Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: The frosting is sweet, tangy, and packed with vanilla flavor without any cloying sweetness.
Texture: It’s ultra-smooth, creamy, and downright luscious while remaining pipeable.
Ease: It doesn’t get much easier than just 4 ingredients with make-ahead potential.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: This 7-minute recipe instantly elevates your cakes, cupcakes, and favorite desserts!
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Some frostings are just a finishing touch, but my recipe for cream cheese frosting is the main event!
Since I first shared this recipe back in 2017, it’s become one of the most popular recipes on my site. Honestly, I get why. It’s my go-to for anything red velvet, my ultra-moist banana cake, and topping carrot cake cupcakes.
Over the years, though, I kept getting feedback that the original recipe was too runny for many HTH bakers. So I went back to the kitchen and experimented, tweaking the mixing method to make it sturdier without adding more sugar.
The new and improved recipe pipes perfectly, holds its shape, and still delivers that silky texture and tangy flavor, giving your favorite treats an instant upgrade.
Reader Love
This frosting was awesome! First time I’ve tried it, but won’t be the last. Directions were easy to follow, hints helpful, and only 4 ingredients. The result was a silky smooth, delicious but not sickly sweet, frosting that everyone loved.
Sprinkle of Science
Tips for Best Results
I’ve tweaked this cream cheese buttercream frosting recipe since the original to help it hold its shape. The current version is better for piping, a must for the perfect cupcakes! All I did was change the order of the ingredients.
Instead of adding the 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar last, I beat the butter and sugar first, much like a buttercream recipe. Then I added the cream cheese. That one little change makes a HUGE difference! See the difference in sturdiness above.
On the left, the frosting is smooth but a bit too soft. It starts to slide off the cupcake when flipped upside down! My new method on the right pipes beautifully and stays put. This makes it sturdier for hot days, BBQs, picnics, and transporting.
Here’s the science: When you cream butter and sugar together, air becomes trapped, resulting in a fluffier texture and more stable structure. The powdered sugar also acts as a slight barrier, coating the fat in the butter to prevent the extra moisture in the cream cheese from absorbing.
Here are a few more tips for the best melt-in-your-mouth texture:
- Butter temperature matters. Butter even a few degrees too warm can lead to runny frosting. Adding more powdered sugar can help, but it makes the frosting sweeter. Instead, chill the frosting for 30 minutes to firm it up, then whip it again before using.
- Cream cheese temperature matters. Your cream cheese should be at room temperature. (This is true for your cheesecakes, too.) If it’s too warm, it can make your frosting turn runny. Cold cream cheese doesn’t blend smoothly, which could mean a grainy texture.
- Your mixer matters less. A stand mixer or a hand-held electric mixer with a large bowl works perfectly here.
- Sift your powdered sugar. To keep your frosting lump-free, sift the powdered sugar after measuring. This is a good piping tip, as lumps can clog your piping tips and bag.
- Balance texture and sweetness. Feel free to add an additional 2 tablespoons of sifted powdered sugar at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Just note that this will result in a sweeter frosting.
- Try it on cinnamon rolls. Swap the icing in my cinnamon rolls recipe for this frosting using my original method! Beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla at medium to high speed first. Then, gradually mix in the powdered sugar on low speed and beat until fluffy.
Delicious Ways to Use This Frosting
- Banana Cupcakes With Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Brown Butter Carrot Cake
- Carrot Walnut Loaf
- Easy Funfetti Cupcakes
- Gingerbread Sheet Cake
Storage Instructions
Since the sugar acts as a preservative, this frosting can sit at a cool room temperature for up to 8 hours before it needs to be refrigerated. That includes on its own or frosted onto your favorite baked goods, like these gingerbread cookie bars or a chocolate cake.
You can also make your homemade cream cheese frosting ahead of time. Once it’s prepped, place it inside an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to a month. Bring it to room temperature and re-whip with an electric hand mixer before using.
More Frosting Recipes You’ll Love
- The Best Buttercream Frosting
- Best Ever Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Dark Chocolate Buttercream
- Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
FAQs
What’s the difference between cream cheese frosting and icing?
People often use “frosting” and “icing” interchangeably, but there are some key differences. Cream cheese frosting is thick and holds its shape. It’s the kind of thing you frost cakes with and pipe onto cupcakes. I like to spread it generously on red velvet cakes or red velvet cookies!
Making homemade icing is even simpler. It’s just powdered sugar and a splash of liquid and meant to be thin enough to drizzle or pour. It sets into a shiny glaze on cookies or cinnamon rolls, but it’s not something you’d pile high on a cake. (Cream cheese icing is technically the wrong term for both!)
What is the texture of cream cheese frosting, and does it set hard?
Cream cheese frosting is smooth, thick, and creamy. It’s soft and spreadable, perfect for layer cake recipes, indulgent banana breads, sugar cookies, and cupcakes. It’s especially ideal for red velvet cupcakes! Unlike an icing or glaze, it doesn’t set hard. It stays fluffy, even after chilling, but gets softer at room temperature.
Can I add food coloring to cream cheese frosting?
You can add food coloring to cream cheese frosting. Gel or powder colors work best over liquid food dyes because they won’t thin out the frosting. Mix in a little at a time until you reach your desired shade.
Cream Cheese Frosting
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Ingredients
- ¾ stick (85 grams) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (67°F)*
- 1 ½ cups (188 grams) powdered sugar, sifted (Don't skip sifting!)
- 6 ounces (170 grams) cream cheese, completely softened to room temperature (brick-style, not spreadable)
- 1 ½ teaspoons
vanilla paste or vanilla extract
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and sifted powdered sugar on low. Gradually increase to medium-high to prevent a sugar cloud.
- Beat for 3 minutes until smooth. (It may look dry at first, but it will come together like magic!)
- Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl and paddle, then add the cream cheese and beat on medium-high for 1 minute until fluffy.
- Add the vanilla and beat for 30 seconds until fully incorporated. Scrape down the bowl again as needed.
Recipe Notes
The Ultimate Cookie Handbook
Learn the sweet SCIENCE of cookie baking in a fun, visual way to customize your own recipes frustration-free. Plus, my best 50+ homemade cookies!
This post was originally published in 2017 and updated in 2025 with recipe improvements and new photos. Photos by Joanie Simon.
I really liked it!
How can this be flavoured? Can all the options in your American Buttercream recipe be used with the same quantities of ingredients for this batch of cream cheese frosting? If not, how can they be adjusted for this recipe? Thanks
Thank you for this great recipe! I have found using Blue Cattle Truck Mexican Vanilla Bean Paste takes my cream cheese cinnamon roll frosting a huge hit! Everyone’s raves about it! The specks of the vanilla bean seeds give it a beautiful look. Yum!
Easy and not to sweet.
I only used about 1 and one-third cup of powdered sugar and that seemed plenty. It was very good.
Absolutely amazing and easy!
I made a carrot cake for Easter, and used this recipe for the frosting! It was just right- quick and easy and not too sweet at all. I’ll use this recipe over and over now!
So happy you enjoyed our recipe, Sheliah!
Thank you
Hello thanks for sharing this recipe really needed it in a jiff I’ve made similar recep before I just made it a lemon vanilla for a lemon lime cake I made but forgot the recipe and really needed this one for my butter pecan cake mix cause we ate the icing .lol thanks a million
Hi Tessa! Is the final result of this frosting less sweet than your buttercream frosting? Even though that recipe is less sweet than other buttercream recipes, I still find american buttercream to be way too sweet for my taste. I wonder until how many grams I can reduce the powdered sugar in that recipe to be not sweet but still sturdy enough? Or if it is better to use this recipe instead? And in this case can I use the suggestions in the other recipe for the different flavours? Still with same quantities suggested? For example for mocha just add to the quantities of this cream cheese frosting 1 Tablespoon of espresso powder and 1/4 cup of cocoa? Thanks! Chiara
Hi Chiara! We haven’t tried flavoring this cream cheese frosting, but it should work just fine – I would just start adding flavorings, cocoa, etc lower than specified in the buttercream recipe, and adding from there to taste. As for the sweetness factor, that’s also up to your taste preferences and can be adjusted as you go. It will also impact the texture of the frosting, so just keep that in mind – but frosting is so easy to experiment with that you could simply lower the sugar, mix, and taste + check the consistency, and adjust from there. Easy and fun! I hope that helps!
Thanks Kiersten! If I want to make a tiramisu inspired cream, therefore a mascarpone frosting, can I simply swap the same quantity of cream cheese for same quantity of mascarpone keeping all the other ingredients with same quantities? Or something else (like sugar) should be increased a bit?
Hi Chiara! We’ve never tried using mascarpone in frosting like this, so I can’t say for sure how that will go, as it’s a very different consistency, flavor, and moisture content, compared to cream cheese. Let us know how it goes if you experiment with that 🙂
I love your recipes
So thrilled to hear that, Joyce!
Hi Tessa, will this slightly crust on top if for example used to frost cookies, but still remain soft inside?
Also, if in my country I only find Philadelphia in the oval plastic container, and not brick, can I still use that?
Thanks!
Chiara
Hi Chiara! No, this frosting won’t really crust, so while this may definitely be used to frost cookies, as it won’t really harden, the cookies won’t be able to be stacked. I’m not familiar with the tubs of cream cheese, as the only cream cheese available in tubs here are generally for spreading on bagels and contain different ingredients, for a more spreadable consistency. I would recommend doing some research online to compare the ingredients for what you have available vs. bricks of cream cheese here in the US – or feel free to give it a try and experiment. Good luck and happy baking 🙂
Thanks! What recipe can I use, or how I can twick this, in order to make it set a little bit, without being overly sweet? Thanks!
I’m not sure that cream cheese frosting will ever set perfectly as cream cheese likely would prevent that. I recommend using royal icing or cookie icing like this one if you need it to set entirely 🙂