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

This is my all time FAVORITE Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe! Just 5 ingredients!

This recipe will cover either one 2-layer 8" or 9" cake, 24 cupcakes, or generously frost (as much frosting as in the photos) 12 cupcakes.

Please see note regarding thickness

4.95 from 1892 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert, Cupcakes

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10

Total Time: 10

Servings: 24 cupcakes or 1 8" or 9" 2-layer cake

Calories: 146kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

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

As mentioned in the post, this is a sturdy and pipe-able frosting that will hold its shape and is comparable to buttercream in texture. It's wonderful for decorating! Many cream cheese recipes use less sugar and are far looser because of it; this icing as-written is less sweet than buttercream, but if you want an even less sweet frosting you can use less sugar and just add to taste (you'll need at least two cups).

Frosting that is too thick and too sweet is often caused by accidentally over-measuring the powdered sugar, it should be weighed or measured the same way that flour is measured. If you accidentally make your frosting too thick, you can thin it by adding a splash of heavy cream or milk at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

*If you plan to pipe the frosting with a small tip, I recommend sifting the powdered sugar (after measuring).

The cupcakes in these photos were frosted using an Ateco 848 tip.

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.

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

Comments

Marty Promesberger

March 05, 2019 at 1:55 am

I want to try this soonest. Is this enough to liberally frost a 9″ layer cake or should I increase by 1/2?

- Sam
  
  March 05, 2019 at 2:00 pm
  
  Hi Marty! It makes enough to cover a 2 layer 9 inch cake. 🙂
  
  - Marty promesberger
    
    March 05, 2019 at 2:07 pm
    
    Thanks so much for your reply.
Ivonne

March 05, 2019 at 1:21 am

Hello Sam, do you know if I can use sugar substitute to make it?

- Sam
  
  March 05, 2019 at 10:52 pm
  
  Hi Ivonne! I have never tried it, so I am not sure. It would have to be a powder consistency for it to work. 🙂
  
  - Ivonne
    
    March 05, 2019 at 11:32 pm
    
    Thank you for your answer! I might make it with it for the weekend and will let you know how it went! Have a great evening!
Krista Cavalieri

March 03, 2019 at 9:02 pm

So so good! I love how subtlety sweet this is! It worked great with the cake I made. Tonight I also found that it is damned delicious on chocolate ice cream. I felt like I had been transported somewhere other than my bed, it was that good. I can’t wait to eat it tomorrow!

- Sam
  
  March 04, 2019 at 10:23 am
  
  I am so glad you enjoyed it, Krista! I have never tried it on ice cream, but I bet it would be fantastic! Thanks for the idea. 🙂
  
Jennifer

March 02, 2019 at 9:39 am

Thanks for the recipe! How can I make it whiter for a white cake?

- Sam
  
  March 02, 2019 at 9:31 pm
  
  Hi Jennifer! You can use clear vanilla extract to help a little bit. 🙂
  
  - Mary
    
    March 05, 2019 at 9:50 pm
    
    Use white gel food coloring.
Heather

February 27, 2019 at 9:46 pm

would this go well on angel food cake?

- Sam
  
  February 28, 2019 at 2:15 pm
  
  Hi Heather! In my opinion, angel food cake does not need a frosting, but I don’t see why it would be bad. This particular frosting isn’t as sweet as a buttercream, but it still may be too much for someone. I’d love to know if you try it. 🙂
  
Anne Marie

February 26, 2019 at 6:44 am

How does it hold up in warm temps?

- Sam
  
  February 26, 2019 at 4:54 pm
  
  Hi Anne Marie! It holds up much like a buttercream will. When you start reaching temps probably around 80 degrees F it will start to melt. 🙂
  
Jane

February 26, 2019 at 4:34 am

Can i use this for my red velvet crinkles?

- Sam
  
  February 26, 2019 at 4:55 pm
  
  Hi Jane! Typically crinkle cookies aren’t topped with a frosting, but it should work just fine. 🙂
  
Amy Seiber

February 23, 2019 at 12:37 pm

Excellent frosting!

- Sam
  
  February 23, 2019 at 10:07 pm
  
  Thank you so much, Amy! 🙂
  
Angela

February 23, 2019 at 12:31 pm

This recipe was really easy to make and very tasty. I used Almond extract for almond poppyseed muffins

- Sam
  
  February 23, 2019 at 10:09 pm
  
  I am so glad you enjoyed the frosting Angela! 🙂
  
Christine

February 22, 2019 at 8:53 pm

Love the tips regarding cornstarch!
Will this recipe still work if I just use cream cheese and honey – then add cornstarch to pipe thick as per your image?

- Sam
  
  February 23, 2019 at 10:33 pm
  
  Hi, Christine! I think it would be too soft if you did that, but I haven’t tried it so I don’t know for sure.
  
cameron

February 22, 2019 at 7:14 pm

can you use margarine instead of butter?

- Sam
  
  February 23, 2019 at 10:29 pm
  
  Hi Cameron! It might make the frosting too soft.
  
Noemi

February 20, 2019 at 10:57 pm

Can I add color to the frosting?

- Sam
  
  February 21, 2019 at 11:00 am
  
  Hi Noemi! You can add color to this frosting without an issue. 🙂
  
Yoli

February 18, 2019 at 5:48 pm

I’m new to the whole baking world. So this might be a silly question, can I use this recipe to ice a cake?

- Sam
  
  February 18, 2019 at 10:25 pm
  
  Hi Yoli! There are no silly questions here! 🙂 This works great on cakes, it makes enough to cover a 2-layer 8 or 9 inch cake. I hope you love the frosting! 🙂
  
  - Monica
    
    February 26, 2019 at 3:02 pm
    
    I made a 2-layer 9” cake and laid this stuff on _thick._ It was a huge hit. I’m never buying premade frosting again!
  - Sam
    
    February 26, 2019 at 4:49 pm
    
    Homemade is always better! 🙂 I am so glad you enjoyed it!
sofia

February 18, 2019 at 2:43 am

so nice …….

- Sam
  
  February 18, 2019 at 10:39 pm
  
  Thank you so much, Sofia! 🙂
  
Joy

February 16, 2019 at 8:09 pm

Perfect for piping on the cupcakes. Now to find the perfect yellow, carrot and chocolate recipe.

- Sam
  
  February 17, 2019 at 9:39 pm
  
  I am so glad you enjoyed the frosting Joy! 🙂

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