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!
350 Comments on “The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting + Video”
How do you think this frosting will work on a tiered red velvet wedding cake?
It depends on how warm it is where it will be made and displayed. I would try it out on a small cake first, to see how you like it and then decide. I have never had problems with it, but better to do a test run, just in case.
I decided to go for it! I like it so far, I’ll be using dowels for strength and stability.
I used orange and lemon zest for added flavor and since there is no added liquid the consistency held up nicely. I chilled the cakes and icing prior to using it. Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m so glad it’s holding up and I love that you added zest to it!
Hi Amber. I’m not one to leave comments on blog, but I wanted to stop by and say a HUGE Thank You for this recipe. As I sit here on a snowy Louisiana day (which is a rare occurrence), I decided I wanted to bake some cupcakes. After 30 minutes worth of research to find the perfect cream cheese icing, I stumbled across your page. It is absolutely to die for.
I did, as some of the ladies suggested, add about a teaspoon or so of lemon juice just to “brighten up” the icing. It did get slightly softer, but still pipe-able. I’m pretty sure I should have quadrupled this recipe, since I can’t keep my fingers out of it. This will be my newest go-to recipe anytime I’m in the need of icing of any sort.
Hi Lin!
Thanks for your kind words and for your review! So glad it worked out the way you wanted it to! We definitely frequent this recipe A LOT!
Will it work with marigerine instead of butter?
I haven’t tried it. I actually never use margarine in any of my recipes, just real butter. The texture might not hold up as well, but you can try it.
Can you sub regular salted butter instead? I don’t have any unsalted on hand. I don’t think it would change the flavor much but what do you think?
For sure Callie! I prefer unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt in my culinary creations, but salted butter would work just fine in this recipe. Enjoy!
This is delicious and I was able to pipe with it. I could tell that with my amateur skills I wouldn’t be able to do tall bakery swirls on the cupcakes (it is a softer frosting), so I did the reverse (start in the center and move out) — rosettes — and they came out wonderful. Thank you! So happy to find your blog through this recipe; looks like you have tons of great stuff. I’ve been pinning away.
That’s so great Stacey! Some days my frosting is a little soft too, but I’ve always been able to pipe with it. Glad you were able to do rosettes, and thanks for pinning my recipes!
Hi Amber, let me tell you something, I read this recipe and I tell myself “I really have to do it!” it is absolutely delicious! Is now on my favorite recipes, thanks for sharing it!
Yay! I made it again just last week myself! I just love it! Thanks for your review!
FYI, it’s my new frosting recipe! I’ll do it again tomorrow! 🙂
Awesome! Glad I’m not the only one addicted to it!
I made this for a cake that we had on Super Bowl Sunday…I thought it was a little odd that it had no milk in it and wasn’t sure it was going to turn out…but it was perfect and yummy. I hate frostings that are over-powered by powdered sugar…this one so wasn’t. It had a lovely sweet cream cheese-y flavor 🙂 Will definitely make it again. Printed it out and put it in the family cookbook!
Oh I am so glad you like it as much as we do! I seriously use it EVERY time I make cream cheese frosting! It’s my favorite!
Hi Amber ..ur cream cheese frosting is delicious ..but definitely not “pipeable” which is kind of a drag since it is midnight & I dont gave any more cream cheese to make another recipe & I am in charge of bringing the super bowl decorated cake !
Hmmm …I guess this cake is going to be iced but not decorated since it is not “stiff enough frosting” to pipe all the cool things I was going to put on the cake
Try putting it in the refrigerator for a couple hours and see if that helps stiffen it enough to pipe. I use this recipe all the time with no problems. Sorry!
Hi Amber,
Can I use crisp instead of butter. I know how to substitute properly but will it mess up the taste? I want the frosting to stay pure white looking not tinted yellow, which will happen if I use butter. Please respond to bollingwith5@gmail.com PS I just started following you on Instagram. I can’t finish my cupcakes until I hear from you. Haha
CrisCo
It’s just barely off-white with the butter. I actually just finished making this with coconut extract for another recipe, but you could substitute Crisco. Crisco is used in many buttercream frostings, so the texture should work just fine. It won’t have the buttery taste though. If you have butter extract you can put 1 tsp in, or just go without it. Good luck!
Does this make enough to ice a 2 layer cake? I am using a hello kitty cake pan, and I wanted to make it a 2 layer cake with some frosting in between. Do you think I would need to double it?
It makes 1 1/2 cups of frosting. I would double it for sure. Most 2 layer cakes need 3 cups. Sounds like a fun cake! Good luck!
Awesome, thank you so much!
Is this enough for 24 cupcakes?
Thanks.
Definitely double the recipe for 24 cupcakes.
Can this icing be frozen on cupcakes?
I can’t say for sure. I have never tried freezing it. It might be best to freeze it separately in a container rather than on top of cupcakes. Then if it gets watery, you can re-whip it.