Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting is a bakery favorite for a reason. It’s rich, slightly tangy, and never too sweet! With just five simple ingredients, this easy recipe comes together in minutes and is the perfect topping for carrot cake, red velvet, or cinnamon rolls.

Cream cheese frosting is a classic for a reason. Sweet but not cloying, rich but not heavy, and with just enough tang to balance out the sugar, it’s the perfect partner for so many cakes and cupcakes. When people say they don’t like frosting, I always wonder if they’ve only tried grocery store tubs, because homemade cream cheese frosting is a completely different experience.

I’ve been making this recipe for years, and it’s the one I come back to again and again. It’s fast, it’s reliable, and it works in just about every situation, from swooping onto a sheet cake to swirling onto cupcakes. You can keep it simple with vanilla, dress it up with citrus zest or spices, or make it chocolatey with a little cocoa powder.

Since cream cheese frosting is softer than a traditional American buttercream, I’ll share tips for thickening it up if you want to pipe tall, bakery-style swirls. But honestly, I love the naturally creamy texture, which spreads beautifully over layer cakes, carrot cakes, pumpkin bars, or cinnamon rolls.

Once you make it at home, you’ll never go back to store-bought tubs again!

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Butter: Use unsalted butter at cool room temperature (~65°F).
• Cream Cheese: Full-fat, block-style cream cheese is best, also at cool room temperature. Avoid whipped cream cheese or tubs, which will make the frosting too soft.
• Confectioners’ Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Salt

How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Beat Butter and Cream Cheese: Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add Vanilla Extract and Salt: Beat in the vanilla extract and salt, scraping down the sides of the bowl to incorporate them evenly throughout the butter and cream cheese.

3. Add Powdered Sugar: Gradually mix in the confectioners’ sugar, half a cup at a time, until fully combined. Turn the speed to high and whip for a minute.

Softer than Buttercream

Cream cheese frosting has a reputation for being softer and a little harder to pipe than classic buttercream. But why? The answer lies in the balance of fat and water.

Cream cheese contains more water and less fat than buttercream. Traditional American buttercream relies on butter, which is about 80% fat and 15-18% water. Fat is sold at room temperature, so butter-based frostings hold their shape well. Cream cheese, on the other hand, has closer to 33% fat and over 50% water. When mixed with butter and sugar, that extra water prevents the frosting from firming up as much.

Kitchen Chemistry

Water and fat behave very differently at room temperature. Because cream cheese is higher in water, it doesn’t set as firmly as butter, creating a softer frosting. The sugar helps by binding some of the liquid, but cream cheese frosting will never be quite as stiff as buttercream.

This recipe is already designed to be a little thicker than many cream cheese frosting recipes so it can hold up to a three-layer cake. But what if you need an even thicker buttercream for piping? Increase the butter-to-cream cheese ratio, using slightly more butter than cream cheese, add in an extra half cup of confectioners’ sugar, or chill the frosting before using.

How Much Frosting to Make

This recipe yields about 4 cups of frosting. That’s enough to frost:

• 24 cupcakes with a small swirl, or 18 cupcakes with a tall swirl
• One 9×13-inch cake in a thick layer
• A two layer 8- or 9-inch cake with filling and frosting on top (for thick layers, or enough to pipe along the sides or top, make 1.5x the recipe)
• One dozen cinnamon rolls
• Half a recipe, thinned with a few tablespoons of milk, makes the perfect drizzle for bundt cakes

Frosting amounts are always approximate. If you love extra-thick frosting or decorative piping, make more than you think you’ll need. It’s much easier to have a little extra frosting than to run out mid-cake!

Tips and Tricks for the Best Cream Cheese Frosting

• Room Temperature Ingredients: Both the butter and the crema cheese should be at cool room temperature (around 65°F) before beating – soft enough to indent when pushed firmly, but not soft enough to feel “squishy”.
• Scrape the Bowl: Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.
• Thicker Frosting: For thicker, more pipeable frosting, add extra confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
• Flavored Variations: Add citrus zest, cocoa powder, cinnamon, or even a splash of bourbon for fun twists on cream cheese frosting.
• Storage: Cream cheese frosting requires refrigeration. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator, or freeze for up to 3 months. Bring back to room temperature and rewhip before using.

Desserts that Pair Well with Cream Cheese Frosting

This frosting deserves a good cake to go with it! Try it with:

• Berry Chantilly Cake
• Strawberry Sheet Cake
• Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
• Funfetti Sheet Cake
• Red Velvet Sheet Cake
• Cranberry Orange Cake
• Oreo Cinnamon Rolls
• Best Chocolate Sheet Cake
• Red Velvet Bundt Cake
• Carrot Cake