The Best Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
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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!
how long is the unused icing good for?
Hi Kim! It will be good for up to 5 days in an air tight container in the refrigerator. 🙂
I love this reipe!! it was so induldgent and it really heled me through my common cold because of the 1 gram of iron that was presnt in this cream cheese.
This was my first time ever making my own icing and I’m so glad I came across this recipe! it was super easy and came out perfectly. I will definitely be using it again in future baking!
Hi Sam,
I would like to use this frosting with your red velvet cake recipe. My niece asked me to make a cutting cake for her wedding, and I’m just a little concerned about transporting the cake since the wedding is approximately one hour from my home.
Do you think this frosting will hold up well during the drive without the cake layers sliding? I know you use your ermine frosting with your red velvet cake, but cream cheese frosting is just so delicious with red velvet! Would this particular frosting be stable enough for a one-hour drive if the cake is properly chilled, or would you suggest using the ermine frosting instead?
Also, would you suggest making the two-layer 8-inch cake or the three-layer 6-inch cake for this purpose?
Thank you so much for your help! I truly enjoy your recipes and appreciate you sharing them with us!
Hi Amber! I think as long as this frosting doesn’t get too warm during the drive that it will hold up just fine. As far as how to make the cake, that’s really going to be personal preference. Personally I would do a 2 layer 8 inch cake if I had to drive it somewhere. It just feels sturdier to me. I hope you love the cake! 🙂
Hi Sam,
I made a test cake yesterday, and everyone said it was the **BEST red velvet cake they have EVER had!** Thank you for another absolutely perfect recipe! ❤️
That’s great to hear! 🙂
Can this be made ahead of time?
Sure thing! You will want to keep it wrapped tightly in the refrigerator. 🙂
My cream cheese came out perfect but I could feel the icing sugar in it I mean it didn’t mix well or what … any suggestions
Hi Alison! Were your ingredients all room temperature? Sometimes a cold cream cheese can cause the grittiness.
Good morning~
I am baking a 6″ round layer cake…This recipe should be adequate for the center filling and top (maybe sides)? Love cream cheese frosting, so I want to have enough to frost!
Thank you,
Deb
Hi Deb! I would think that this should be enough to cover a 3 layer 6 inch cake. 🙂
I was very unhappy with this recipe. It needed a lot more powdered sugar and still was not thick enough. It also didn’t have a good flavor. Do not recommend.
I’m so sorry to hear this, Debra! Was your cream cheese and butter too soft and melty? Were you using full fat cream cheese? Did you make any alterations to the recipe?
muchas gracias por su ayuda, muy buenos tips.
thank for your help, very good tips.
Hi sam! I wanted to use this recipe to frost churro cookies but I’m scared the 500g of powdered sugar will make the cookie way too sweet already. Can I reduce the powdered sugar to 250g? if not what’s the minimum amount of sugar required to maintain the same texture of the frosting?
Hi Erin! The sugar provides the texture for this cream cheese frosting so any reduction in the amount of sugar will change the texture. It will just be less firm, but that is really going to be a personal preference. I don’t have a set guide on how much the frosting will change with reductions in sugar.
I prefer a strong creamcheese flavor so the sugar was reduced to 2 1/2 cups. the texture was thick and creamy with a fabulous flavor.
So glad you enjoyed it, Wes!
Love this icing but I wonder if I could use regular margarine instead of unsalted butter
Hi Sara! Unfortunately margarine will not work here 🙁
My picky son has a birthday coming up. I found your other post on making the perfect cake which led me here to the cream cheese frosting. We decided to do a test run today to make sure he likes it. HE LOVES THE TASTE! That’s a win in my book. I made it exactly to recipe, but it seems a little thin to pipe. It is hot and humid here today (even in the AC) so I just popped it in the fridge to let it set a little before I do a piping test. Oh, and it was tasty spread on graham crackers for our taste test. Thanks again for the recipe and cake tips!
Hi Donna! We’re so happy he loved the frosting–hopefully it firmed up after a stint in the fridge. If not, double check to make sure you are using real butter (no margarine) and full fat, brick-style cream cheese. You may also need to add just a bit more sugar. Hope that helps!
I am not a baker at all, but lately I’ve been making mug cakes from scratch (I found a good recipe for them) and I was using the icing that comes in the tubs in the baking aisle, but I realized that 1.) I don’t like the icing that much and 2.) they are all made with oil and artificial flavoring. So, I decided to make my own and I found this recipe by googling.
It’s so, so good and so much better than any store-bought icing I’ve ever had. I couldn’t believe how much better homemade icing is!
By the way, I used my Braun food processor with the standard blad0 to make this, and it seemed to work great. Although maybe if you’re using this icing to decorate, the texture might be off. But for me and my mug cakes, it was fine!
So glad you discovered our recipe, Brett! 💕
Thank you for another winner, Sam!
Quick, easy, and tastes absolutely amazing. This is my absolute go-to cream cheese icing recipe whenever I need one, and it is so much better than anything bought in a can! Not only do you know exactly what ingredients are going into it, free of preservatives and artificial additives you don’t want in your food, but it also proves that making things from scratch isn’t difficult at all, opening up a whole new world of baking.
Having a great base recipe like this gives you so much freedom to switch it up and make it your own. I’ve successfully added chopped pecans, walnuts, and lemon zest or juice, and blueberry and strawberry are next on my list to try. You can also easily add a splash of milk if you need a thinner consistency for piping.
The tips and tricks provided in the post are incredibly helpful, and you can find even more amazing suggestions in the comments from experienced bakers who are happy to share what works and what doesn’t. I never have a lack of taste testers for any recipe I try or put my own spin on. So enjoy, have fun, and make it a joy to provide your family with dishes made with love, and not full of artificial ingredients!
PS: I have read several comments here that this icing is too sweet for some, it turned out runny, etc. I have not had anyone complain it was too sweet, and mine has never turned out runny; however, the beauty of this recipe is that it is so versatile and you can adjust for your taste. Once you have some general knowledge of baking/cooking, you will find how and where you can adjust recipes to suit your taste, and they still come out amazing. Plus, for those who are learning and haven’t got the experience under your belt just yet, I have noticed that many, including the original poster of the recipes, will try to help you figure out what happened if your version didn’t turn out the same. I’ve also noticed that many will offer suggestions in the comments if you want to reduce an ingredient, sub an ingredient in for another, etc. Just an all-around amazing group of people willing to share their knowledge and what has worked for them. The comments are still one of the areas I look for new ideas and alterations that others have used to add to my knowledge base. My Grandma, Granny, and Nana taught me so much, and so has my mom, but she will be the first to say she isn’t a baker. lol When I lost my Grands, I started looking at sites such as these to help me when I was trying a new recipe, because even though I can follow a recipe and now know how to adjust some things, even after 10 yrs, I still have questions. So, thank you to those who are willing to share and assist others; it is much appreciated.
(My Mom will now bake a pound cake because she just needed to learn some basics, and as a nurse, I am not always available when my parents want a pound cake or something similar. I have no issue, but if it’s something she needs when I am at work, the ER isn’t going to hold while I go bake a cake. lol. I’m jesting here, kinda. (I have come home after 12 hrs, and made one when my Daddy has requested one, just bc I’m a Daddy’s girl, but it wasn’t expected, just requested when I had a chance. Same goes for my significant other; he would not ask for me to do that after work, but when I know, and it’s not been a horrible night, I have done it for him too. Just bc he is amazing.) However, my Dad and used to ask whether you make a fallen pound cake? He is never upset when a pound cake “falls”. I have found another who volunteers to take any fallen pound cakes off my hands, should it happen, though. So, even when something doesn’t turn out as you would have liked, it doesn’t mean you failed, and I promise unless you omitted an essential ingredient or something important, no one is going to complain about it.