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.
Melissa
Hi Sam,
Do you have a recipe for carrot cake.
Sam
I do! Here is my carrot cake recipe. I hope you love it as much as I do <3
Paul
Can I use lemon extract instead of vanilla?
Sam
Yes, but I’ve found lemon extract is quite potent so I might start by using less and then add more to taste. Often I’ll still include a splash of vanilla along with lemon extract just to give it that extra depth of flavor. Enjoy!
Susan
You indicated 4 cups of icing sugar or 500 grams – but isn’t 500 grams only 2 cups?
Sam
2 cups would be about 400 grams of regular granulated sugar if that is what you are thinking of, but powdered sugar is much lighter. As I measure it, a cup of powdered sugar only comes to 125g per cup, so the 500g listed is correct. Enjoy! 🙂
Fran
I tried it. It taste so good. I put it on pumpkin cupcakes.
Did you?
Sam
I have not, but it would definitely be delicious! 🙂
Lorraine
My carrot cake cupcakes with this icing came out perfect.
Thank you
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Lorraine! 🙂
Nora
Can I halve the recipe for s single loaf of pympkin bread? Thanks, it looks delicious!
Sam
Yes that won’t be a problem. Enjoy! 🙂
Mariah Haight
Hello!
Do you have any suggestions on making this a strawberry cream cheese?
Thanks
Sam
I’m sorry, Mariah, a simple addition wouldn’t really work here. There would be some other alterations that would need to be made, and I haven’t tried it so I can’t tell you for sure how to do it.
Annabelle
To make it a strawberry cream cheese frosting without messing up the recipe, just add 2 tsp of strawberry extract and some pink food coloring. 😊
Kelly Thielen
If you can add freeze dried strawberries, I bet it wouldn’t change the texture all that much. You could try a test batch and see.
Cori
I think you could use freeze dried strawberries….but first run it through a food processor or vitamix to turn it into a powder.
Amber
Will this frosting pair with a lemon cake?
Sam
Absolutely, Amber. That sounds delicious. Enjoy! 🙂
Jodi
Hi Sam – would this work for frosting gingerbread cookies?
Sam
Yes it will, but honestly I’d probably recommend using the cream cheese frosting that I use on my Gingerbread Cookie Bars instead. The only reason I recommend that one instead is because it is designed to be a bit stiffer and crust a bit more than this one. However, this one will work too!
Kayleigh
This frosting was fantastic! I used it on a layered white cake and had fresh blueberries between the layers. So tasty!
Sam
I love the blueberry addition! I am so glad you enjoyed it, Kayleigh! 🙂
Lynne
Have you ever tried adding chocolate? If so, how much?
Sam
Hi Lynne! I actually have, check out my Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe 🙂
Ale
Hi, would it be ok to use spreadable cream cheese? I don’t mind having a thinner texture for icing.
Thanks
Sam
Hi Ale, unfortunately I think it would make the frosting too runny.
Chari McHale
Hi Cheryl, I followed your recipe to the letter to frost a pineapple zucchini bread and it was absolutely wonderful. Thank you!
Lara
Does this cream cheese frosting holds for a few hours without being place in the chiller? thank you 😊
Sam
Yes it does (unless you’re in a very warm/humid climate). Enjoy!
Crystal
Hey ive been using a recipe that uses vegetable shortening and butter. If i add shortening to this recipe do you think it will make it thicker?
Sam
Hi, Crystal. I don’t think it will make it thicker, it will affect the flavor in a negative way though.
Charlene Bukowiecki
Sam, I want to make a carrot cake with your creamcheese buttercream, do u think this frosting is strong enough or wont melt?, If I needed to put fondant on it?
Sam
This frosting should be fine with fondant. 🙂