Cream Cheese Frosting

In the wide world of buttercream, I’ll always hold a special spot for cream cheese frosting. Whether it’s piped on top of a red velvet cupcake or enveloping the layers of my favorite carrot cake, it reigns supreme for its thick, luscious texture and its gorgeous signature tang. This best-ever cream cheese frosting recipe is easy to make, but there are a few key things to keep in mind. Here are my top tips to help you achieve those fluffy billows of (lump-free) frosting:

How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS

• Confectioners’ Sugar: It's essential for the best results that you pre-sift the confectioners’ sugar. Confectioners’ sugar tends to form clumps in the bag, and sifting it ensures these are gone long before you add it to the frosting. Don’t be tempted to skip this step. If there are lumps of confectioners’ sugar in the frosting, you’ll spend way more time trying to work them out than you would have spent sifting in the first place.
• Unsalted Butter & Cream Cheese: It’s super-important that both the butter and cream cheese are at the same softened temperature before mixing—especially the cream cheese. If it’s too hard, you’ll end up with small lumps of unincorporated cream cheese in your creamed butter, and they won’t go away no matter how much you beat.
• Kosher Salt: Just a little bit of kosher salt balances out the frosting, and combats all of the sweetness.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: A little bit of vanilla extract is perfectly classic in cream cheese frosting, but for a simple flavor change, try subbing out the vanilla extract for others like mint, almond, or maple (use a light hand to start). For a bright refreshing flavor, add citrus zest when beating the butter.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

First, make sure you sift the confectioners’ sugar using a fine mesh sieve in a medium bowl, then set aside. Then, in a stand mixture, beat the butter and salt until softened and creamy. Make sure you cream the butter thoroughly before adding the cream cheese. In testing, I found that the butter took longer to cream than the cream cheese. When I tried to cream both of them at the same time, the cream cheese actually overmixed and started to separate before the butter was smooth—not cute. To avoid this, beat the butter by itself until it’s smooth and creamy, then add the cream cheese and mix just until it’s incorporated.

Then, spoon ⅓ of the confectioners’ sugar into the butter mixture. We’re doing this in batches to make sure the sugar gets fully combined. Once it's incorporated, add another third of the sugar and beat until incorporated, then repeat with the remaining. Once fully combined, add in the vanilla and beat until combined.

Once the vanilla is added, increase the mixer speed and continue to beat until your mixture is light, fluffy, and perfect for piping onto cupcakes.

Full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

More Frosting & Icing Recipes

• Buttercream Frosting: If you're not about the tangy cream cheese flavor, turn to our classic buttercream frosting.
• Chocolate Buttercream Frosting: Making a chocolate cake? Our chocolate buttercream frosting is just the thing to complete it.
• Royal Icing: If you want to make the most adorable sugar cookies, then this royal icing is a must-make.

Storage

Cream cheese frosting can be made 2 days ahead. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate until you're ready to use.