Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
This cream cheese frosting is rich, velvety, and perfectly pipe-able for decorating cakes or cupcakes with ease. The balance of sweetness and tang makes it truly irresistible.
Whether you’re dressing up a birthday cake or swirling generous peaks onto cupcakes, this cream cheese frosting delivers bakery-level results with only five simple ingredients.
The Creamy Core: Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting
- Unsalted butter – Provides a creamy base and richness that helps the frosting whip up to the perfect texture.
- Brick-style cream cheese – Essential for that signature tangy flavor and dense, spreadable consistency. Avoid tub-style cream cheese, which is too soft.
- Vanilla extract – Adds warmth and depth, balancing the tanginess of the cream cheese with sweet aroma.
- Salt – Just a touch sharpens all the flavors and enhances the frosting’s complexity.
- Powdered sugar – Sweetens and thickens the frosting; also makes it stable enough to pipe and hold its shape beautifully.
Whip It Good: How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
Start by beating the butter and cream cheese until silky smooth—no lumps allowed. Stir in the vanilla and salt until fully blended. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar on low speed, scraping the bowl as needed. When it’s fluffy and holds soft peaks, it’s ready to swirl, pipe, or spread.
Tips, Tricks & Sweet Tweaks
For the smoothest, most pipe-able cream cheese frosting, ensure both the butter and cream cheese are fully softened before you start. If your frosting ends up thicker than you’d like, add a splash of milk or heavy cream until you hit the right consistency. For piping with a fine tip, sift the powdered sugar to avoid clogging. Prefer a less sweet version? Start with two cups of sugar and add to taste—this frosting is flexible that way.
This frosting is slightly less sweet than buttercream but still holds up to piping and decorative work just as well. Its flavor pairs beautifully with red velvet, carrot cake, banana cake, or even chocolate cupcakes.
Save That Frosting: Storage Tips You’ll Love
Store any leftover cream cheese frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature and give it a quick whip before using again. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month—just thaw in the fridge overnight and beat again to restore its texture.
Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups powdered sugar 500g
- 8 oz cream cheese softened (brick-style only) (226g)
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the cream cheese and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer or use a handheld electric mixer. Beat together until the mixture is silky smooth and thoroughly combined, with no visible lumps.
- Incorporate the vanilla extract and salt, ensuring the mixture is evenly blended.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar while mixing on a low setting, allowing each addition to integrate fully before adding more. Continue until the frosting achieves a smooth and cohesive consistency.
- Apply the finished frosting to fully cooled cakes or cupcakes as desired.
Notes
To avoid an overly thick and saccharine frosting, ensure powdered sugar is measured accurately, ideally by weight. If the consistency turns out too dense, incorporate a small amount of heavy cream or milk incrementally until the desired texture is achieved.
For best results when using fine piping tips, sift the powdered sugar after measuring. The cupcakes pictured were frosted with an Ateco 848 piping tip.
