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.
Avery
BEST ever!! Never fails. Thank you for this!!!
auggie
hi! do you have any idea if this recipe would work with the addition of black cocoa powder and a small amount of black food dye?
Sam
I have personally used black cocoa without the food dye. You may need to reduce the powdered sugar a little bit. 🙂
Natalie
So yummy. Made it for cinnamon rolls. Twice. I halved the recipe and it turned out great.
Myrilee Collum
l made this for a sourdough applesauce 9×12 cake. I would probably cut the sugar by a cup. That said it is very delicious.
Donna Boyce
Yum! I wanted to keep down the sweetness, so I used only 3 cups of powder sugar. It was perfect! This recipe is a keeper.
Dianne
Is there a way that I could use salted butter for the cream cheese icing?
Sam
Sure thing! You will want to omit the salt. 🙂
Mandy
Yep! I used salted butter and left out the 1/4 tsp salt the recipe calls for. It ends up being the same difference because 1 stick of salted butter has approx. 1/4 tsp in it, so it was perfect with the salted butter!
Michelle
I’d like to make your Funfetti cake for my daughter’s 1st birthday party next weekend. I prefer cream cheese frosting over buttercream frosting and was wondering if you think the Funfetti cake would go well with this? Also, i’m thinking of adding the freeze dried strawberries to make it a strawberry cream cheese frosting. . . ??
Sam
Hi Michelle! That sounds like a wonderful combination! 🙂
ROZA
The frosting came out way too sugary and less cream cheesy. I would recommend cutting sugar in half, maybe even 1-1/2C. Maybe even less butter (1/3C ?)
Connor
This recipe is amazing! I made it for my daughter’s first birthday, it was a big hit.
Pam
Where can I buy block cream cheese as pictured rather than in the plastic tub ? Does it make that much difference?
Sam
Hi Pam! The tub typically has additives so I don’t recommend using it. 🙁
Monica
Hi Pam. Block cream cheese should be available at your local grocery store. Walmart, Kroger, Food City, Winn Dixie, Publix. Sams, Costco. Target to name a few… I think perhaps the word (block) may what’s confusing you. In the same area as the cottage cheese, yogurt, etc look for (I use) Philadelphia brand cream cheese and it’s always in a Greyson/silver cardboard like box. When opening it, it will be in a silvery foil like packaging. There in that same area there is also the cream cheese that comes in usually a plastic white container and you will see strawberry cream cheese amongst other flavors. Stay away from the cream cheese in the containers…. You want the one in the grey/silver box…. Hope that helps…. Good luck
Evelyn
I used 8oz cream cheese, 1 & 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1/3 cup of salted butter. No vanilla . This makes for a more tangy, less buttery, less sugary frosting.
Jessica Adams
My frosting turned out really runny…I’m wondering what I did wrong.?
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear that, Jessica! Did you use full fat non-spreadable cream cheese? Did you make any other alterations? Was your cream cheese too soft when you started? You can always try to add more powdered sugar to thicken it up. I hope this helps. 🙂
Jessica Adams
Yes unfortunately I didn’t use unsalted butter, I used salted margarine. So I am pretty sure that’s what the problem was. Thank you for commenting back!
Sam
Oh no! Unfortunately the margarine won’t work like the butter will. 🙁
Crys
if you over mix cream cheese it starts to break down so if you mix it too much it will get runny
Roya
Hello. I have a question. Whenever I make my own cream cheese frosting it never looks white because the vanilla turns it into a yellowish color. How do the professional bakeries (and you) get it to be white?
Sam
Hi Roya! This isn’t going to be pure white. The butter will tint the frosting a little bit, but if your vanilla is adding to much color you can use a clear vanilla extract. 🙂
Crys
you can add a very small amount of purple food color to offset the yellow from the butter. alternatively you can whip your butter on high for 8 to 10 minutes this will also make it whiter
Anna
Incredible frosting!! Easy to work with and delicious!!!
Melis
Recipe was tasty. I added less sugar, and a bit of fresh lemon juice, and used it as a delicious cream cheese dip to go along with blueberry filled perogies 😋
MB
I would like to flavor this icing with bourbon, maybe just a tablespoon or two. How can I maintain the texture and not sacrifice the pipeabilty?
Sam
I would probably stick with just a tablespoon and add it very gradually. Once you’ve added that tablespoon check it again to see if you can get away with adding more. 🙂
Krista
Does the cake have to be refrigerated after frosting, do you know?
Sam
Hi Krista! I’m personally comfortable leaving it at room temperature for up to 48 hours depending on the temperature where it will be stored. If it’s too warm I typically refrigerate it. 🙂
Sara
Do you know if this icing will work if make it the day before I plan to use it and store it in the refrigerator?
Sam
Hi Sara! Yes, but it will need to come to room temperature again in order to be spreadable/pipe-able the next day so just keep that in mind. How long this will take depends on your kitchen but it could take up to an hour or even longer.