Today, I’d like to share a recipe with you. Not just any recipe… a cream cheese frosting recipe I have used dozens (maybe even hundreds) of times, and I love it each time!
There are two reasons I love this recipe… one is that it’s really, really easy, and the second is that it’s really delicious!
While I do also enjoy other styles of frosting, like Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Fluffy 7 Minute Frosting, or Whipped Ganache, this cream cheese frosting recipe is easier than any other. This is basically American style buttercream (which is butter, powdered sugar, milk), but with the addition of cream cheese.
The cream cheese is really the key ingredient, since it helps off-set the sweetness of the powdered sugar, and adds to the creaminess of the butter while also removing the greasy, pure butter flavor.
Another thing I really like about this recipe is that if you use these proportions, the frosting is not over powered by the cream cheese, it takes on the flavor of whatever extract or additional flavorings are added.
Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
½ cup (1 stick/8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter (set at room temp about 10 minutes, but should still be cool)
8 oz. Challenge cream cheese (directly from fridge)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (always use pure vanilla extract if possible)
4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
1 to 4 Tablespoons heavy cream, heavy whipping cream (or milk- although I do like the richness that cream adds)
Directions:
*Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add cream cheese and blend until fully combined and smooth, about 30 seconds.
*Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
*Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don’t add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes.)
*Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
*Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)
The recipe above will produce a delicious VANILLA flavored frosting, here are a couple of other options to try…
For a Stronger Cream Cheese Flavor: Use an additional 4 oz. (½ block) of cream cheese. This is good for any cake/cupcake recipe that is traditionally topped with Cream Cheese Frosting, like Carrot Cake, or Red Velvet Cake.
For Chocolate Frosting: (my favorite!) add ½ cup unsweetened cocoa (I use Ghirardelli brand, it’s really good). Add the cocoa powder before adding the powdered sugar, so it gets fully incorporated into the butter and cream cheese.
Strawberry, Blackberry, etc: Add 2-4 tablespoons of preserves. Depending on how chunky or seedy the preserves are, you may want to blend it in the food processor, and/or strain it through a fine strainer before adding it to the frosting. Add the preserves to the frosting mixture before adding the heavy cream. Depending on the amount of preserves you add you may need very little or no cream, especially if you want the frosting thick enough to pipe. A final option would be to add a drop of food coloring to add to the color of the preserves (for example, pink coloring for the Strawberry flavor).
* This recipe will frost about 22-24 cupcakes if you are piping a nice swirl, or even more if you just spread it on. If you’re making a cake, this will frost and fill a two layer 9″ cake.
How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter set at room temp about 10 minutes, but should still be cool
- 8 oz. cream cheese directly from fridge
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract always use pure vanilla extract if possible
- 4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
- 1 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream heavy whipping cream (or milk- although I do like the richness that cream adds)
Instructions
- Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add cream cheese and blend until fully combined and smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
- Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don't add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes.)
- Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)
Notes
Nutrition
I just posted about your cupcakes. I'm the one with the ballet recital party today. One thing I changed is instead of adding vanilla to the vanilla frosting, I used a bean. It looks so pretty with the little flecks in. That is all. Thank you!
I just finished icing your vanilla cupcakes with this frosting. The icing looked so good I couldn't choose and used all three flavors- so pretty! The cupcakes turned out great- they didn't look as perfect as yours but the consistency is great- moist, chewy and very light. The icing is AMAZING! I will never make traditional buttercream again. It tastes divine and pipes very nicely. Just make sure you watch the liquid. I used about half of the milk for vanilla, none for the strawberry and a tiny bit for the chocolate. The vanilla was a perfect piping consistency but the chocolate and strawberry needed to be remixed with a little more milk. I didn't mind that since it is much easier to thin out than bulk up an icing. Thanks for the great recipes- they are going to be the hit of my daughter's ballet recital party today.
After reading through the comments I'd like to offer a suggestion to the people with runny frosting. If you beat it for too long and on too high of a setting it may cause the frosting to break-down. I plan on trying this recipe for the first time this weekend, as I'm tired of the same old Wilton buttercream. Thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂
Okay, I've used this recipe three times now in two weeks and it's getting RAVES. I've done the vanilla and the chocolate, and today I made strawberry cupcakes and just replaced the vanilla with a packet of pink lemonade Kool-Aid and it's AWESOME.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes!
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Just wanted to say how much I love your site. Your chocolate cupcakes & chocolate frosting is sensational!!!! The cupcakes last for days too without drying out or going stale. I also doubled the recipe & made birthday cakes for my children last month!! What a winner they were! Thanks again for your wonderful site & for sharing your fantastic recipes!!! Happy Baking!
Jen from Sydney, Australia
Hi there,
I LOVE your site. I was just wondering approximately how many cupcakes can this recipe frost. Sorry if someone already asked this.
Have just made 50 of your chocolate cupcakes for christening party, half iced with vanilla, half iced with chocolate cream cheese frosting. It' s my first time making/frosting cupcakes and they turned out great! Thank you for the recipes and such detailed instructions and tips, I could not have done it without you! Some notes for other UK bakers and 1st timers, 1 stick butter = 113g. 4 cups icing sugar looks way too much but stick with it! It is hard/messy to use electric hand mixer but it can be done, beat by hand a little first to stop covering kitchen in icing sugar! Lastly, don't overfill your icing bag or it will ooze out of the top 🙂
this has to be the best frosting i have ever tasted!! my family LOVES it! thank you for giving me a sweet way to make my family smile!!
-bri'anna from seattle
Hi glory just wanted to let u know that your blog is amazing and I have never read a blog that is so detailed in answers and recipes !! It's a credit to you! 🙂