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.
Revona
Hi
I would like the use this icing for a Ben Ten cake for my son and need it to be green.
Is it ok to add colouring to this?
Sam
Absolutely! I color this cream cheese frosting and use it for decorating all the time 🙂
Toni
Can this frosting be frozen?
Sam
Hi Toni! You shouldn’t have any issues freezing this frosting. 🙂
Janice A Speck
If I wanted a strawberry cream cheese frosting could I add strawberry flavoring, then would I not add the vanilla?
Sam
Yes you could add the strawberry flavoring and it would be fine to leave out the vanilla. If you still want some vanilla flavor, I would just reduce the amount that the recipe calls for.
Nancy Mach
Excellent frosting, just like my moms and grandmothers, what fabulous memories
Thank You
Shannon Harvey
I have never posted a comment on a recipe site before but this frosting was so fabulous, I felt compelled. I didn’t think any cream cheese frosting recipe could really stand out, but this one really does. The only danger is eating too much to be able to frost your cake! ha ha It is gorgeous, DELICIOUS as is and so wonderful to add flavoring to. It was so good, I hesitated doing so 🙂 but did go ahead and make a lavender blueberry frosting for my parents’ 57th anniversary tiered cake. Everyone raved! By the way, I would recommend sifting the flour to be on the safe side. Nothing to do with the recipe per se, but sometimes powdered sugar can be lumpy and I can’t think of anything worse for a gorgeous frosting like this. Thank you Sam!
Sam
Thank you so much for the comment, Shannon! I am so glad you enjoyed the frosting so much. Lavender blueberry frosting sounds delightful. 🙂
Kim
If I add a reduced strawberry purée, will it be too thin? Would love it to look like your picture!
Sam
Hi Kim! I haven’t tried it so it’s too hard to say for sure. I would imagine that the amount you would need to add to make it taste like strawberry would probably make it too thin, unfortunately.
Kim
Thank you!
Nancy
Add Merengue powder
Rob L
You can Use Freeze dried strawberries ground into a powder with a food processor.
Angel
Made half a batter with a little bit of milk to thin it and make cake pops. Works wonderfully and tastes great! Thanks for the recipe!
Sam
You’re very welcome, I’m so happy to hear it was such a success!! 🙂
Beverley Clarke
I used the store brand cream cheese with this recipe could not get it to thicken. Any tips
Sam
Was it a low fat cream cheese? I’ve used generic cream cheese in the past without issue so that shouldn’t be the problem unless it was a reduced fat version.
Nita
Sam I am making my daughters graduation cake and she loves cream cheese icing. Can this re iOS be used for writing on the side of a cake. Thanks
Sam
This frosting can be used for writing on the side of a cake 🙂
Barb Montag
Can I make this 2 days in advance to frost day if event for freshness?
Sam
Yup! Store in the fridge in an airtight container then you’ll need to let it sit out for about 30 minutes or so and stir it again before frosting so it warms up to a spreadable consistency. Enjoy!
Lisa J Kidd
I just made your recipe exactly as instructed. I tasted it and was instantly transported back to childhood. I’ve been using canned icing for so many years I’d forgotten how amazing homemade cream cheese icing is. I’ll never go back to canned. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the frosting, Lisa! I always prefer homemade. It’s worth the extra work if you ask me. 🙂
Alesha
Hi! This is a plain cream cheese frosting recipe; do you have any ideas of how a person could easily do variations based on this?
Sam
Depends on what kind of variation you are looking to do, here is my chocolate cream cheese frosting and I did a lemon cream cheese frosting on my lemon cupcakes, if that helps 🙂
Rosie Soward
Super tasty and moist carrot cake recipe! Absolutely a hit for
Father’s Day! Cream cheese frosting was the best consistency of any
recipe I’ve tried. Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the cake and the frosting, Rosie! 🙂
Vijaya
Can the frosting be used for an ice-cream cake
Sam
Hi Vijaya! I haven’t tried it, my only concern would be the thickness; often ice cream cakes are covered in a whipped cream frosting which can be easily spread without relying much on the friction from the ice cream cake for it to adhere. This frosting is a bit thicker and I’m not sure how well it would do adhering to the cake. Would love to hear how it works out for you!
Jacki
Hi!
To help thicken, would I add the cornstarch with the icing sugar, or after it’s been all mixed? Looking to pipe a bunch of small swirls.
Thanks!
Sam
I usually add it as needed at the very end. You could also add more icing sugar (which will make it sweeter). I hope that helps!
Sam
This is a fairly thick cream cheese frosting even without added cornstarch, though, and I often decorate/pipe swirls without adding anything else. The piping done on the cupcakes in these photos is without any addition to the recipe as written 🙂
Jacki
Awesome! Thanks very much! Going to make now. 😋
Sara
Hi,
I live in the UK and the cream cheese we have is only the spreadable kind so I am thinking to try the cornstarch idea, how do I go about that? Also can I sub the Philadelphia cream cheese with mascarpone for example? Thanks
Kayla Berkheimer
Could you add a tablespoon or 2 of meringue powder to help in hot weather?
Sam
Honestly I’m not sure. Sometimes I thicken it with cornstarch to help with the heat but it’s hard to add enough to truly keep it from melting without compromising the taste. The meringue powder is an interesting idea and if that works for you I’d love to know!
Nancy
1 Tablespoon of Merengue powder for this recipe.
Susan L Floyd
I made this frosting for your carrot cake. I’m using it tomorrow but frosting it tonight. Can I leave it out on the counter or does it need to go in the refrigerator ?once I put it on the cake pedestal and frost it I don’t see a way to cover it in an airtight container.
Sam
Hi Susan! The cake should be ok if left out overnight. The frosting may crust a little bit much like a buttercream would do. I hope everyone loves the cake. 🙂
Susan L Floyd
Thanks! I baked it in two 9 inch pans for 30 minutes. The toothpick came out with just a couple crumbs on it. But the cakes are a little sticky on top in the center area. Do you think it is done?
Sam
Sounds like it to me 🙂
Susan
The cake was perfectly done and moist. Everyone loved it! My husband said it’s the best carrot cake he’s ever had. Thank you for the recipe.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you for letting me know how it turned out for you, Susan! 🙂