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.
Brooklyn
I use to have a cream cheese frosting recipe that was perfect when I was younger. I thought this was it but it was way too sweet for my liking and I used 1/2 a cup less confectioners sugar than the recipe called for. I think 2 cups would have been perfect. Then again, I remember I use to be able to find 2x sugar instead of 10x. The bag I have now doesn’t have either of those on it and I’m thinking its probably 10x.
The cream cheese flavor was lost to me. All personal preference though. My mother-in-law loved it even though I’m sure she wouldn’t tell me if she didn’t! Lol
Sharon
Hi! Do you recommend a whisk or paddle attachment? Thanks!!
Sam
I use the paddle but honestly either is fine 🙂
Gail
I’m definitely using this recipe but my other instructions include 1 1/2 cup raw almonds. What do I do with them, chopped, whole or something different? Please let me know before I go to the market.
Sam
I’m really not sure! I would check the other recipe to see what they recommend, I have never used almonds here.
Elmari Daniels
Hi there, I’m making a number cake. Will your recipe be stiff enough to hold together the two layers? (I’m making a number 5 cake with mould then cutting into 2 layers)
Sam
Hi Elmari! I use this frosting for layer cakes frequently. 🙂
Char
I made this recipe yesterday and I have to agree that it is definitely a keeper and the best one that I found so far. I had about 1 3/4 blocks of cream cheese so I made that amount and it was perfect . It covered an entire 6 layer neopolitan cake. The sweetness was just right and you know that it’s cream cheese frostings. Instead of the vanilla I added 1 tsp strawberry extract and 1 tsp rum flavoring. Absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Char! I love the additions of the strawberry and rum flavoring. Sounds awesome! 🙂
Layla
Hi! This sounds lovely. Can I make it ahead? If so how long ahead? A few days? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Layla! It should be ok to make ahead of time. I would store it in the refrigerator in an air tight container for 5-7 days. You will want to bring it to room temperature before using and most likely you will need to stir again before using. 🙂
May
I want to try this but I live in a very hot place. Would this recipe stay firm outside the fridge? Thank you.
Sam
Hi May! Like most frosting recipes, this one will start to melt a little bit in the heat. 🙁
Steph
This frosting was amazing!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Steph! 🙂
Ekin
Hi, can i put gelatin in this recipe. Cause the whether is hot at my place so i am scared its going to melt.
Sam
Hi Ekin! I have never tried it so I’m not sure how it would work. I think you probably could but without having tried it I don’t really have any good advice on how to actually do it. If you try it I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
Devon
I made a tequila frosting yesterday for a perfectly delicious white cupcake I made yesterday…. but it was SUPER sweet to the point of it being too sweet. I made your recipe to replace it and oh my my…………. this is the BEST frosting I have ever had. I toned down the powdered sugar a bit because I don’t like sweet things, but this hit the spot. My husband can’t stop eating it it’s that good and he doesn’t like sweets.
Thank you!
Sam
You’re very welcome, I’m so happy to hear it was such a hit! Thank you for commenting, Devon! 🙂
Purvi
Hi, I really like your recipe. I am planning to bake a princess cake for my daughter on her birthday. For the pink color frosting, I am planning to use beet juice. Can I mix that in your frosting recipe?
Sam
Adding any liquid will thin it quite a bit, and you also run the risk of curdling the frosting. Could you reduce it by cooking it down on the stovetop first?
Cecilie
Hi, your recipe looks so good! I am going to try it but have to questions. Can I add a fruit color and maby add some cornstarch too so the frosting won’t get more liquidy?. I am going to use it for filling in a cake and it has to be pretty stiff, is it going to be more stiff when you put it in the refrigerator? – Cecilie
Sam
Hi Cecile! You can add some color to the frosting. You will want to stir it in at the end. You shouldn’t need cornstarch here but you can add it. I talk about this in the actual post. If the frosting is colder it will be more stiff, but as soon as it warms back up it will lose that stiffness. 🙂
Mrs. Odle
I modified the sugar to 390g, but not because I thought it was too sweet… just poor planning and I thought I had more powdered sugar than I did. Having said that, it was PERFECT, I don’t like icing that’s too sweet. I couldn’t help licking the spoon on this one. So next time I make it, I’ll probably just go with 400g of powdered sugar and be done with it.
Thanks for the awesome recipe!!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Brenda
With this frosting, how long can a frosting cake hold at room temperature? I made a Strawberry rosette 8” cake and some red velvet cupcakes but I’m scared to put them on display.
Sam
Hi Brenda! I would say if you don’t use it within 24 hours then it would need to be refrigerated. 🙂
TIFFANY
CAN YOU USE REGULAR STICK BUTTER OR DOES IT NEED TO BE UNSALTED BUTTER ?
Sam
Hi Tiffany! If you use salted butter you will want to reduce the salt added by 1/4 teaspoon. 🙂