Cream Cheese Frosting

How to make cream cheese frosting that is smooth, tangy, and very easy to make with simple ingredients. This is a sweet frosting compared to some traditional cream cheese frosting recipes, but not as sweet as most buttercream frostings. You can always adjust it to add more or less sugar depending on your preference.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 5

Total Time 15

Servings cups

Calories 92kcal

Author Elizabeth Marek

Equipment

1 electric hand mixer

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

16 ounces cream cheese (2 cups) softened and slightly warm
8 ounces unsalted butter (1 cup) softened and slightly warm
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or orange or lemon extract
½ teaspoon salt
36 ounces powdered sugar (8 cups) sifted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Warming the Ingredients

Cold does not like to mix with warm. So if you've got room temperature butter and cold cream cheese, you'll end up with a lumpy and separated mess.
Soften the cream cheese by cutting it into four cubes and microwaving it for about 15 seconds.
Soften the butter by leaving it out for a few hours or cutting it into cubes and microwaving it for 10 seconds. Softened butter should be soft enough that you can leave an imprint on the surface of the butter with your finger.

How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting

*THE SECRET TO MAKING SMOOTH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING* - Use an electric hand mixer or the whip attachment on your stand mixer, and mix on LOW speed.
Sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl and set it aside.
Add the softened butter to a large bowl and mix on low with an electric mixer until smooth and lump-free.
Next, add the softened cream cheese in small cubes and combine on low until smooth and completely homogenous.
Add in your powdered sugar one cup at a time. If you want to make your frosting thicker, add in an extra cup of powdered sugar.
Lastly, add in your extract and salt. A traditional vanilla flavor from vanilla extract goes well with cream cheese, but I love using orange extract or lemon extract for a unique taste.
This is enough frosting to frost and fill three 8″x2″ layers or 24 cupcakes. I used a piping bag with a 1M piping tip for these cupcakes.
Cakes with homemade cream cheese frosting must be refrigerated but can be left at room temperature for up to 4 hours without any risk.
Leftover frosting can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days or frozen for a month or more.

Video

Notes

Use high-quality cream cheese (full-fat) and the best butter. The better the cream cheese and the butter you use, the better tasting the cream cheese frosting will taste!
Cream cheese frosting cannot be used under fondant, because it will melt the sugar in the fondant.
This recipe will not crust, but if you're looking for a more stable frosting suitable for piping flowers or for use in stacked cakes, try my crusting cream cheese frosting recipe.
You can add ½ cup of cocoa powder to make this recipe chocolate.
You can tint cream cheese frosting using food color gels. Too many added liquids can break your frosting and make it too soft to use.

Nutrition