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.
Debbie
Is this recipe enough to cover 2 tiered 9” cakes?
Sam
Yes this will cover a 2 layer 9 inch cake. 🙂
Kelly
Yummy and easy!! Can I freeze it? Does it need to bekept cold?
Sam
Hi Kelly! This can be frozen. It may need to be stirred again briefly after thawing. I recommend refrigerating if not used within 2 days, or if it’s really warm in your house. Enjoy! 🙂
Adam Lr
Delicious! My version with stevia extract (because I don’t eat sugar) is cream cheese and Unsalted butter as Listed with 2 teaspoons of Whole Foods liquid stevia extract. I would have used powdered stevia if I’d have had it on hand. With stevia I think you can lessen the amount used in ratio. For example for 4 cups 4 teaspoons of extract is the ratio but really you don’t need this much, the frosting was perfect with 2 teaspoons. No salt was used, it doesn’t cooperate with the liquid extract.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Adam! I’m glad to hear it turns out well with stevia too. 🙂
Wendy Hanson
How long will this keep in the fridge
Sam
Hi Wendy! It will last about a week. Just be sure to keep it in an air tight container. 🙂
Adam
Delicious until I added the salt
Sam
O no! Did you happen to use salted butter when you started? That could make it too salty.
Hasret
Hello,
Thank you for the recipe. I will try it. I have one question, I don’t want to make a too sweet frosting. So while decreasing the amount of powdered sugar, how much corn starch should I add? I mean what is the ratio for keeping the intensity same? Thank you 🙂
Sam
I haven’t played with decreasing the sugar and replacing it with corn starch so you are really going to have to just test it as you go.
Wawa
I doing for 3 layer 4 Inch cake how the portion will be
Sam
This should be enough to cover a 3 layer 4 inch cake. You may even have some left over. 🙂
Amanda Bennefield
This is by far the best icing I have ever made. The consistency and texture was perfect. It has such a nice, balanced flavor. This will be my go-to icing recipe. Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Amanda! 🙂
Scharell Anderson
Going to try it on a carrot Bundt cake! Should be yummy! And I agree with you, give me the bowl and a spoon‼️‼️‼️ Cinnamon rolls!!😋
Sam
I hope you love it! 🙂
Sherry Sandberg
Quick. Easy. Legit.
Alia
Hi sam! I don’t have the brick cream cheese frosting at home…if I use the spreadable one (as it is the only one at hand) would that change the recipe too much?
Sam
Hi Alia! Unfortunately the frosting probably won’t be as thick and will be tough to spread and keep on a cake or cupcake. 🙁
Dee
Is this enough for. A 9 inch cake or should I double the recipe
Sam
Hi Dee! It covers a 9″ cake perfectly 🙂
Terresa
Perfect on banana cake. Thanks!
Janice
I made the cake and frosting. Amazing!! Thank you😀
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Janice! Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Ashi
Thanks for the reply Sam ,can I add something to cut down on sweetness like lemon zest or juice. Also I want to frost 3 layer 9 inch red velvet cake should I double the measurement
Sam
You could add lemon zest if you’d like. I would be careful with lemon juice. It could start to thin the frosting while not changing the flavor too much. This is enough for a 2 layer 9 inch cake so you can just increase the recipe by 50%. 🙂
Ashi
Thanks a ton Sam