Cream cheese frosting is one of my favorite icings to use on cakes and cupcakes (like carrot cake and red velvet cake).
It is not too sweet, goes with almost any kind of cake and is surprisingly easy to make.
Even though it seems like the cream cheese might make it heavy, it really doesn’t. (Especially when you know the secret to making the icing fluffy…which we will get to later.)
And since it is white, you can easily add a few drops of food coloring to match the decor of whatever party you are throwing. (I used a couple drops of red food coloring to get the pink color on my heart Valentine’s Day cake.)
Ingredients
This will make enough frosting for 2 8-inch (or 9-inch) cake layers, 1 9″ x 13″ sheet cake or 24 cupcakes.
Here’s your shopping list:
- Dairy: 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, 1 stick (½ cup) salted butter – the salt helps to keep the icing from being too sweet.
- Sugar: 1 pound (4 cups) of icing sugar (also known as powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar)
- Flavoring: 1 teaspoon vanilla
Substitutions
- To use unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon salt.
- For a less sweet version, reduce the sugar to 3 cups.
How to make cream cheese frosting
1 | Prep work
A few hours before you start, take the cream cheese and butter out of the refrigerator to soften.
You can get away without doing this, but it’s harder to get the lumps out of the icing if you start with hard ingredients.
If you are in a hurry, you can soften butter and cream cheese in the microwave.
Do this process for the butter and cream cheese separately.
Most microwaves perform better with smaller quantities, and with ingredients that have the same consistency. So trying to put the butter and cream cheese in at the same time does not give good results.
Remove the butter or cream cheese from its packaging.
Put it in the microwave on low power for 10 to 15 seconds. Don’t try it on high power because it tends to melt (not soften) the butter and cream cheese.
Then test to see if it is soft.
If it isn’t, repeat the process until the ingredient has softened. (The number of times you will need to do this depends on the strength of your microwave.)
2 | Mix the butter and cream cheese
Cut the butter and cream cheese into chunks. While not absolutely necessary, this makes it easier to beat them (especially if you are using a handheld mixer).
Mix the cream cheese and vanilla in your mixer on medium speed until the cream cheese is smooth.
Add the butter.
Beat the cream cheese and butter mixture until it is fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. (This is the key to having light, fluffy cream cheese icing).
3 | Add the sugar
Reduce the mixing speed to low.
Add the icing sugar ½ cup at a time.
Mix until all of the sugar has dissolved into the cream cheese before adding the next ½ cup.
Keep adding sugar until the icing has reached a spreadable consistency, which should take 3 to 4 cups.
After adding all of the sugar, increase the speed to medium and continue mixing until the icing is fluffy and smooth.
Now it is ready to spread on your dessert of choice.
Storage
Because this icing is made with cream cheese, it needs to be refrigerated to stay fresh and hold its shape.
You can store it in an air tight containers for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Let it warm up before attempting to spread it.
If it seems lumpy, mix it in the mixer until it gets its fluffiness back.
Where to use cream cheese icing
Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (or 1 stick) salted butter softened
- 4 cups (or 1 pound) sifted icing sugar also known as powdered sugar or confectioner's sugar
Equipment
- measuring cups and spoons
- Stand Mixer and Mixing Bowl
- Spatula
Instructions
- Beat the cream cheese with the vanilla on medium speed until smooth.8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add the butter.½ cup (or 1 stick) salted butter
- Beat the cream cheese and butter mixture until it is fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes
- Reduce the speed to low.
- Add the icing sugar in ½ cup increments, beating on low speed between each addition until the previous one has been incorporated.4 cups (or 1 pound) sifted icing sugar
- Increase to medium speed and beat for another minute until the frosting is light and fluffy.
Notes
- Cutting the butter and cream cheese up into chunks before adding them to the bowl makes it easier to mix them (especially if you are using a hand held mixer).
- Using salted butter helps to keep the icing from being too sweet, but unsalted butter will work, too.
- You can adjust how sweet the cream cheese icing is by using less sugar. It will still work with 3 cups of sugar instead of 4.
- You can store cream cheese frosting in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let it warm up before spreading. If it seems lumpy, mix it for a few seconds in a mixer to get its fluffiness back.
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Have comments or questions about our cream cheese icing recipe? Tell us in the section below.
This post was originally published on May 3, 2015 but was updated with new content on April 6, 2026.