Cream Cheese Frosting

At a glance

What stands out: A classic cake topper, cream cheese frosting is straightforward to mix and tastes so much better than canned frosting! Even the plainest cake is elevated by this foolproof frosting.

How long it takes: 10 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: electric mixer
Servings: makes 3 cups

Some of you have been making our chocolate cream cheese frosting and lemon cream cheese frosting for ages. We had sort of an aha! moment when we realized we didn’t have a plain cream cheese frosting recipe on our site. Whoops! So here it is and you’re going to love it.

You’ll find that cream cheese frosting is straightforward to mix. There’s nothing tricky about it. Pretty much anything goes and it will taste good. You can’t go wrong.

Memorable Cream Cheese Frosting

Only 5 ingredients. This is a classic whipped cream cheese frosting. The recipe is straightforward with no fancy ingredients, and no additives or preservatives. Once you’ve tried this frosting, we guarantee you’ll never buy canned frosting again.

Foolproof recipe. Our grandma, who was a fine baker, always used melted butter and stirred up her cream cheese frosting by hand. It wasn’t nearly as light and fluffy as this whipped frosting, but guess what? It tasted great on her from-scratch cake. Seriously, you cannot go wrong with cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar.

Makes a big batch of frosting. This recipe makes 3 cups, enough to frost a two layer cake. For a 9 x 13-inch cake, if you like a LOT of frosting, go ahead and make a whole batch. Sometimes, if we're feeling conservative and self-controlled (this rarely happens when it comes to frosting), we make a half batch of frosting for a 9 x 13-inch cake. It’s totally up to you.

Can be made ahead (refrigerate or freeze). Keep reading for helpful tips.

tia Said:

“This frosting is better than the local bakeries! LOVE IT!!!”

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What goes in

• Cream Cheese: Full-fat or reduced-fat cream cheese works best. Fat-free cream cheese isn’t recommended because it has a lot of added ingredients that aren’t found in regular cream cheese. Philadelphia is a popular brand but store brands work fine. The cream cheese should be softened (see tip below).
• Unsalted Butter: You’ll need a half stick of softened (room temperature) butter. We usually use unsalted butter. Some people add a pinch of salt to their frosting to balance the sweetness but we usually don’t. It’s up to you.
• Milk: Any kind of milk will do. Just a few drops are added to thin the frosting as needed.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds flavor to your frosting. Vanilla bean paste adds lovely little flecks to your frosting. Other flavoring extracts could be substituted. Grated nutmeg or ground cinnamon are good additions, too.
• Powdered Sugar: You may know it as “confectioner’s sugar.” Regular granulated sugar won’t work in this recipe because it affects the texture of the frosting and makes it feel grainy.

How To Soften Cream Cheese

Cream cheese, like all soft cheeses, should be stored in the refrigerator. However, most recipes call for softened cream cheese. One way to accomplish this is to leave it on the counter for a couple of hours.
If you forget to take your cream cheese out ahead of time to soften, unwrap the block of cream cheese and cut it into small chunks, spreading them apart on a plate. The small chunks will warm up and soften much more quickly than a big block of unwrapped cheese.

How it comes together

Use an electric mixer. You’ll need a mixer and a large bowl. The process is straightforward and it shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes to make reliable frosting.

Beat cream cheese and butter. Beat the softened cream cheese and butter until the mixture is creamy and well-blended. Sometimes we forget and throw everything into the bowl at once and that works, but for a standby texture, it’s best to beat the cream cheese and butter together first.

Add remaining ingredients. Measure the vanilla, milk, and powdered sugar into the bowl.

Beat the frosting. Blend the ingredients together and beat for another minute or so until the frosting is fluffy and light. It’s straightforward to adjust the consistency of cream cheese frosting. If your frosting seems too thin, beat in more powdered sugar. If your frosting is too thick, beat in a few more drops of milk.

That’s all it takes to make totally tasty from-scratch frosting!

What to put cream cheese frosting on

Cakes and cupcakes: Is there a better topping for carrot cake? We don’t think so. It’s wonderful on banana cake, chocolate cake, or apple spice cake. And don’t forget cupcakes! We always make cream cheese frosting for these cake-like pumpkin bars, too!

Cinnamon rolls: Try cream cheese frosting on cinnamon rolls. If necessary, thin the frosting just a little with milk.

Graham crackers: What doesn’t taste better with cream cheese frosting? Our kids love it on graham crackers (and so do we!). It’s so creamy, rich, and rich.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Store cream cheese frosting, whether it’s on a cake, cupcakes, or just plain, in the refrigerator. It will keep for three days. The frosting will harden slightly. If you prefer, take your frosted cake out of the refrigerator an hour before serving so it has a chance to come to room temperature.

Freeze: Store extra cream cheese frosting in resealable freezer bags, removing any extra air as you seal the bag. Label the freezer bag and use the frosting within a month. Defrost the frosting overnight in the freezer. Snip a corner from the bag and pipe the frosting right from the bag onto cupcakes or cake. If the frosting separates slightly, remove it from the bag and stir or beat the frosting until it’s creamy.

Make ahead idea: Make the frosting up to a day ahead and refrigerate. Take the frosting out of the refrigerator an hour before you want to use it so it comes to room temperature. It will soften slightly and be easier to spread. Give it a good stir before using.

• Yield: 12
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Total: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened (see note)
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar (more if needed)
• 1 teaspoon milk (more if needed)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste)

Method

1. In a large bowl, with electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy, about 1 minute.
2. Add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.
3. If frosting seems too thick, beat in additional milk, ½ teaspoon at a time. If frosting is too thin, add powdered sugar, ¼ cup at a time. If you plan on piping the frosting, you'll want to make it a little thicker.
4. Cakes or cupcakes should be completely cool before frosting. Spread on the cake using a offset spatula, or pipe it onto cupcakes using a pastry bag or ziptop bag with the corner snipped off.

Notes

Cream cheese: we usually use regular full fat cream cheese (8 ounce box) but reduced-fat will work. Avoid using fat-free cream cheese because it contains added ingredients like stabilizers, sugar, and preservatives.

Softening cream cheese: The easiest way to soften cream cheese is to leave it on the counter for a couple of hours. If you forget to take your cream cheese out ahead of time to soften, unwrap the block of cream cheese and cut it into small chunks, spreading them apart on a plate. The small chunks will warm up and soften much more quickly than a big block of unwrapped cheese.

Yield: Makes 3 cups, enough to frost a 2 layer cake. We often cut the recipe in half to frost a 9 x 13-inch cake but if you like a nice thick layer of frosting, make a whole batch.

Make ahead: Make the frosting up to a day ahead and refrigerate. Take the frosting out of the fridge an hour before you want to use it so it comes to room temperature. It will soften slightly and be easier to spread. Stir well before using.

Storage: Store leftover cream cheese frosting in the refrigerator for up to three days. Cakes frosted with cream cheese frosting should be refrigerated, too.

To freeze frosting: Freeze extra cream cheese frosting in resealable freezer bags, removing any extra air as you seal the bag. Label the freezer bag and use the frosting within a month. Defrost the frosting overnight in the refrigerator. Snip a corner from the bag and pipe the frosting right from the bag onto cupcakes or cake. If the frosting separates slightly, remove it from the bag and stir or beat the frosting until it’s creamy.