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.
Oakley
Amazing! Definitely recommend!
Laurie Lugenbeel
I halfed this reciepe and used it on cinnimon rolls. Fantastic!!! Loved it
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum! We love that combination, Laurie 😊 Enjoy!
Rebecca warden
Can you make a head and refrigerat or is it best to make before icing.
Sam
Hi Rebecca! You can make the frosting in advance. You will want to place plastic wrap on against the surface and refrigerate until ready to use. 🙂
Jenny
Best cream cheese frosting recipe I’ve had! 🏆
Von
I think your 4 cups converted to 500g might be off.
Sam
1 cup of powdered sugar = 125 grams, 500g is the measurement I personally use.
RMC
With my scale 1 cup = 75g, not 125g. I sifted the powdered sugar like I would flour (maybe why it is so light?) So what do I do for measurement, use the grams or the cups you specify?
Thank you
Sam
Sifting the powdered sugar could give you the difference you are experiencing here. You will want to follow the gram measurements that are listed here to get the proper consistency. You would also want to measure out any cup measurements for powdered sugar before sifting. The best way to do it is to scoop the powdered sugar into the cup, not packing it, until it overflows and then level it off. I hope that helps. 🙂
Sherri
Hi there, I made this icing last night but its runny. It does not hold it shape. Any idea on what I did wrong ?
Sam
Hi Sherri! Did you use non-fat cream cheese or the spreadable kind sold in tubs, by chance?
Sherri
Was not non-fat or spreadable. It was the brick kind but it was not name brand. I suppose that is why. I should be using higher grade for less water content.
Sam
It could certainly be the brand of cream cheese or it could just have needed a bit more powdered sugar. 🙂
Jan
Hi there,
If I am wanting to make this ahead for 3 days from now, will it be best in the fridge or freezer for 3 days? Does it freeze well?
Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Jan! This frosting lasts about 5-7 days in the fridge in an airtight container, so you will be fine to make it ahead. It does freeze well too though. Either way, you will want to bring it to room temperature and will most likely need to stir again before using. Hope that helps! 🙂
Robert grover
Just a question….how do I make the frosting thinner….I find when I make carrots cake it’s too thick to spread…thanks
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Robert! You could add a splash of cream or milk as needed, but honestly, our recipe shouldn’t give you any trouble with spreading. We hope you love it!
Shirley Donnelly Thomas
I tried the cream cheese frosting first time, turned out perfect,but I need some frosting skills,so it’ll look nicer, thanks alot for putting this on the site,we love it 💟
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much for trying our recipe, Shirley! We are so happy you loved the frosting ❤️
DamitaJo
My goodness!!! It was so easy and delicious! It was my first time trying a cream cheese frosting recipe and I made it! It made more frosting than I needed. It was light and not too sweet. The layered lemon cake did not last long. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Martha
Absolutely delicious, thank you for sharing, first time making this and it turned out better then expected, again thank you.
Jean Alverson
For those who only have salted butter one stick contains 1/4 tsp of salt so I’ve found that you can just skip the salt in this recipe!
Jenni
This is best I ever had. And so easy!
Pam
I doubled the butter, vanilla and cream cheese. I still added slowly, only the 4 cups of aereated powder sugar and it was perfect for my farkle night, strawberry cupcakes. I incorporated real strawberries into the Pillsbury batter and they’re wonderful. I plan on a small chill before the game. Thank you
Lisa
Can this be piped on cupcakes & then frozen?
Sam
Sure thing! 🙂
Brandy
Will this become hard in the fridge? I want to make it the day before I need it.
Sam
Hi Brandy! You can refrigerate it overnight. I would recommend placing a piece of plastic wrap on the surface to prevent it from crusting. You will want to let it warm up a bit at room temperature before attempting to use. 🙂
Sal
Would hand mixing it with a spatula work or should I use a hand mixer? (All I have on hand!)
Sam
Hi Sal! I would recommend the hand mixer. 🙂
Kasie
Do you beat/cream or whip ( use whisk attachment) the cream cheese?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Kasie! We recommend beating with the paddle attachment to avoid whipping too much air in to the frosting 🙂
Mary
Can this be used on a tiered cake?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yes! Enjoy 😊
Karen
I would love to make this frosting to top cupcakes for a bridal shower. How long can the cupcakes remain out of the frig? Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Karen! Since this frosting is made with cream cheese, we typically wouldn’t recommend leaving it out any longer than a few hours (maybe 4 max), but it also depends on the heat and humidity level where you are. We hope the cupcakes are a hit 😊
Nia
Hello! I want to use your recipe for a cake that I’ll be making, but there’s an issue I’m hoping you can help me with.
Where I live, I can buy only spreadable cream cheese (Philadelphia original, in a tub). So could you tell me what is the difference between the two? Perhaps you know how spreadable cream cheese will behave compared to brick-style one? Will it be worse that way?
Thank you in advance 🥰
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Nia! The spreadable cream cheese contains additives that help it spread, which means it will unfortunately make the frosting much more runny/soft than it should be. If you are making a sheet cake and just spreading this icing on top, it should be fine. But if you are trying to pipe it or use it for a layer cake, you will run into issues. Hope that helps!