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    Home » Frosting

    The Best Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

    February 26, 2018 By Sam 2,975 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Cream Cheese Frosting

    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!

    Cream cheese frosting piped on top of a cupcake

    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.

    The 5 ingredients needed to make cream cheese frosting -- powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, salt

    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.

    A bowl of cream cheese icing

    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.

    Cream Cheese Frosting in a pastry bag

    Cream cheese frosting on a cupcake

    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 on a cupcake

    Cream Cheese Frosting

    This is my all time FAVORITE Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe!  Just 5 ingredients!
    This recipe will cover either one 2-layer 8" or 9" cake, 24 cupcakes, or generously frost (as much frosting as in the photos) 12 cupcakes.
    Please see note regarding thickness
    4.97 from 1704 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert, Cupcakes
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Servings: 24 cupcakes or 1 8" or 9" 2-layer cake
    Calories: 146kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    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)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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

    As mentioned in the post, this is a sturdy and pipe-able frosting that will hold its shape and is comparable to buttercream in texture. It's wonderful for decorating! Many cream cheese recipes use less sugar and are far looser because of it; this icing as-written is less sweet than buttercream, but if you want an even less sweet frosting you can use less sugar and just add to taste (you'll need at least two cups). 
    Frosting that is too thick and too sweet is often caused by accidentally over-measuring the powdered sugar, it should be weighed or measured the same way that flour is measured. If you accidentally make your frosting too thick, you can thin it by adding a splash of heavy cream or milk at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
    *If you plan to pipe the frosting with a small tip, I recommend sifting the powdered sugar (after measuring).
    The cupcakes in these photos were frosted using an Ateco 848 tip.
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1/24 batch | Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 15mg | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

    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.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Donna Boyce

      March 17, 2024 at 7:58 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
    2. Michelle

      March 17, 2024 at 3:50 pm

      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. . . ??

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 18, 2024 at 12:37 pm

        Hi Michelle! That sounds like a wonderful combination! 🙂

        Reply
    3. ROZA

      March 15, 2024 at 7:43 pm

      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 ?)

      Reply
    4. Connor

      March 15, 2024 at 2:30 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is amazing! I made it for my daughter’s first birthday, it was a big hit.

      Reply
    5. Pam

      March 13, 2024 at 3:10 am

      Where can I buy block cream cheese as pictured rather than in the plastic tub ? Does it make that much difference?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 14, 2024 at 9:02 pm

        Hi Pam! The tub typically has additives so I don’t recommend using it. 🙁

        Reply
    6. Evelyn

      March 11, 2024 at 11:26 pm

      4 stars
      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.

      Reply
    7. Jessica Adams

      March 10, 2024 at 5:57 pm

      My frosting turned out really runny…I’m wondering what I did wrong.?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 10, 2024 at 8:46 pm

        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. 🙂

        Reply
      • Jessica Adams

        March 10, 2024 at 9:42 pm

        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!

        Reply
        • Sam

          March 11, 2024 at 10:09 am

          Oh no! Unfortunately the margarine won’t work like the butter will. 🙁

      • Crys

        March 17, 2024 at 2:12 pm

        if you over mix cream cheese it starts to break down so if you mix it too much it will get runny

        Reply
    8. Roya

      March 08, 2024 at 9:54 pm

      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?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 11, 2024 at 11:38 am

        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. 🙂

        Reply
      • Crys

        March 17, 2024 at 2:14 pm

        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

        Reply
    9. Anna

      March 08, 2024 at 3:31 pm

      5 stars
      Incredible frosting!! Easy to work with and delicious!!!

      Reply
    10. Melis

      March 05, 2024 at 9:10 pm

      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 😋

      Reply
    11. MB

      March 02, 2024 at 10:48 pm

      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?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 03, 2024 at 8:33 pm

        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. 🙂

        Reply
        • Krista

          March 10, 2024 at 5:29 pm

          Does the cake have to be refrigerated after frosting, do you know?

        • Sam

          March 11, 2024 at 10:18 am

          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. 🙂

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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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