
So the first time I made it I used 4 cups and it was great. Second time I measured based on 500g and it was terrible.
You may want to correct your recipe.
Sam Merritt
Hi Lindsay! 1 cup of powdered sugar weighs 125g, not 200g so the listed measurement is accurate. 🙁 A cup of granulated or brown sugar is 200g. Did you use brick style cream cheese?
Sheryl
Runny!!! Had to add 2 extra cups of sugar and it was still a little thin. Not going to make this one again.
Sam Merritt
Hi Sheryl! Are you using full fat brick style cream cheese? Is it melty soft? Are you using any other substitutes? It’s not expected to be runny after 4 cups of powdered sugar. 🙁
Bobbie Failor
Husband and kid approved!!
Joan
I made this recipe many times,
it comes out perfect and delicious. I never had a problem!
Thomas
Great
Crystal K
This recipe is absolutely delicious! How long can this be stored in the refrigerator? I’m hoping to make it four days advance due to my busy schedule. Please advise.
Sam Merritt
Hi Crystal! This can be stored in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. You will want to keep it wrapped tightly. It may need to warm slightly after taking out of the refrigerator before it is pipe-able. 🙂
Kyrstin
Hi! I am wondering if this icing will stay good in the fridge for 24 hrs. What would be the best way to store it/ mix it afterward to create optimal consistency?
Sam Merritt
Hi Kyrstin! It will be fine to be stored for 24 in the refrigerator. I would put it in an air tight container and store in the refrigerator. 🙂
Christy
Any suggestions on lumpy product? my butter/ cream cheese mixture was perfectly smooth. sifted my powdered sugar to avoid lumps, afraid to over mix – thoughts? suggestions?
Sam Merritt
Hi Christy! That’s quite odd. Did you scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. If not, there may have been some cream cheese and butter that wasn’t fully creamed and it got picked up when you put in the sugar. 🙁
Kari
I’ve made this recipe twice, and the consistency is sooo smooth! I’ve never made a frosting that’s come out this well. The first time I made it with low fat cream cheese (I have Gastroparesis, and I have to eat a low fat diet.). To offset the extra water in the cream cheese I added 4 teaspoons of cornstarch, and let it set up in the fridge for an hour. It came out great, nobody could tell it was lower fat. The 2nd time I made it I used Green Valley Lactose Free Cream Cheese, which is in a tub, so I added the extra cornstarch again. Came out so smooth and velvety. This is my fave cream cheese frosting recipe!
Erin James
I made this frosting for some red velvet mini cakes and it turned out AMAZING!!!! It’s the perfect consistency and the taste is fantastic! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Rochell Keyser
I am only giving this 4 stars and not 5 because i didn’t make it exactly as the recipe states. My husband and i are on a mission to reduce our sugar intake .. so i tried this using 125 grams of powdered sugar. The result was wonderful in terms of taste !! 5 star. I quite liked the consistency too, it wasn’t runny.. but it is winter here in South Africa and our homes don’t have central heating so perhaps the climate is impacting the consistency. I thought i would share for anyone else who might be on a similar mission to reduce sugar. I did not pipe with it ..i iced a sheet cake so it was perfect for that use.
Leslie
It’s not really fair to give the recipe a four star rating if you didn’t follow the recipe. Your version of the recipe was four stars. Now you’ve lowered the overall rating for the creator because you made a different version and then rated your own instead of hers.
Mary J
Can you make the frosting a day in advance, refrigerate it, and then briefly re-whip before applying?
Sam Merritt
Sure thing! 🙂
emily ann
I’m so confused. I’m combining the cream cheese and butter and its really really thick. If I add 4 cups of powdered sugar to this, it’ll be far too thick to spread on anything.
Sam Merritt
Hi Emily Ann, as you stir it (make sure you add the sugar gradually), you should end up with a smooth, spreadable consistency. If it helps, watch the video in the recipe card and you can see the exact consistency. As far as what to expect for consistency, it should be comparable to classic buttercream when finished. You can use less sugar if you prefer, but the frosting won’t be as sturdy or as sweet, so just keep that in mind. I hope that helps!
Aisling
Hi! If I’m planning on doing a 3 layer 9″ cake, would I double or triple this recipe?
Thank you!
Sam Merritt
Hi Aisling! A 50% increase should work here, but if you want to do any decorations on top I would probably double it to be safe. 🙂
Laura Hixson
Absolutely perfect & great consistency
Mariah Habbit
Can a decorate a custom cake with this frosting?
Sam Merritt
Hi Mariah! It depends what kind of decoration you are going for on these. You can pipe florets and things like that, but to do very intricate designs could be difficult.
Mariah Habbit
It would just be a 6 inch 2-3 layer heart cake. No intricate designs. How would I go about coloring the frosting? If i wanted to do like black and red?
Sam Merritt
You can just split the frosting into two bowls and briefly stir in the extracts. 🙂
Courtney Holderfield
Would this icing allow for a smooth finish with a scraper?
Sam Merritt
Hi Courtney! Yes, it operates much like a classic American buttercream frosting does. If you work too much air into the frosting you may have some bubbles, but just deflate them with your spatula just like you would a typical buttercream. I hope that helps!