How to make the perfect Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese Frosting is everyone's favourite. Creamy, thick and Flavorful! Not only is cream cheese frosting way more superior than your regular Buttercream frosting or whipped cream frosting, but it is also exponentially healthier and flavourful. 

We all know how eating too much Buttercream or Whipped Cream frosting hurts our teeth and makes our dentists angry. With cream cheese frosting you'll have none of these issues! It also helps that cream cheese frosting is very easy to make.

And with our guide to making The Best Cream Cheese frosting, it will become even easier for you! 

Try these amazing recipes with Cream Cheese Frosting

• Zucchini Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Pink Velvet Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
• Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
• 5-ingredient Pumpkin Spice Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting and Pecan Nut Topping
• Moist Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Jump to:

• What do you need to make Cream Cheese frosting? 
• How to make Cream Cheese Frosting at Home? 
• Can I use this Cream Cheese frosting for my cake? 
• Is there any way I can make Cream Cheese frosting a little thicker? 
• Can I make Vegan Cream Cheese frosting? 
• Can I store Cream Cheese frosting? 
• Can I freeze Cream Cheese Frosting? 
• How to make the perfect Cream Cheese Frosting

What do you need to make Cream Cheese frosting? 

The ingredient list for Cream Cheese is surprisingly small. And although it would be easier to have a mixer of some sort to do the mixing, you can still get the job done with a plan whisk.

But first let's look at the list of ingredients you need for making cream cheese frosting! 

1. Butter 

The butter should be of unsalted, as this way you can control the salt level of the frosting way better. Also make sure to soften the butter to room temperature, so that it mixes easier.

2. Cream Cheese 

If you want the best frosting then go for full fat Cream Cheese. Use Brick Cream Cheese as thats the best for frosting. If you're not living in the US, and want to make Cream Cheese frosting using the tub variety, then follow this recipe for non brick cream cheese frosting.

Just make sure you soften your bricks of cream cheese to room temperature before beating it.

3. Vanilla extract 

Vanilla flavor is delicious and a classic. It also goes excellent with Cream Cheese. Even though Cream Cheese is one of the less cheesy forms of cheese, it still has a heavy taste to it. Adding vanilla extract will not only help in negating that heavy cheese flavour but it will make its taste profile more unique and flavorful. 

4. Castor Sugar

So you are making a frosting here which needs to be smooth and fine in texture, you absolutely cannot use granulated sugar. Brown sugar is obviously another no go because it will also change the colour. The best option here is to use Castor Sugar as it will easily integrate into the frosting

5. Kosher Salt 

With all the sweetness going around, a bit of kosher salt always helps in cutting it back a little. Salt brings out the flavors of the Cream Cheese Frosting to the best. If you are using salted butter then obviously you don't need to add extra salt. But we already suggested you to use unsalted butter. This way you get to adjust how much salt you need in your cream cheese frosting. 

How to make Cream Cheese Frosting at Home? 

While making Cream Cheese frosting takes a little extra steps than making a whipped cream or buttercream frosting, we believe that the end product is so worth it.

And it's not even that long of a process! At max it'll just take just ten minutes of your time to make fresh and homemade Cream Cheese Frosting if you follow our steps to the dot! 

• First of all, soften the sticks of butter and bricks of cream cheese to room temperature. Do not use melted butter.
• Now bring out your mixer. It can be a hand mixer or a standard mixer. If you have neither then a whisk will also do the job! 
• If it's a stand mixer then put in softened butter and Cream Cheese in its bowl. If it's a hand mixer or a simple whisk, simply take a large bowl and combine the butter and Cream Cheese inside it
• Start creaming your Butter and Cream Cheese together until it is smooth and creamy in consistency. Make sure there are no lumps or air bubbles trapped inside the mix.
• Now you can add your Vanilla extract and Salt to your taste. Stir the mix a few times so that everything mixes well together. 
• Switch your mixing speed to low now because you will be now adding Castor sugar into the mix. Don't dump it all at once, but instead introduce it gradually and slowly as you keep mixing, so that it will blend well with the other ingredients. 
• Once all the castor sugar has been added, give the frosting a few more slow mixes just to make sure everything is nice and smooth.
• After that just leave the frosting to cool on the countertop before it's read to be used or stored away for later use! 

Can I use this Cream Cheese frosting for my cake? 

Definitely yes! This recipe will give you a thick and smooth frosting, which will easily frost over on any cake or even Cupcake!

Just make sure the cake is cooled to room temperature as cream cheese frosting will melt if frosted over a warm cake. But otherwise it will hold its shape together for a long time! 

Try my:

• Autumn Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and salted Caramel Drizzle
• Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust in a Muffin Pan
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Fudge - No Bake Fall & Thanksgiving Dessert
• No-Bake Gingerbread Cheesecake
• Mini Peanut Butter Cheesecakes with Chocolate Ganache
• Mini Banana Cheesecakes

Is there any way I can make Cream Cheese frosting a little thicker? 

While this recipe already gives you quite a thick and creamy textured frosting, we totally understand if you want it to be extra thick for an easier piping experience.

If you want to make your cream cheese frosting on the thicker side then just add in a few teaspoons of cornstarch. Arrowroot powder will also work. This will make your frosting stiff and thick and you'll be easily able to pipe it over on cookies as well! 

Can I make Vegan Cream Cheese frosting? 

Absolutely yes you can! All you need to do is replace the dairy based cream cheese and butter with vegan butter and cream cheese.

You can find vegan butter and vegan cream cheese easily at your local grocery store. If not then looking them up online is always an option as well! 

Can I store Cream Cheese frosting? 

Having leftover cream cheese frosting after you're done piping your cake is pretty common. Instead of just throwing it away you can actually store it for future use. Just pack your cream cheese frosting in an air-tight glass jar and keep it in the crisper shelf of your fridge. This way you can easily expect your cream cheese to last five days. Don't use plastic containers to store cream cheese frosting as the plastic in it can affect the taste. 

Can I freeze Cream Cheese Frosting? 

If you are looking for a more permanent storage for your cream cheese frosting for all the future emergency instances where you might need immediate piping material, then don't worry because we got your back! 

• Make sure you freeze cream cheese frosting only in large batches, because otherwise freezing small portions is just not worth it. 
• Use a glass jar that is completely air tight. Don't use ziplock bags, as you'll have a hard time getting the frozen cream cheese frosting out of it. 
• Just pack your jar full with cream cheese frosting without leaving any air bubbles behind. Then seal it completely airtight. Place this jar inside the freezer. It should take a day or two to freeze completely. 
• Frozen cream cheese frosting lasts for a whole month easily inside your freezer. When you want to use it, just take it out of the jar and thaw it. Then remix it to soften it up and it's ready to go in the piping bag once again! 

Cream cheese frosting is a match made in heaven with any cake or cupcake.

We especially suggest you use it with carrot cake or Pumpkin Cake, as nothing compliments it more than cream cheese frosting.

Other recipes which use Cream Cheese Frosting

• Carrot Cake Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
• Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting

We hope this guide to making cream cheese frosting will make your baking adventures inside your kitchen sweeter and better! 😋