This homemade Cream Cheese Frosting is fluffy and pipes beautifully. We’re sharing our tips for a perfectly thick and whipped frosting. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is.
We love this frosting on cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. It’s especially good on Red Velvet Cake, Carrot Cake Cupcakes, and Pumpkin Cake. If you’ve been looking for that perfect and versatile frosting recipe, this is a must-try!
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Cream Cheese Frosting Video
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The Best Cream Cheese Frosting
Hands down, this is our favorite cream cheese icing. Here’s why this will become your go-to recipe:
- Texture – it’s thick enough to pipe onto a cake or cupcakes and isn’t runny like many cream cheese-based frostings tend to be.
- Sweetness – this has just the right amount of sugar and isn’t overly sweet.
- Flavor – the proportion of butter and cream cheese is balanced and it doesn’t taste too much like cream cheese. The vanilla and salt also add great flavor.
- Freezer-friendly – you can make it ahead and freeze or even pipe it onto cakes and cupcakes and freeze an entire dessert (see make-ahead instructions below)
Ingredients
The key to making great cream cheese frosting is in making sure your butter and cream cheese aren’t overly softened.
- Unsalted butter – use an inexpensive, light-colored butter for a lighter-colored frosting.
- Cream cheese – 8oz adds just enough cream cheese flavor and lightens up the frosting.
- Powdered sugar – sweetens up the frosting without being too sweet like many storebought frostings, but you can add more if you prefer.
- Vanilla extract – use a real extract or homemade vanilla for the best taste.
- Fine Sea Salt – a little goes a long way to balance the flavor.
The Best Cream Cheese for Frosting
Make sure to use full-fat, block-style cream cheese. Avoid cream cheese sold in a tub as those can make frosting runny and are intended to be used for spreads rather than frosting.
How long to soften butter and cream cheese? Keep at room temperature (70˚F room) for about 1 1/2 hours, or until you can indent the butter with your fingertip. It should feel cool to the touch and should not feel too soft or squishy.
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat butter with an electric hand mixer until smooth and creamy then beat on high speed for 1 minute until lightened in color.
- Beat in cream cheese pieces just until combined, scraping down the bowl.
- Add vanilla and salt and beat to combine.
- Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and mix at low speed until incorporated. Increase to high speed and beat another 2-3 minutes until whipped, thick and spreadable, scraping down the bowl a couple of times to ensure everything is really well blended.
Common Questions
Yes, since it has cream cheese and is dairy-based, it should be refrigerated. See instructions for refrigerating and freezing in the “Make-ahead” section below.
Add more powdered sugar if an even thicker frosting is desired.
Yes, it is a sturdy frosting and perfect for cookies. You can even use gel food coloring at the end to tint the frosting.
It can sit out at room temperature for 6 hours. In a warmer or more humid climate, refrigerate until ready to serve.
Yes, use a spatula to fold in a gel food coloring to the finished frosting to reach the desired color. Gel colors are less likely to thin your frosting.
We love it with butter because it is thicker and easier to pipe and decorate with. It also keeps really well in the refrigerator when using butter.
Use Cream Cheese Frosting for
We love to serve this recipe for cream cheese frosting on all kinds of desserts. These pair really well with the balanced sweetness of this frosting.
- Red Velvet Cake
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Strawberry Sponge Cake
- Sugar Cookies
- Fudgy Brownies
- Vanilla Cupcakes
I hope this becomes your go-to Cream Cheese Frosting recipe. The texture is impressive, it pipes beautifully, and best of all, it freezes and keeps really well.
Make-Ahead
- To Refrigerate: Cover frosting and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or until ready to use. To use, let sit at room temperature for about 1 hour or just until spreadable or pipeable. If you frost and refrigerate your cake, let it soften at room temperature for 1-2 hours before serving.
- Freezing: Transfer frosting to a freezer-safe zip bag and shape it into an even thickness in the bag. Freeze flat for 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then keep at room temperature for 30-60 minutes just until spreadable. You can pipe the frosting over cakes and cupcakes then just thaw the dessert in the fridge overnight before serving.
More Frosting Recipes
These frosting recipes every baker should have in their collection. You will use these again and again.
- Vanilla Buttercream – classic American buttercream
- Chocolate Buttercream – richly chocolatey
- Cupcake Frosting – light, airy and fluffy
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream – wedding cake worthy
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting – silky smooth
- Chocolate Ganache – perfect for glazing or frosting
- Homemade Whipped Cream – 3 ingredients
Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened and cut into pieces
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Place butter into a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth and creamy then beat on high speed 1 minute until lightened in color.
- Beat in softened cream cheese, just until combined, scraping down the bowl.
- Beat in vanilla and salt until incorporated.
- Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and mix on low speed until incorporated. Once all the powdered sugar is in, Increase to high speed and beat another 2-3 minutes until whipped, thick and spreadable, scraping down the bowl a couple of times to ensure everything is really well blended.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
This frosting is sickly sweet – I read that 4 cups of powdered sugar is 1lb… did I make a mistake?
Hi T! It’s 480 grams total which is equivalent to one pound. You can reduce the sugar to your preference but it can affect the texture and stability of the frosting when you pipe with it, it will be softer.
This is what I thought, too. These recipes based on cups measurements drive me nuts because normally, one cup equals 250 g, but there are so many different cups, so it’s really confusing. The metric system has no flaws 😁
Overall, all recipes are tasty, but on my end I always reduce the amount of sugar just because of this cup measurement.
Hi Cici! Depending on what ingredient you’re measuring, 1 cup may not equal 250g. For example- 1 cup of all purpose flour weighs 120g whereas 1 cup or powdered sugar weighs about 115g. Now if you weigh granulated white sugar- 1 cup weighs 200g. Their weigh is not the same, even though they make take up the same space in the cup. I hope that helps clarify. Most of my recipes have a “metric” button option, click on that and it will convert the ingredients for you.
I believe 1 cup of flour is 120g not 225g…? If not, I’ve been measuring wrong all along.
Hi Jody, you are correct – sorry that was our mistake. 1 cup of flour is 120 grams. I updated that response to show the correct measurements.
I don’t know if it is because I live in a hot climate but this frosting was not thick and fluffy. It was the consistency of cinnamon rolls icing. I used 4 cups of icing sugar and was afraid adding more would make the frosting sickly sweet.
I’m sorry you did not enjoy the recipe. This frosting is not as stable as buttercream frosting, since this uses cream cheese it is softer but it is still fluffy. Did you mix/beat it long enough to get fluffy? It can definitely have been the temperature where you live.
Should I use an electric hand mixer instead of my Kitchen Aid stand mixer? If I use the stand mixer I seem to get alot of air bubbles in the frosting. I slow it down but it doesn’t seem to whip up as nice.
Hi Peggy, we used an electric hand mixer for this recipe! That will work great here!
Would this frosting taste good with a 3 layer Funfetti cake? And would this frosting be enough for 3 9″ round pans?
Thank you.
Hi Ruth! Yes, this would pair well with Funfetti cake. This recipes makes enough to 24 cupcakes or 2-layer 9″ cake.
Thank you so much for your reply. Love all your recipes and your contagious energy. You are an amazing person. Thanks. Keep doing what you love because we all love what you do naturally.
You’re welcome, Ruth! Thank you for your love and support. It means a lot.
Add marscarpone to your recipe and take it to yet another level.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Lee!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes! I plan to make your carrot cake with this frosting for Easter this weekend and was wondering – can this frosting can be used to create mini carrot decorations? I am totally new to cake decorating and wondering if there is a difference between icing that is used to spread on a cake and icing for mini decorations. Thanks again!!
Hi Rosie! Yes, you can. I hope you love the recipe! 🙂
I love your recipes and the comedic elements you add to your videos. Also the ease in most of your recipes. Where do you get the information to create your Nutritional Label?
Thanks, Karey. When I need a quick answer, I have used the Caloriecount website (their recipe analyzer is free).
Made carrot muffins. Lots of icing left. Can I freeze leftover icing
Hi Colette! You sure can. See my “make-ahead” instructions, above. 🙂
Hello Natasha, can I make this recipe with half the sugar? I always cringe when I see 4 cups of icing sugar to 8 ounces of cream cheese. It just seems like too much.
By the way, I adore you.
Hi Chelayne! You could decrease the sugar if you’d like but it can affect the texture and how the frosting spreads. I hope you love this recipe! 🙂
I used half sugar and half powdered swerve and I saw no difference in taste or texture. I have made it both ways.
Hi Natasha. How do I adjust the recipe for a 3 layer ‘8’ carrot cake pls. Will this amount of frosting be enough?
Hi Charlene! I don’t have the exact measurements. I have not been able to test it with all cake sizes. This frosting recipe is enough for 24 cupcakes or a 2-layer 9″ cake. You may need a little more for a 3 layer cake.
If i want to make ahead of time.when is the best time to add color to frosting
Hi Ramya! You could add color toward the end, right before it’s done then mix until well incorporated and even in color. Gel or powder food color is recommended.
These cookies are amazing. The texture is so light. Thank you so much for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Stephanie! So glad you loved it. Thank you for sharing.
First of all, I love your recipes, you make it look so easy and they are easy to follow👍🏼 I love this cream cheese recipe but I made it a couple of days ago and stored it in the fridge. Today I took it out, let it sit in room temp and then colored it with gel Food coloring. But as I was mixing in the coloring, I noticed the frosting looking grainy……can you help me with that??? I was still able to frost my 6” round, but for next time, how can this be fixed? Thank you!
Hi Melissa, I haven’t had that experience & it’s hard to say without being there, but is it possible your salt was the course? Or any other ingredients substituted?
Hi Natasha. I baked your red velvet cake for one occasion and now ive been asked to make 10 red velvet cakes for one wedding in Dec. Is there a recipe i can use for this amount without changing anything with original recipe?
Hi Sally, I have a Red Velvet Cake Recipe HERE that I hope you try and love. This recipe is for one cake, and I don’t have a specific cake that makes ten cakes, but you’re welcome to use that as a guide.
I just made this frosting 10/23/22. Oooh my gosh it is so good. I used a carrot cake recipe . However tried your frosting because everything I have baked from your recipes are just plain awesome. Thank you Natasha
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes, thanks a lot for sharing!
Going to make your cookies with this cream cheese frosting, and add different colored sugars on top to make it festive.
We are near Halloween, so I’ll be using the orange sprinkles or sugar. Thank you for all of our wonderful recipes!! Joyce
Sounds yummy! I hope you love this recipe! 🙂
Hi, Natasha
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I will be making this frosting on top of your vanilla cupcake for my son’s birthday party. I wanna color the frosting to make it look more appealing to the kids, but I don’t have gel coloring, just liquid coloring. what should I do if the frosting turns thin ? How can I save it ?
Hi Jeanie, I usually use gel frosting to not thin the frosting. I have not tested it with liquid coloring to advise on how to make that work.
Add more confectioner’s sugar until it is the consistency that you want.
Do you think powdered sugars lend a different flavor to cream cheese frosting? I prefer C&H brand powdered sugar.
Hi Lori, possibly but hard to tell because I normally use the C&H brand.
Hi Natasha,
how long can the cream stay in room temperature?I hope my cream doesn’t melt.
Hi Kaely! This is ok to leave out for 1-2hrs at room temperature but should be refrigerated if longer than that.
Hi Natasha, thank you for your recipe. This was the first time I was able to make cream cheese frosting that I could use for piping. I was able to apply to my carrot cake. Thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!