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.
Tiffany
Hi, I was wondering if I could add orange food coloring (gel) to this frosting without changing its consistency? At what point can I add in the coloring? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Tiffany! That will work just fine. You will want to stir it in briefly at the end. 🙂
DEBRA RIESS
I want to use neufchatel cream cheese – would I need to change anything else in the recipe for using this lower fat cream cheese?
Sam
Hi Debra! Generally I don’t recommend using lower-fat cream cheese. In my experience low-fat doesn’t work well, and you’re more likely to end up with a texture that’s not quite right and doesn’t set properly. If you do try it, let me know how it works out for you but I recommend full-fat cream cheese.
Elizabeth Bailey
I made this…in the middle of the night 🫣🤣🤣🤷🏼♀️ I accidentally used an entire stick of butter…didn’t realize til the end what I had done! I had no more powered sugar but I did have more cream cheese. So I just added another block and some more vanilla.
As scared as I was, it turned out really yummy!!
Can’t wait to make it right the next time 🤣🫣
Thank you so much for sharing this!!
Andrea H.
Will this cream cheese frosting stay fresh 1 to 2 weeks in the refrigerator like your buttercream frosting recipe?
Sam
Hi Andrea! I think it should stay fresh for at least a week, but I’ve never kept it longer than that.
Jane Hatch
Excellent
Amanda
Love that you make your just like my Grandma always did. Yet have you ever tried using the juice of half a lemon instead of the vanilla?? It gives it an awesome punch. I normally do it for Blueberry cakes but, the last carrot cake it did I made it with lemon. Everyone LOVED the zing that it added.
Sam
Hi Amanda! I love the sound of the lemon juice substituion, I’ll have to give it a try sometime. 🙂
emily
I made this frosting for my family they really liked it. When I was done making it, it came out kind of watery. I made sure I did the correct measurements but it still came out kind of watery. Is it suppose to be like that. Is there another way to make it thicker. Other than the watery part the frosty was delicious would definitely made the frosting with this recipe again!
Sam
Hi Emily! Did you use low fat or tub style cream cheese?
Nan Otero
Can you freeze the leftover frosting?
Sam
Yes that should be fine, enjoy!
Maris
Hi! Is there a way for me to make this without an electric mixer?
Sam
Hi Maris! If your cream cheese and butter are soft enough and you don’t mind a bit of an arm workout it would be possible, it’s just more difficult. Make sure to add your sugar gradually.
Amanda
Hey there Maris…. you can totally make this or any cake without using an electric mixer. Your poor arms may get a lil tired but, just mix your lil heart out.
Vanesa
Here in Spain I can not found cheese in brick-style, it’s sure that I can’t make with the other one?
Sam
Hi Vanesa! You run the risk of the frosting being a bit soft if it has extra ingredients that make it spreadable.
Erica
Does anyone know how many cups this makes? I tried to figure it out using the recipe, but I would think that the powdered sugar loses volume when mixed with the butter.
I also tried various ways to search the comments, but no bueno.
(Making a 6″ 4-layer bridal shower cake.)
Thanks much!
Sam
Hi Erica! I haven’t measured it out in cups. I would probably increase the recipe by 50% to make sure you have enough for all 4 layers. It’s better to have too much than not enough. 🙂
Erica
Thanks again! I went ahead and doubled it just in case — better too much than too little!
I’ll try to remember to reply re: how much I have left over.
Nina Morrison
Hi, Can cupcakes be left out after piping or do you recommend refrigerating? ~Nina
Sam
Hi Nina! With a cream cheese frosting, it is best to refrigerate. 🙂
Heather
Outstanding cream cheese frosting. I will never use another. It was delicious and dare I say, the closest thing to Cinnabon’s frosting. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Carol H.
This delicious frosting works well for family birthday cakes. They’re huge fans. Thank you for sharing, Sam.
Ashley
Tried this recipe and loved it! What would I need to do to make it a strawberry cream cheese frosting without totally messing it up?
Sam
Hi Ashley! I think the best way to do this would be to pulverize some freeze dried strawberries and add them in, maybe reducing the powdered sugar a little bit. 🙂