The Best Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Great recipe!!! I used it in a chocolate cake with cherry filling, the rich chocolate compared to the sour cherry and sweet mild cream cheese frosting was just perfect!! The only downside was i added 2 cups of powdered sugar only. 4 cups was way too sweet but perfect recipe :)) (my family now requests this frosting every time I bake now loll)
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Sophie! 🙂
This is the absolute, 100%, most delicious cream cheese frosting EVER!! Thank you. Christine, Phalaborwa, South Africa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Christine! 🙂
How would I flavour this to use for multiple cakes just add a few drops of specific flavour to taste? Also the same to colour it?
Hi Angela! You could omit the vanilla and add whatever extracts you’d like. You will want to be careful as some extracts are much more potent than others so you may not need as much. To color it I would just stir it in briefly at the end. 🙂
I used a tea spoon of vanilla essence, the whole frosting feels like too much of vanilla vanilla, how can I correct it ?
Unfortunately unless you increase the whole recipe there isn’t a good way to fix it. Vanilla essence is stronger than vanilla extract. 🙁
Does this need to be refrigerated if I make the icing the night before and plan to frost in the morning?
Hi Nicole! It should be ok overnight, just make sure you cover it. 🙂
Hi, I had done a cream cheese frosting with whipped cream added to it instead of butter, but I m wondering how does butter added to cream cheese taste?
I guess butter will surely make it more firm.
Hi Ajita! The butter will make the frosting more rich and will definitely make it more firm and better for piping. 🙂
This is Delicious! And yes, the Best Cream Cheese Frosting recipe I’ve made in 40 years of Good Home Cooking. I used this on a German Chocolate Cake recently, I added a pinch of Cinnamon to both the cake mix and the frosting. It was Amazing, and Gone in two days between 3 people (Oink haha!). I was worried at first because I over-whipped it with my stand mixer, and it got runny soft! Then I remembered how meltable the ingredients are, so I put it, mixer bowl and all, in the freezer for about 10 minutes. When I briefly whipped it again I added 2 Tblsp. of cornstarch, then it whipped into a perfect firm consistency to generously frost a layer cake. My history with Cream Cheese Frosting limited me to making single layer sheet cakes because the frosting would ooze out of the sides of the layers, and create an ugly cake! Recipes I used in the past called for a bit of liquid like milk or cream. This recipe does not require any liquid. It sure makes a difference, OK well I’m off now to bake a Red Velvet Cake!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Sherileisa! The cinnamon addition sounds really tasty. 🙂
Hello !
Can I pipe frosting on cupcakes and put them overnight in refrigerator ? I need cupcakes early morning and I wanted to prepare them the day before.
Sure thing! I would make sure to put them in an air tight container so they don’t dry out. 🙂
i put these on my cinnamon rolls and it was so good !!!! <333 thank you so much for the greatest cream cheese frosting everybody loved it !!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Aleyla! 🙂
DELICIOUS!!!!!! I will NEVER go back!!!
Best cream cheese icing !!
Really awesome recipe! Not sure if it’s my heavy frosting hand but this didn’t quit frost a two layer 6” for me, so I had to rush to make another batch to finish my cake after the fact.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Alex! I love a lot of frosting on my cakes so I understand. 😉
Cream cheese is one of my favorite frostings, could you do a strawberry cream cheese frosting? I am going to make strawberry lemonade cupcakes and have been looking around for the perfect frosting 🙂
Hi Lily! I will add it to my list. Thank you for the suggestion. 🙂
This is the Best Cream Cheese Frosting Ever. Thanks for sharing:)
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Linda! 🙂
Hi sam in England i can not find block cream cheese i dont think we do it here is it possible to use full fat phili out of a tub as thats all we have here x
Hi Rachel! If it’s full fat cream cheese with no additives it should work just fine. 🙂
Could I sub fresh lemon juice for the vanilla if I wanted a lemon cream cheese frosting? If so, would I alter the amount?
Hi Rhonda! Lemon juice won’t give you too much flavor. You can use a lemon extract if you have it. You’ll need less because it’s more potent. You could also beat in some lemon zest to add a little flavor. 🙂
I used this frosting for my strawberry macaroons and it was absolutely amazing. I’m a teen baker who loves to try new flavors and this has to be my number one favorite 🙂 <3
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Mia! 🙂
This is awesome cream cheese frosting! I’m new to piping but this made it easy. It’s also delicious and made generous portions for 21 cupcakes. Two👍💖
Hi
Can I replace sugar with condensed milk?
Plz let me know.
Thanks 😊
Unfortunately I’m not sure that would work. 🙁