The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting

This is the BEST cream cheese frosting recipe. And it’s super easy to make as well. Creamy and delicious. Make it then use it to frost a carrot cake or red velvet cupcakes!

Cream cheese frosting is something that I think is a recipe every baker needs to have in their backpocket.

Because man oh man I can’t turn down anything frosted with cream cheese frosting. The balance between sweet and slightly tangy is just irrestible to me. But canned cream cheese frosting I think is just the worst. And some recipes I find are too wimpy to hold up to piping. Not cool in my book.

I want to give you a recipe that is not only delicious but sturdy enough to pipe onto a cake or cupcake. So that is what I have for you today. What I think is the best cream cheese frosting recipe plus all the tips and step by step photos so you can whip up a homemade cream cheese frosting whenever you need it.

And if you’re licking the beaters after. Well I’m sorry. Not sorry.

Ingredients Needed

• Butter – You want to use unsalted butter vs. salted butter and make sure it’s softened properly.
• Cream cheese – Full fat is best! And make sure it’s softened.
• Powdered Sugar – You can sift this but I usually skip this step.
• Vanilla extract– Pure is always best, since this isn’t baked the flavor will really stand out.
• Salt – I prefer kosher salt since it has a pure salt taste.

How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting

You want to start first by creaming together your softened butter and cream cheese.

Then add in your powdered sugar. Make sure to do this about a 1/2 cup at a time with the mixer off. Then mix on low until incorporated. Unless you love cleaning up powdered sugar in your kitchen everywhere…

Then add in your vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.

Recipe Tips

• Use softened butter and cream cheese. This is important. If either one is too cold they won’t incorporate and turn into a smooth frosting. You will end up with a lumpy cream cheese frosting. And if you need to soften your butter quickly I have 3 easy ways to do that for you. But basically you can leave them out on the counter for an hour or so until softened.
• Cream The Butter First. Then add in your cream cheese. Otherwise you may end up with a weird mouthfeel if you do this the other way around. A tip I picked up from The Kitchn.
• Scrape down the bowl as you go. Sometimes the butter and cream cheese will stick to the bottom of the bowl or beater and not be mixed in evenly. So stop and scrape the bowl down with a sturdy silicone spatula to ensure that everything is being mixed in.
• Use Full Fat Brick Style Cream Cheese. Sorry but now is not the time to save those calories.
• Use unsalted butter. Different brands of butter can use varying amounts of salt in their salted butter. So you want to control the amount of salt by adding it yourself.
• Sift If Piping Your Cream Cheese Frosting. I usually don’t have a problem with powdered sugar lumps. But if you want to be on the safe side, especially if you are going to use a piping bag with this frosting, you can sift your powdered sugar first. This will ensure no lumps get stuck in your piping bag. If you’re not a fan of sifting (and neither am I!) you can also just whisk your powdered sugar in a bowl before adding it to the frosting.

Runny Cream Cheese Frosting?

This can happen for a few reasons. 
1. Your butter may have been to warm. When you are softening your butter make sure there is no melted spots to it.
2. You mixed the cream cheese for too long before adding your powdered sugar causing the liquid in the cream cheese to dissolve some of the powdered sugar. If your cream cheese is softened you should only need to mix for a minute or so before adding the powdered sugar.
3. You used the wrong kind of cream cheese. Again make sure to use full fat cream cheese.
4. You added in more liquid. If you add in some lemon juice to make it a lemon cream cheese frosting that extra liquid could have contributed to your cream cheese icing becoming runny. It’s best to use lemon extract (a little goes a long way) or lemon zest.

To fix this: 
If your icing is runny you can try a few things:

• Add more powdered sugar. Add a few tablespoons at a time. This can cause the frosting to be a bit on the sweet side. So just a little at a time.
• Add cornstarch. Again a few tablespoons at a time and then mix again to see if it thickens up.

Recipe FAQ’s

What To Use This Cream Cheese Frosting On:

• Carrot Layer Cake
• Carrot Oatmeal Cookies
• Easy Carrot Sheet Cake
• Red Velvet Cupcakes
• Red Velvet Layer Cake

More Frosting Recipes

• Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
• Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
• Pumpkin cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
• Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread
• Cake Batter Buttercream Frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting

This is the BEST cream cheese frosting recipe! Smooth, sweet but slightly tangy, creamy and can be piped onto a cake or cupcakes. 

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 12 cupcakes (about 2 cups)

Calories: 254kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 oz. (227 grams)full fat cream cheese
• ▢ 8 tbsp. (113 grams, 1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
• ▢ 3 cups (375 grams) confectioners’ (powdered, icing) sugar sifted
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

• Cream the butter until smooth. Add in the cream cheese.
• Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. 
• Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. 
• Mix in the vanilla extract. Add in a pinch of salt.
• Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. (I used a large, unlabeled star tip to frost these cupcakes.)

Notes

Tips For Making Cream Cheese Frosting 

• Use softened butter and cream cheese. This is important. If either one is too cold they won’t incorporate and turn into a smooth frosting. You will end up with a lumpy cream cheese frosting. I used to recommend using cold cream cheese frosting so it could be piped. But no longer. I found that when I did that it was not smooth. Pipeable maybe. But not smooth. So soften both. Being able to pipe will come down to ratios of butter to cream cheese which this recipe has.  And if you need to soften your butter quickly I have 3 easy ways to do that for you. But basically you can leave them out on the counter for an hour or so until softened. 
• Cream The Butter First. Then add in your cream cheese. Otherwise you may end up with a weird mouthfeel if you do this the other way around. A tip I picked up from The Kitchn.
• Scrape down the bowl as you go. Sometimes the butter and cream cheese will stick to the bottom of the bowl or beater and not be mixed in evenly. So stop and scrape the bowl down with a sturdy silicone spatula to ensure that everything is being mixed in. 
• Use Full Fat Brick Style Cream Cheese. Sorry but now is not the time to save those calories. 
• Use unsalted butter. Different brands of butter can use varying amounts of salt in their salted butter. So you want to control the amount of salt by adding it yourself. 
• Sift If Piping Your Cream Cheese Frosting. I usually don’t have a problem with powdered sugar lumps. But if you want to be on the safe side, especially if you are going to use a piping bag with this frosting, you can sift your powdered sugar first. This will ensure no lumps get stuck in your piping bag. If you’re not a fan of sifting (and neither am I!) you can also just whisk your powdered sugar in a bowl before adding it to the frosting.
• Frost: This will easily frost a dozen cupcakes, a 2 8-inch layer cake or 9×13 cake. If you are frosting a larger cake (like a 9-inch layer cake) and if you plan on adding embellishments like rosettes then I recommend making a double batch. 
• Make Ahead: I make this up to 5-7 days in advance and store in the refrigerator. Or I will freeze the frosting for up to 3 months. Just simply thaw in your refrigerator overnight. 
• To thicken:  Add in 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Mix again. You can add more if you’d like but I recommend adding in a couple tablespoons at a time. Or add in a one tablespoon of cornstarch. (if you it thicker, but not sweeter) Start with one tablespoon and mix. Continue to add in one tablespoon at a time until your desired thickness.

Nutrition

Sodium: 87mg | Calcium: 21mg | Vitamin A: 500IU | Sugar: 30g | Potassium: 30mg | Cholesterol: 42mg | Calories: 254kcal | Trans Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Fat: 14g | Protein: 1g | Carbohydrates: 31g | Iron: 1mg

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