This is my family most favorite recipe for cream cheese frosting! It can be used with carrot cake red velvet cake and almost all other cakes or cupcakes you can think of. I have been using this cream cheese icing for quite some time now.
Jump to Recipe Print RecipeIf I had my way every cake and cupcake would be covered with a mountain of cream cheese frosting. Not buttercream rarely buttercream always and only cream cheese. For someone with a big sweet tooth it is surprising how many times I have turned down a slice of cake or a cupcake because the buttercream makes my teeth hurt. (Full disclosure: I have a buttercream recipe coming up on the blog next month and it is delicious but cream cheese frosting will always win my heart even over my favorite chocolate frosting.
When it comes to buttercream frostings they are often times too sweet but I could eat cream cheese frosting by itself. Like buttercream, this recipe is multi-purpose it can be made stiff, piped and colored above all it should taste good.
Best tips for Making Cream Cheese frosting:
• Use 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 prefer using unsalted butter and adding a dash of salt so I have complete control over the flavor of the frosting. Don’t add salt if you use salted butter.
• Let your cream cheese and butter thaw before making your icing!
• Softening the butter and cream cheese ensures that your ingredients will mix well and be lump-free.
• If you plan to pipe your frosting sift your powdered sugar before mixing it into your butter/cream cheese mixture. 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?
• Of course! Especially this particular recipe as it is quite dense. Now this frosting (as with most) can melt in hot weather but as seen in the photos it pipes nicely and holds its shape well.

How Do I Get My Cream Cheese Frosting Thicker?
What I love about this recipe is that it already makes a nice thick icing; however, you can add extra powdered sugar to make your cream cheese icing even thicker if necessary. Add about 2 tablespoons until it reaches the thickness you desire. Alternatively, you may use cornflour as described below.
Can Cornstarch be Added to Cream Cheese Frosting?
Yes! Even though this recipe does not require that addition, corn starch can be added if you need a really stiff frosting or want your frosting to get thicker without increasing its sweetness. For my carrot cake cookies, I use this trick all the time. Begin with one tablespoon at a time until the desired thickness is reached. Do not put more than three or four spoons.
Pairing Cream Cheese Frosting with Cakes and Cupcakes
While cream cheese frosting is perfect on anything (according to me), there are some cakes and cupcakes that go particularly well with it. On Wednesday, I’d like to share one of my favorite cupcakes with you – the very cupcakes shown in the pictures above.
Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Course: DessertCuisine: American20
servings10
minutes15
minutes146
kcalThe best Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe I love the most! It only needs 5 ingredients! This recipe is enough for a 2-layer cake that’s 7 or 8 inches wide, 20 cupcakes, or you can frost 10 cupcakes generously with it.
Ingredients
½ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter softened (113g)
9 oz cream cheese softened (brick-style, not spreadable) (220g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar* (400g)
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl combine butter and cream cheese together (you may also use an electric mixer), beat until light lump-free and smooth.
- Add vanilla extract and salt; stir until combined.
- Gradually add powdered sugar on low speed while beating them together.
- Use to frost completely cooled cake or cupcakes.
Notes
- This frosting is sturdy and easy to pipe, similar to buttercream. It’s great for decorating! Many cream cheese recipes use less sugar and are looser because of it; this icing is less sweet than buttercream, but if you want it even less sweet, you can use less sugar (at least two cups).
- If your frosting is too thick and sweet, it’s probably because you measured too much powdered sugar. Make sure to measure it like flour. If it’s too thick, you can thin it by adding a bit of heavy cream or milk until it’s the right consistency
Nutrition Facts
20 servings per container
- Amount Per ServingCalories146
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat
7g
11%
- Saturated Fat 4g 20%
- Trans Fat 1g
- Cholesterol 21mg 8%
- Sodium 56mg 3%
- Potassium 15mg 1%
- Total Carbohydrate
20g
7%
- Sugars 20g
- Protein 1g 2%
- Vitamin A 250%
- Calcium 11%
- Iron 1%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.