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.
Joana Serrão
Hi! I really would like to make this recipe but I can’t find powdered sugar where I live, can i use regular white sugar? If not, do you have any solution? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Joana! I wouldn’t recommend regular granulated sugar. You can make your own powdered sugar by blending cornstarch and granulated sugar in a food processor. 🙂
Laura
Hi Joana, yes you can use sugar but it just needs to be refined in the blender. I just tried this recently and it worked fantastically!
Carmen Miller
Hi Sam,
Can you freeze the cream cheese icing after applying it bt layers of a cake and crumb coating the cake with a buttercream icing? I would be freezing the whole cake, then place it in the fridge for 14 hours to thaw. Then apply the buttercream top coat and cover with fondant.
Sam
Hi Carmen! This frosting will work just fine here. 🙂
Mary
I absolutely am in love with this CC frosting recipe. I came across it when I googled how to stabilize cream cheese frosting as the one I originally obtained from the web would not allow me to use my pastry bag/tubes. Up came you recipe and saved the day! I can’t wait to make more chocolate cakes with this CC frosting!!!! PERFECTION!!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Mary! 🙂
Jewel
Hi Sam! I am making cupcakes for my friend’s party. Does cream cheese frosting go well with vanilla cupcakes? I am making a lot of cupcakes so can I make the frosting the night before and store it in the fridge? Do I bring it to room temp and re-whip before piping? Is it stable and will hold it’s shape if I pipe them early in the morning and the party is at 2pm? I am hoping for your reply. Thank you so much! 💕
Sam
Hi Jewel! I love cream cheese frosting with vanilla cupcakes. You can store it in the refrigerator overnight. It may not even need to be re-whipped. It is pretty stable and should hold its shape that long. Enjoy! 🙂
Jewel
Thank you very much, Sam! 🥰
Kadi Sisson
I made it! Thinking of making dad one too for Fathers Day. He’ll love it!
Sahsha
My cousin asked me to help him make red velvet cupcakes and i looked up cream cheese frosting to go with it. This was super easy to make and tasted freaking amazing ! Thanks for sharing
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Debby
Hey.. I really want to add mascarpone to this recipe as filling between red velvet cookies..I have been dying to make a filling for red velvet cookies with the mascarpone..I need it stiff enough to hold up in a gift basket..also how long would you think it could be kept in the fridge..?
Sam
Hi Debby! I think you could add some mascarpone and be fine. I’m not sure how much because I haven’t tried it. This frosting will hold up for about a week in the refrigerator. 🙂
Lynda
Can i freeze left over frosting?
Sam
Hi Lynda! I know others have with success. It may need to briefly be stirred upon thawing. 🙂
Becky
This recipe is amazing whilst cutting half or more of the powdered sugar out. Sugar disgusts my body so I use as little as needed to get it just sweet enough. I used Kite Hill brand’s almond milk cream cheese (dairy free) and the standard stick of butter (butter doesn’t bother me like milk does). I added orange oil to flavor it along with vanilla. I topped my delicious gluten free (almond, millet, tapioca, and sorghum flour mix) cake with the cream cheese frosting and it’s perfect for the adult (or kid) who doesn’t need or love ridiculously sweet treats. The frosting turned out very creamy and fluffy and stood well. I wondered how the almond milk cream cheese would do and it was a stunning performer! Kite Hill also makes dairy free butter so I’ll try that next.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Becky! 🙂
Michaela
I loved this recipe!!!! I didn’t add the full amount of powdered sugar, because I don’t like sweet things very much, And I substituted all the dairy products for the vegan editions, and it turned out amazing! I made a cake for mother’s day and the frosting was perfect. 10/10 would recommend.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Michaela! 🙂
Sara
can this frosting be used to pipe flowers (roses…)?
Sam
Hi Sara! It is similar in consistency to a typical buttercream, if that helps any.
Caylie Holman
How many batches of this frosting would I need for a three layer 8 inch cake?
Sam
About 1 and a half. 🙂
Lima
Hello, I want to try this recipe but I only have the cream cheese that comes in the tub not the brick kind. Can I still use it? Or do I have to add anything if I do use the tub cream cheese?
Sam
Unfortunately it probably won’t turn out as firm and pipe-able if you use the stuff in a tub. I’m not sure of anything that could be added to fix that. 🙁
Becky
I used tub kind and it was fine.
Jenna
Love this! Used it for a strawberry and blueberry cheesecake macaron filling and it turned out amazing! Just a little runny so I might add some cornstarch next time to see if it’ll help tighten it up – but it tastes delicious!!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jenna! 🙂
Siva
Hey Sam,I tried the frosting but it’s became Abit liquid (it seems like melted)consistency I cannot put in the piping.
Sam
Hmm did you use the brick style cream cheese? If so was it just room temperature or was it almost melty? Also over-mixing it can cause this issue as well. 🙁
Rachel
This is even delicious when made by replacing all of the dairy ingredients with Mikoyo’s vegan cream cheese and butter. Super tasty!
Sam
So glad to hear this, thank you for letting me know how it turned out with the substitutions, Rachel!