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.
Arleen
Any advice on adding flavor extracts? Like orange?
Sam
Hi Arleen! Stir it in at the end, start with a small amount (1/4 teaspoon even, some are quite potent) and then add more to taste. I still like to leave in the vanilla extract and just reduce it a bit (maybe cut that in half) because I like the depth of flavor that it gives, but you can leave it out entirely if you prefer. I hope that helps!
Arleen
Thanks for your super fast response Sam. I was looking for a good cream cheese frosting for a cake I just baked. I followed your tips exactly and the frosting came out perfectly. Piped great and looks so good. I never expected such a quick response. Very impressed. Thanks so much.❤️
Sam
I’m so happy to hear it turned out so perfectly, Arleen! Thank you for commenting <3
Shikha
Hi,
If I only use 2 cups of icing sugar in this recipe, how much corn starch will I need to use for the frosting to be pipeable?
Sam
Hi Shikha! Icing sugar, also called powdered sugar, already has cornstarch in it. Unfortunately if you cut the sugar in half the frosting probably won’t be pipe-able even if you add a lot of cornstarch (which would make your frosting taste bad).
Shivani
Hi ,
Is powdered sugar same as icing sugar?
Please advise
Sam
Yes it is 🙂
Sharon
This recipe was amazing but the only thing was that the sugar over powers the flavor of cream cheese by a lot so I had to add at least 2-4 oz. of cream cheese to get that delicious flavor back. I suggest at least 2 cups of powdered sugar instead of 4.
Sam
Hi Sharon! Unfortunately your frosting will be pretty thin if you cut the sugars in half, but I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Leera
Hi, I am new to baking and I wanted to try your recipe but I only have salted butter, can I use it instead of unsalted butter? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Leera! I actually have a post explaining the differences between salted and unsalted butter you can refer to for any future substitution needs. In this recipe if you use salted butter you will want to cut the salt by 1/4 teaspoon. 🙂
Naz
Hi Sam,
I only recently became your follower. I wish I came here sooner.
I have a doubt. I recently made cream cheese frosting with homemade cream cheese (1/2cup) and whipped cream (2cup). Since it was runny I added 2tbsp of cornstarch to it. But in the end, i could taste the cornstarch.It’s standing out a bit too much. I wanted to ask if there is any way to save it. It was my first time doing something like this so I’d really appreciate your guidance.
Thanks,
Naz
Sam
Hmmm 2 TBSP doesn’t sound like that much. Maybe you just needed a little more powdered sugar instead of the cornstarch?
Sheila Foley
Hi Sam I’m not sure if I wrote my last comment properly so here it is again 😂😅 is there a frosting without butter in it keep up the good work 😋
Sam
Hi Sheila! I don’t have a frosting recipe without butter, but back in the day ermine frosting was often made with shortening instead of the butter that I use in the recipe, if that helps!
Rich
Enjoyed it
Alexis
Am I able to add food coloring to this recipe?
Sam
You can add food coloring. I would add it in at the end. 🙂
meha
How I can store this frosting? Can cream cheese frosting be made ahead of time? How to reuse it?
Sam
You can make it in advance. You will need to refrigerate it. Make sure to cover it tightly so it won’t dry out. When you go to use it you may need to let it rest for a few minutes to be workable and give it a little stir again before using. 🙂
Laurel Hauser
Does this recipe make plenty to frost a cake? It’s frustrating when you have to be stingy or make a second batch. Thanks.
Sam
Hi Laurel! You will have enough to frost a 2 layer 8 or 9 inch cake with a reasonable amount of frosting on it. 🙂
Richard Ouellet
Way more than enough! The kids were dipping fruit after I covered two cheese cakes!
Not a difficult recipe but the chemistry on this one is perfect.
@birchstreetbakingco
Fantastic recipe! I added about 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice as well and it was great. The corn starch suggestion is perfect, I’d never heard of that before, and it made it the perfect consistency for baking! I’ll tag you when I post a pic of the cake I made 🙂
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Ashley
I just made this and it tastes great but the consistency is nowhere near pipable, even after adding more powdered sugar, and arrowroot powder (grain-free thickener alternative to cornstarch). Any thoughts on what I could be doing wrong?
Sam
Hi Ashley! I’m so sorry this has happened! A few things to check here, are you using brick style cream cheese? Was your butter too soft? Finally, is it really hot and humid in your kitchen? If none of these are the issue I would try adding more powdered sugar. It should thicken up. 🙂
Ashley
Thanks for replying, I don’t think any of those are the case here. I did a little more research and learned that I probably beat the cream cheese too long. I’m in the habit of beating butter & shortening for a looong time to get them white, but I guess you can’t do that with cream cheese. Not sure if I can save that first batch but I will try again, beating the butter by itself til it’s white, then adding the cream cheese.
Sam
You really just need to beat the butter until it’s no longer lumpy.
Ann Robles
Hi Sam, I tried this frosting for my red velvet and it is indeed delicious. Not too sweet thanks for the tip about the cornstarch. My son keeps on dipping his butterscotch cookies which I find cute but overall my family is satisfied. looking forward for more recipes 🙂
Sam
I am so glad everyone has enjoyed it so much, Ann! I bet it’s delicious on those cookies! 🙂
Arttu
Will this frosting survive a night in fridgerator? Is the quality going to go down or perhaps up while getting stiffer without extra sugar?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Arttu! The frosting will last one to two weeks in the refrigerator. I reccomend storing it in an airtight container. 🙂
Carmen
I am planning on using this recipe for cupcakes for my sons birthday party tomorrow. Can I frost them today & store them overnight in the fridge? Or should I wait till tomorrow to frost them?
Sam
If you keep the cupcakes covered so they don’t dry out you can make this the day before. 🙂