The Best Cream Cheese Frosting
Sweet and creamy and delicious, our The Best Cream Cheese Frosting recipe never disappoints and is super easy to make. Always a crowd-favorite frosting!
Every home baker needs a great Buttercream Frosting recipe and a great Cream Cheese Frosting recipe and Two Sisters has you covered on both counts. Our The Best Cream Cheese Frosting recipe is sweet and creamy with just the right amount of tang from the cream cheese. And wow, does it make cookies, cakes, and cupcakes taste great! And don’t worry, it is super easy to make too. Your friends and family will beg you to make this frosting again and again!
How-to Video:
How to Make
Step 1: Add the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl. The butter and the cream cheese should be “slightly softened” which means it is still cold but has been out of the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
Step 2: Mix the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together on medium speed until thoroughly combined (about 2 minutes.) You want to fully cream the ingredients together so their flavors meld together. Use a spatula to scrape the mixture down from the sides of the bowl before moving on to the next step.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, use a food scale to measure 1 Pound of Powdered Sugar. If you don’t have a food scale, measure 4 cups instead. We normally do not sift the powdered sugar and instead rely on the mixer to do that work for us.
Step 4: Add the Powdered Sugar into the mixing bowl.
Step 5: Two Sisters Tip – cover the mixer with a towel during this part of the mixing process to keep the powdered sugar from flying out of the mixer.
Step 6: Start your mixer (or electric beater) on the lowest setting and keep it on low until the cream cheese/butter and sugar are incorporated (about 30 seconds). Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and then increase the speed to medium-high and mix for another 30-45 seconds so the frosting gets light and fluffy.
Step 7: This is the fun part of the frosting-making process where you get to taste your icing. You are tasting to determine taste (does it need more vanilla?) and consistency (is it too thin or too thick?) (Two Sisters note about cream cheese frosting. It is a thin frosting. It will never be a frosting that is pipeable or will crust up like buttercream. That being said, as you can see in our pictures, you can do a swirl.) The first thing you should do before using the frosting is put it in the refrigerator for an hour or so, that will help the butter and cream cheese firm up. Another thing to try if the frosting is too thin is to add EITHER 1/2 cup of powdered sugar or 1 tablespoon of corn starch. Mix again and see if the consistency is better.
Step 8: How much frosting will you need? That always depends on how thick or thin you apply the frosting or how much decorating you do but here are a couple of guidelines. Our recipe should make enough Cream Cheese Icing to cover a 9″ x 13″ sheet cake or a two-layer 8″ cake. If you are making cupcakes, you should be able to frost 24 cupcakes if you apply the frosting with a knife. If you swirl on the frosting with a pastry bag as we have done here, you should be able to frost 15-18 cupcakes depending on the size of the swirl.
Expert Tips and FAQ’s
Yes. Cream Cheese Frosting needs to be refrigerated because of the Cream Cheese. You can leave it out for a couple of hours at a maximum before it needs to be refrigerated again. And be very careful with it outside on a sunny day.
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting will only be good for as long as your Cream Cheese is good so make sure to check the expiration date on the Cream Cheese package before making the frosting. For example, if the expiration date on the Cream Cheese is two days away, the frosting will be good for two days. Store any left-over frosting, in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. If you carefully wrap the frosting in order to avoid freezer burn, the frosting should be fine in the freezer for 3-4 months.
Other Cream Cheese Frostings You Will Love
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The Best Cream Cheese Frosting
Sweet and creamy and delicious, our The Best Cream Cheese Frosting recipe never disappoints and is super easy to make. Always a crowd-favorite frosting!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Butter, slightly softened (We use Salted Sweet Cream Butter)
- 8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)
- 1 pound Powdered Sugar (or 4 cups)
- 3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Add the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl. The butter and the cream cheese should be “slightly softened” which means it is still cold but has been out of the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
- Mix the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together on medium speed until thoroughly combined (about 2 minutes.) You want to fully cream the ingredients together so their flavors meld together. Use a spatula to scrape the mixture down from the sides of the bowl before moving on to the next step.
- In a separate bowl, use a food scale to measure 1 Pound of Powdered Sugar. If you don’t have a food scale, measure 4 cups instead.
- Add the Powdered Sugar into the mixing bowl.
- Start your mixer (or electric beater) on the lowest setting and keep it on low until the cream cheese/butter and sugar are incorporated (about 30 seconds). Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and then increase the speed to medium-high and mix for another 30-45 seconds so the frosting gets light and fluffy.
- This is the fun part of the frosting-making process where you get to taste your icing. You are tasting to determine taste (does it need more vanilla?) and consistency (is it too thin or too thick?) (Two Sisters note about cream cheese frosting. It is a thin frosting. It will never be a frosting that is pipeable or will crust up like buttercream. That being said, as you can see in our pictures, you can do a swirl.) The first thing you should do before using the frosting is put it in the refrigerator for an hour or so, that will help the butter and cream cheese firm up. Another thing to try if the frosting is too thin is to add EITHER 1/2 cup of powdered sugar or 1 tablespoon of corn starch. Mix again and see if the consistency is better.
Notes
How much frosting will you need?
That always depends on how thick or thin you apply the frosting or how much decorating you do but here are a couple of guidelines. Our recipe should make enough Cream Cheese Icing to cover a 9″ x 13″ sheet cake or a two-layer 8″ cake. If you are making cupcakes, you should be able to frost 24 cupcakes if you apply the frosting with a knife. If you swirl on the frosting with a pastry bag as we have done here, you should be able to frost 15-18 cupcakes depending on the size of the swirl
Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!
If you are looking for more tips and tricks for making that perfect batch of homemade frosting we have a few other posts you might want to check out:
The very best frosting I’ve ever made…thank you so much Ladies ❤️
How long do you need to keep out of refrigerator before smooth enough to use. I made the cupcakes last night then it was too late to refrig them before frosting. Now the frosting is too thick to spread and causing crumbs all over the frosting?
Hi … it really depends on how hot it is where you are. It will probably take 30-45 minutes to soften up. But if you need to speed up the process, you can help it along by stirring it with a spoon.
I used the recipe but instead of vanilla I used half lemon and half oj and added some orange peel in with it. I used it to top the carrot cake cookies from this site. Cookies and frosting were amazing.
Excellent frosting! I whipped it for about 5 minutes in my kitchen aid mixer and it was sooo fluffy! Put on my pumpkin cookies for a wedding.
This is by far the best cream cheese frosting ever! I’ve been using it for years. Everyone who has ever had my cupcakes says they’re “The BEST” cupcakes they’ve ever had. It has to be the frosting because I use any old box cake mix I have on hand. Lol.
I always use this cream cheese frosting recipe. It’s so good I could eat it off the spoon!
Hi! I joined your group as I was glad to find “fall” icing variations! Can the icing be frozen ahead of time? If yes ,are there any special needs to use it after thawing out in a decorating bag with tip? thank you
Wow, this frosting is the best. It was perfect for my red velvet cake.
This cream cheese frosting was easy to make. This is the first time I have ever made cream cheese frosting. I added 1 additional cup of powdered sugar. Made it a little thicker and I was able to decorate with it to.
I made a strawberry cake and frosted it with this cream cheese frosting recipe.
Great frosting! Recipe works perfectly and stays still for long time! ! Thanks for sharing
Hi Nancy,
Can you share the brand of butter and cream cheese for cream cheese frosting? I haven’t tried yours yet but I think the brands matter. I am having trouble lately with too soft of a texture. It is sliding off the cake. Your site is beautiful.
Thanks for your help,
Jaynie
Hi Jayne – We usually use Land o’ Lakes Butter and Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Cream Cheese frosting is hard to work with 🙁 . Hope you like the frosting.
I just made 24 cupcakes (box mix) and piped on this frosting. Used lots of frosting and still had a pipe bag full leftover.
Delicious!
Every time I bake.. and I mean EVERY time I bake.. I look up this recipe. I’ll have it memorized soon.
Thank you!
You’re welcome. We love it too!
I have never wanted to wipe my finger across frosting so much before in my life, and eat it mmm!
Can I use this frosting under fondant?
Just made this. My 2 eight inch cakes are cooling used 3 cups of powder sugar and a smidgen more of pure vanilla. So easy so good.
Delicious and creamy…I used 3 cups of powdered sugar instead of 4, and 3 t. vanilla, I was frosting a cake so wanted it just a bit more soft. Also used the whipping paddle on my kitchenaid mixer…turned out like silk…Excellent recipe!!
Can you use margarine instead of butter
Yes, margarine should be fine.
Can you use this to decorate a birthday cake for a kid
It would taste good for sure, but I don’t think it would hold up to “decorations.” It’s a little too soft for that.
Do you know if fat free cream cheese will work with this recipe?
Hi Nysa, we have never tried, but I think it would be okay. The consistency might not be as creamy, but it should still taste good.
Can this be used under fondant?
No, I don’t think it would hold up well under fondant.
Will the consistency of the frosting be comprised if I frost my cake and freeze it?
No, it should be fine.
This is my new go to frosting recipe, absolutely love it! But I was wondering if you could possibly add Cocoa to make a chocolate version. Or if you have another recipe that’s chocolate & as good as this one? I would be grateful for any advice.
Hi Dawn, we do have a Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipe. Here is the link: https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/the-best-chocolate-cream-cheese-frosting/
This frosting was phenomenal!!! I’m not a big fan of Cream Cheese frosting and I could not stop eating it!
My baking notes:
– Used 4 teaspoons Cinnamon. I highly recommend King Arthur Vietnamese Cinnamon… total game changer and flavor explosion!
– To make this as stable as possible, I used the mixing method from Kitchen Heals Soul. You first cream together room temperature Butter with the Vanilla and half the Powdered Sugar. You then add in all of the cold Cream Cheese and beat until combined. Finally, add in the remaining half of the Powdered Sugar. This made a super stable frosting!
Delicious recipe. Used as a frosting on gingerbread muffins.
I absoulety love this recipe, it’s my go to recipe for cream cheese frosting!!
Amazing frosting!! Will be using this recipe for many years to come! Thank you!!
OMG! This is the best icing ever! I used the buttercream for my sisters cake in Oct. Then the cream cheese buttercream for my husband yesterday. In both cases, i ate too much cake because the icing is so good. It was also the best cakes I’ve ever decorated. Smooth and creamy.
I made this buttercream, OMG it’s perfect. It was creamy and fluffy. I frosted a banana cake it paired EXTREMELY well. My family and friends loved tit.
Unbelievably easy and AMAZING! Thank you!
I put lemon juice from 1 lemon in the frosting, my family loved it on the strawberry cupcakes!
This is the best cream cheese frosting. I just used it for chocolate strawberry cake for my daughter’s birthday yesterday and the results were amazing. So easy to pipe and so versatile. Thank you for a great recipe. Definitely my go to.
Yum. Your cake sound amazing!
Hi, Should the butter and cream cheese be softened at room temperature before mixing?
Yes!
Does this yield enough frosting for 2 dozen cupcakes?
Unless you are trying to do something super fancy, it should be enough.
For Father’s Day I added lemon zest from one lemon juice and substituted 1 1/2 t. fresh lemon juice, and 1 t. vanilla to make lemon cream cheese frosting. I used the frosting on lemon cupcakes and added crushed Lemon Heads on the top. Delicious!!! Thanks for the yummy buttercream recipe!
You’re welcome. This sound like a yummy variation!
So I happen to just run across this looking for a good frosting for my carrot cake!! And I must say, I am completely blown away!! It is amazing! Will definitely use this more often!! I am looking for a great frosting for chocolate cake if you have any advice!! Thanks so much again!! I think my mother is going to fall in love with this!! (It’s her surprise cake)
Hi.. my cream cheese frosting became too thin.. it’s reallt spreading all over the cup cake.. cannot be pipe through a nozzles. What can I do with this to make it stiff? Please help me with the issue
Hi – it could be that the butter is too soft. Try putting it in the refrigerator for a bit to see if it will firm up.
Mine too…. But the taste so nice. I change the vanilla to iris liquar. I can’t pipe it too
Hi! Is this frosting stuff enough to pipe rosettes on the sides of the cake, not just the top?
Hi Deb, it really isn’t still enough. I’m pretty sure they would start to slide off. Sorry!
I love this cream cheese buttercream recipe. Is there any other ingredient I could add so I could ice a three layer wedding cake and have it sitting in a warm outdoor venue for about 2 hours without falling apart. I love the taste and don’t want to tamper with that. I just want it to hold up in the heat
Hi Lorna, I really can’t think of anything you could add. Sorry!
Should you use salted or unsalted butter for the cream cheese frosting recipe? Is one preferable to the other? Thanks so much!
Hi Mary, we always use salted butter, so that is our preference, but it will still be yummy if you use the unsalted butter.
I have tried your butter cream and now your cream cheese frosting. I won’t use any other frosting now. I tried them both because of the great reviews each recipe has. I just wanted to add to how great they both taste.
Thank you! We are so glad you enjoyed the recipes!
Making frosting today and using tomorrow. Will I have to add any liquid at the time I frost the cake?
Hi Diane – that shouldn’t be an issue but you could always add a TINY it of milk.
Making the frosting today to use tomorrow. Any suggestions if consistency changes?
Hi! Can I add gel food color to this recipe?
Sure!
This is really the Best Cream Cheese frosting EVER !! I tried many recipes and never got this perfect consistency for cream cheese frosting. Thanks for the recipe. Love it
You’re welcome! So glad you like it!
Hello, powdered sugar means icing sugar??
Yes!
Thank you for this perfect recipe.. my cake was a big hit with this frosting..
Do I need to add Vanilla?
Hi Francine – do you need to? No. But everything tastes better with vanilla. 🙂
Just frosted a 2-layer Coconut Cake, having used 2 9-inch round pans. There was plenty of frosting for my cakes and the flavor and texture were just right. I frosted the cake by first spreading a scant cup of frosting on the bottom cake and the remainder of the frosting was able to frost the top and sides. The whole batch of frosting frosted the entire cake without any showthrough of the cake underneath. Coconut Cake is forgiving since you really only need a medium layer of frosting so you can press the flaked coconut onto the top and sides of the cake. I’d make 1 1/2 batches as previously stated if I was using the frosting as the decoration. It’s better to have a bit too much, than too little frosting!
Hi there, this recipe looks awesome but I need a glaze for mini red velvet bundt cakes…can this be modified to make a thinner glaze I can drizzle on? Thanks!!
Hi Samatha, here is a link to another recipe where we used a glaze on top. It is really delicious, and I think exactly what you are looking for. https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/apple-cinnamon-rolls/
OMG this recipe is the bomb it was a favorite in our home I’ll be making this over and over and over thank you so much
Yay! So glad you liked the recipe!
OMG!!! This is the best cream cheese frosting ever!!! It literally tastes like cheesecake but it’s frosting. I just made this today for a carrot cake I’m making for a coworker’s husband’s birthday. You girls rock! I just signed up for your newsletter. Thank you!!!! 🙂
Yay!!! Super happy you liked the frosting.
I made it and it was delicious! Happy to have this “go to” now and know I will use it often!
Thank you for this delicious frosting recipe! For some reason every time I find one to make it doesn’t come out right, but this came out perfectly and the whole family is in love. Thank you again for the only cream cheese frosting I will & can make 🙂
We are so glad you and your family enjoyed the frosting!!!
Can you color this frosting with Wilton icing color?
Sure!
How well would this cover a 2 layer red velvet cake? I’m making it for a family birthday, and I wanted to know how well it would cover a 9 inch, 2 layer cake.
Sarah, if you are heavy-handed with the frosting, you might want to make 1 1/2 batches to cover the whole cake.
Can I add fresh cream to the cream cheese?
Hi Nel, yes you can. It will give it a nice rich taste.
Hi what do you recommend for cream cheese frosting not to be soft? I really want cream cheese instead of buttercream
Hi Maria, I don’t know if I can help you. Cream cheese frosting is a very sort frosting. I can’t think of any thing that would help combat that. You could try our whipped cream frosting. It’s delicious too and pipes really well, Here’a a link. https://www.twosisterscrafting.com/best-whipped-cream-frosting/
I’ve been doing some research on making cream cheese frosting set better for decorating and what I have found and tried is adding 2 tblsp of corn starch to the frosting… start with 1 tblsp first then go from there. It didn’t change the taste at all. Love this recipe too!
Super easy, good consistency and great taste – definitely 3tsp vanilla.
Agreed! The more vanilla the better!
Hi . Does the cream cheese and butter need to be soften or straight out from the fridge?
Hi Dora, they should be softened.
Hello,
I’m making vanilla and chocolate cupcake, and wondering if I could add white chocolate into this cream cheese frosting to go with the cupcakes. Can I have your opinion please?
Hi, I’m not sure what the white chocolate would do in the frosting. You could probably chop up the white chocolate and fold it into the frosting and have chunks in the frosting.
If frosting a cake should it be refrigerated afterwards
Yes, because of the cream cheese.
I tried this recipe tonight on red velvet cupcakes for my fathers birthday and I was very pleased with the outcome! I have used a few different recipes before, but I do believe now this will be the one I use all the time! Thanks
has anyone ever added chocolate and peanut butter to this? I love homemade cream-cheese frosting but need it to be chocolate and peanut butter flavored,
used a smaller pan for my cake. i have some of frosting how long will it keep in fridge?
In an airtight container a week or so. In the freezer, it will last closer to a month.
Hey there, if I frost the cupcakes tonight using this cream cheese recipe and serve them for a bridal shower tomorrow, do I need to refrigerate the frosted cupcakes overnight?
Thanks!
Sorry, for the late response, but yes they need to be refrigerated.
Is this frosting like very sweet?or does the cream cheese balance it out?? ,Thankyou
Hi Linda, it’s sweet but not as sweet as a buttercream frosting. The cream cheese really cuts down on the sweetness.
Will this frosting stand up long period piped on a cupcake if not refrigerated…like on a table during a party? Or will it begin to break down?
No, it doesn’t stand up very well. It’s a very soft frosting.
For how long should the mixer be kept on medium high?
A minute or two. You are looking for a smooth consistency.
Would this be stiff enough to pipe rosettes on a cake?
Hi Sarah, I’m not sure. It’s a pretty soft frosting. You would have better luck with our buttercream frosting. If you are going to try it, I would suggest only putting a little frosting in the bag at a time, so it doesn’t get too warm. While you refill the pastry bag, put the cake in the refrigerator so the frosting can set up.