The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting + Video
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The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting – thick, sturdy, and pipeable, plus not overly sweet!
Okay ya’ll! I’m serious when I say this is the BEST Cream Cheese Frosting recipe out there! I’ve tried so many kinds, and they work out okay, but I’ve always struggled with soft, stringy frosting. This cream cheese frosting is stiff, sturdy, pipe-able, spreadable, you name it! It’s not overly sweet like the other recipes either.
See the ripples in that frosting? Yep, that’s proof right there that it’s stiff enough to decorate with. The big difference between this recipe and all those other ones floating around the web, is that this recipe uses more butter and less powdered sugar.
This variation of more butter and less powdered sugar gives the cream cheese frosting a buttery, creamy texture, yet still has that tangy cream cheese flavor to it. Less powdered sugar helps it not be stringy, and the butter helps lighten and fluff up the frosting.
This is seriously my go-to cream cheese frosting recipe now. I will not use any other cream cheese frosting recipe in the future, so I am sharing this recipe, separately, in it’s own post, so you can refer to this post as often as I make this frosting in my culinary creations! Have you tried it this way yet? Make this ASAP!
More Cream Cheese Frosting Recipes:
- Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 8 ounces brick cream cheese, cold (I typically use Neufchatel cream cheese)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl.
- Using a hand mixer, beat until smooth.
- Gradually add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time, and continue beating until smooth and well blended.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla all at once. Blend until combined and smooth. (Don't beat too long or the frosting will be too soft to pipe. If this happens, place the frosting in the refrigerator or freezer until it firms back up.) Use for any recipe that calls for cream cheese frosting.
Notes
*You can store this frosting either at room temperature (which is 70 degrees Fahrenheit) or in the refrigerator. Do not go back and forth storing from one to the other, for food safety reasons. Use your own judgement.
YIELD: 1 1/2 cups frosting, which will frost about 12-14 cupcakes
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 107Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 63mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 0gSugar: 10gProtein: 1g
This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix, and is an estimation only.
Recipe from Cookie Baker Lynn via TLC Parentables
Extra pictures and video added 4/1/17.
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Welcome!
Hi, I’m Amber! I am a culinary graduate and dessert lover! This is where I share my favorite sweet and savory recipes alongside my knowledge and skills as a culinary graduate. I hope you find something you like!
345 Comments on “The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting + Video”
Cream cheese frosting is my fav, love it!
Mine too!
Would this recipe work for a Black Forest Cake? I thought perhaps also adding a little cherry flavor to the frosting could go with the cake. What do you think? I need help, because I am making this cake for my nephew’s wedding and it will be his Grooms cake. Thanks
You can swap out the vanilla for pure cherry extract/oil. If you use oil, start with less and add more to taste, because oil is stronger than extract. Black Forest Cake typically has ganache on the outside, and cherry pie filling in between the chocolate cake layers, but you can totally go for the cream cheese frosting. I think it would still taste delicious. Maybe put a layer of ganache in the center, let it stiffen/harden/dry a bit then top it with the cherries before placing the top cake layer on. There really is no wrong way to do a cake, just whatever your preferences are. Good luck! Let me know if you have any more questions. Also, whatever you use for the outer frosting, it’s great to pipe a thin layer around the edges of the cake before filling it, so when you stack your layers the filling doesn’t squeeze out the edges and get in your frosting. Here’s a great image for what I’m talking about: http://cakesontheside.blogspot.com/2010/04/tip-o-week_19.html
Mrs. Davis, An authentic Black Forest is frosted with a Kirsch Whipped Cream. I got a gold medal, and Best of Show Trophy, with my Black Forest Cake. A whipped cream will not hold up much beyond refrigeration, so when my GM, at Ramada Inn, asked me to put a Black Forest Cake on the Dessert Cart (I was the Pastry Chef at our Ramada Inn for a few years), I used a Kirsch Mock Whip Frosting. A Mock Whip Frosting is the texture of a Chantilly Whipped Cream. It held up great the entire time it was on the Dessert Cart. It’s usually filled with dark cherries, pitted, cut in half, and macerated in a Kirsch Simple Syrup. I decorated it with 3D little trees made with melted dark chocolate. Cream Cheese Frosting does not belong on a Black Forest Cake, nor does it belong on a Red Velvet Cake. The original, authentic frosting for that is an Ermine Buttercream. Hope this helps.
Cream cheese frosting is my favorite! This looks perfect!
Mine too! Thanks Jessica!
Mmm this looks delicious! I need to make some, but then I need to decide what to put it on (otherwise I think I’ll just eat it by the spoonful!)
Oh my heck, anything! Did you see the comment about graham crackers! I die!
When I was a kid my friend’s mom decorated birthday cakes for them and she would always let us use all of the leftover colored frostings on graham crackers 🙂
That’s awesome! 🙂
I am going to try your cream cheese recipe…it will be awesome I know . Can’t wait to see your other recipes.
A good cream cheese frosting recipe is always good to have around! Thanks!
For sure! This recipe has changed my life 🙂
Makes a great treat as the filler for a sponge cake pumpkin roll and by adding a shot of white rum (or rum flavoring) steps it up to pleasing without being a no-no.
I really love that you are willing to share your knowledge about recipes and also HOW TO MAKE THINGS LOOK REALLY PRETTY. Too many people who have this kind of knowledge like to keep it all to themselves. Grateful your not like that! I follow your blog on a regular basis!
Thank you Jan! I really do want to share what I know with my readers! Why not?! Thanks for following along!
This should be a staple in any home! The recipe I use is very similar to this, but I add a tiny dash of lemon juice. I seriously just want to eat a spoonful for breakfast!
I’m seriously intrigued by the lemon juice!
Lemon extract works better. Lemon juice in the icing can make it spoiler quicker.
**spoil**
I love this picture! Makes me want to lick the beaters. 🙂 I personally love vanilla in my cream cheese frosting!
Oh I totally lick the beaters! And I love vanilla in my frosting too!
My husband gets to lick all the good recipe beaters and and scrape the bowls clean, then he gets to clean up and dishes. Good trade off don’t you think.
Haha! For sure! My husband helps do dishes even when he misses out on the licks, but he’s awesome like that!
I love cream cheese frosting….even on graham crackers! I will pin this recipe and make it the next time I have a craving for cream cheese frosting. Thanks!
I try not to make cream cheese frosting too often because I could totally see myself finding anything to spread it on. Haha. Love the graham cracker idea!
Instead of vanilla, use fresh lemon juice. This will help keep the tang of the cream cheese. You can add more lemon juice to suit your taste.
That’s a nice tip, thanks for sharing!
I am going to make this & put in mint extract in place of vanilla. Then frost a chocolate cake with mint chips. Hope it turns out as good as it sounds!
I totalky love this recipie better. I like how this rcipie is more creamy and less sweet the other recipie was way too sweet this one is just right my kids love the frosting and licking the beaters.
Thanks for your feedback Leslie! Glad you liked it so much!
How long is this icing good for? How far in advance can I make this?
I would say 1 week in the refrigerator. You may need to re-whip it a little bit if it releases some liquid/separates at all.