The Best Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
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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!
Can I add cocoa powder to make a chocolate cream cheese frosting? How much would you recommend if so? Thanks!
Hi Crystal! I actually have a chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe. 🙂
Love this recipe, thank you! I’m wanting to make some cupcakes a couple of days in advance, and wondering whether they can be stored in or out of the fridge? And if so, for how long? Thank you!
Hi Bonnie! If you are topping them with cream cheese frosting it’s best to store them in the refrigerator in an air tight container. 🙂
Delicious!
Is this cake (with frosting) freezable?
Also wondering if I can freeze the leftover frosting.
Hi Christine! This frosting will freeze just fine. I’m not sure what cake you are talking about though. 🙂
Can I add fresh raspberry puree to this frosting and use as a filling for cupcakes?
Hi Diane! Add it sparingly, adding too much will cause the frosting to split.
This is our go-to for every cake and cupcake in our home! Thank you thank you! Quick question, we need a huge batch of this (one 4 layer cake and 9 cupcakes), do you think it would be ok to just double it exactly? Would you recommend any measurement changes? Thank you!
Hi Molly! Yes, you can double this recipe and it will still turn out great. Just double every ingredient and you should be good. Enjoy! 🙂
Can you add flavouring? To make a cheesecake taste
You could use a different extract, or try topping it with lemon curd, caramel sauce, blueberry sauce, or strawberry sauce. Or just try one of our other cheesecakes: Oreo Cheesecake, Chocolate Cheesecake, Pumpkin Cheesecake!
Perfect thank you for commenting back so quickly will try tomorrow
Hi. Thanks for the post. I love your recipes, especially the creme brulle! Please help, I need to frost my sons red velvet Spiderman cake. It needs to be bright red. Could I add food colouring? Would you recommend a powder or gel colouring? Does it change the texture?
Hi Yuvika! Yes you can absolutely add food coloring. Personally I like to use gel coloring for the most vibrant color. It will not change the texture, though with red food coloring you often need to use a lot to get a bright color and I recommend taste-testing as you go as it may sometimes alter the taste a bit, unfortunately.
4 cups of powdered sugar….thats insane!
I have a recipe that calls for 2 cups and thats even too sweet.
1 cup to 8 oz of cream cheese is plenty
Hi Maia! I am glad that works for you, but I certainly would not recommend that as a frosting to anyone else. It will not pipe or frost a cake as well as the recipe I have here; my recipe is specifically and purposefully designed to be perfectly flavored and to have a consistency similar to buttercream. As written, it is ideal for coloring, piping, using under fondant, and decorating cakes and cupcakes. I hope that helps clear things up!
easy and tasty! i made it orange for hallowe’en brownies.
Sounds delicious! Happy Halloween, Penny 😊
Such an easy recipe to follow. The result is delish!
Hi Frances! We’re so happy to hear you liked this recipe. Thanks so much for commenting! Enjoy the frosting 😊
Beautiful frosting! I keep going back to this recipe and it never disappoints me….thank you for sharing.
We love hearing that, Tamara! Thanks so much for your kind words and five star review. Enjoy the frosting 😊
Wow….very niiice cream cheese frosting….I lub it!
We’re so happy you loved it! Enjoy ❤️
I made the frosting with 3 cups (375 g) of powdered sugar, and it can be piped into very nice rosettes. Because it is pretty soft this way, I wouldn’t want to try using it for anything really fancy, like roses, but it looks great and is just the right sweetness. Sam’s carrot cake cupcakes are the perfect vehicle for this frosting, too. I frosted 20 cupcakes with it, and still have enough left over for 4 or 5 more, using less than Sam did, so don’t be afraid of not having enough, even if you’re being very generous with it.
We’re so glad you liked this frosting, Bruce! We appreciate your review and five star rating. Enjoy 😊
How long before the cake will be eaten can I put the posting on please.
Hi Antoinette! You will just want to wait until your cake has cooled before you put the frosting on. Keep in mind this cream cheese frosting does need to be refrigerated. Enjoy 😊
I have the Carrot Cake Cupcakes in the oven now, and of course, I will be using this frosting. In reading it, I see that it is the same as the frosting I have used for years, so I know it’s great. I’m going to try it with 3 cups of sugar, and add just enough to make it able to be piped nicely, because it is very sweet.
Having equal amounts of butter and cream cheese separates this frosting from many other recipes, and makes this one better.
Absolutely incredible
Thank you so much, Jessica! Enjoy! 😊
Hi, can this be used as a filling? Like mixing in fruit or nuts to the frosting & using it to fill a layered cake?
Hi Ashley! Yes, you could use this or our stabilized whipped cream frosting would also be great. Enjoy! ❤️