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.
Sarah
I just finished making this creme cheese frosting. Excellent recipe , delicious to taste, perfect thickness!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Sarah! 🙂
Sy
Hi! Will be using this recipe for Russian piping tips, excited to use your version. Can this be frozen for use later?
Sam
I think it will be fine in the freezer, but when you want to use it make sure to thaw it slowly by leaving it in the refrigerator. 🙂
kate
i always have a hard time making frosting. this time i ran out of powdered sugar UGH!!! what can i do if this happens again? other than that it came out perfect thank you
Sam
Hi, Kate. You can always scale back the recipe to use what you have, but there aren’t really any good substitutes for powdered sugar here.
Lyn
What I’ve done in the past when I didnt have enough powered sugar was to put regular sugar in my food processor. The sugar became powdery & it worked out well.
Trish
Hi Sam, I have a question. I’m putting this frosting on top of a hummingbird cake. How long can a cake sit at room temperature when it’s frosted? I hate cold cake.
Sam
Hi Trish, it can stay out for several hours, the amount of sugar in the frosting helps (significantly) delay the growth of bacteria. Enjoy!
Chelse
Would it make a huge difference if I used salted butter instead?
Sam
Hi, Chelse. If you use salted butter, omit the salt and it should work out just fine for you. 🙂
Jamie
I just made this and it turned out amazing! I did not sift the powdered sugar and it turned out smooth. I’m using it to frost some sugar cookies I made that use turbinado sugar instead of white sugar. The cookies are really chewy, I found the cookie recipe on the back of a bag of turbinado sugar. Do you have any recipes that use turbinado sugar?
Sam
Hi, Jamie. I use turbinado sugar in some toppings for some of my desserts, but I don’t use it in the main part of the recipe. The type of sugar used shouldn’t have an affect on the overall softness/texture of the desserts.
Donnq
Sam, Do you think I could substitute corn starch for arrow root as a thickener in this recipe? Any thoughts on problems it would create?
Thanks!
Sam
I have never actually experimented with using arrow root so I don’t know how much you would need. If you do try it, let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Ameerah
This is delicious, easy to pipe and smooth onto a cake. Thank you for sharing!
Sam
Thank you so much! I am so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Rachel
This is so perfect. Easy to pipe and super tasty!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Rachel! 🙂
Kimberly J Bultema
I added a little heavy whipping cream as an extra finally strep and it turned out like a whipped buttercream frosting. To die for!
Sam
That sounds so good! I am glad you enjoyed it Kimberly! 🙂
Denise Howard
I love this recipe! I made this tonight to test it out for some cake jars that I’m making and it is definitely a HIT!! Thank you so much for sharing 🤗
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Denise! 🙂
Kerry
Could I add pieces of chopped, candied ginger? I know I probably couldn’t pipe it if I do, but would it do anything strange to the frosting, like make it separate or become runny?
Sam
Hi, Kerry. I don’t think it would separate or become runny, so I think it would work. 🙂
Regina
Do you think it would be ok to use almond flavoring in place if the vanilla? I make a peach spice cake often and usually use can of cream cheese frosting or some times make an almond flavor glaze
Sam
Substituting almond extract for vanilla extract will work just fine. I would start with less almond extract, because the flavor is a little stronger. This is wayyy better than the can stuff. Enjoy! 🙂
Regina
Thank you, is a very good recipe and will be using it often.
Jodie
seriously the best cream cheese frosting! I added a little milk to make it a bit more creamy ! I would make this again.. that’s for sure !
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Jodie! 🙂
Cheryl Clarke
I made this to put on my gluten free pumpkin spice cupcakes with sugar glazed walnuts. And YUM it was a perfect icing for them. Would post a picture if I could.
Sam
Hi Cheryl! Unfortunately there is no easy way to add pictures. If you join my Facebook Group, you can post all the pictures you’d like. I love to see them. ☺️
Freakingamazing
I have to use it tomorrow will it be set enough pls reply tonight and that is actually my first name 😶
Sam
Hi, I’m not sure what you mean by set enough.