Posted Feb 23, 2022, Updated Oct 20, 2024 Frosting is my favorite component of cake, and cream cheese frosting is my all-time favorite frosting flavor (followed closely by chocolate buttercream and peanut butter frosting). There’s something about the sweet, buttery tangy flavor that keeps me coming back for more. So, over the years I have created the perfect cream cheese frosting recipe. This recipe for the best cream cheese frosting is made with 5 ingredients 5 minutes. It has the perfect ratio of cream cheese to butter, is flavored with vanilla and sweetened with powdered sugar. It’s delicious served on top of cinnamon rolls, banana cake, pumpkin cake, carrot cake (or carrot cake cupcakes), hummingbird cake, as a filling for chocolate cake or yellow cake, and so much more.
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients & Substitutions
Full-fat cream cheese. Lighter cream cheese or dairy-free cream cheese can be used if necessary, but full-fat yields the best results. Salted butter. unsalted butter can be used in place of salted butter. Vanilla extract. the seeds of 1 vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste can replace the extract. Fine sea salt: just a pinch of salt takes this recipe up a notch, I don’t recommend omitting it. Powdered sugar. You can make your own refined-sugar free powdered sugar.
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting
This recipe comes together in a flash and is pretty simple to make. As always, we’ll walk through the process together, and don’t forget to watch the video. Begin by beating the butter until light and fluffy, either In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer. I always prefer to beat the butter alone first to ensure there are no lumps in the frosting. Next, add the room temperature cream cheese and beat until the mixture is smooth and there are no lumps. Then, add the vanilla and sea salt and beat until combined. Next, it’s time to add the powdered sugar. I prefer to do so 1 cup at a time, beating thoroughly after every addition until 4 cups has been used. This prevents the powdered sugar from flying out of the bowl and making a mess. For a firmer frosting, add more powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
Serve
Once you’ve reached the desired consistency, use it to frost your favorite cakes, cupcakes, brownies etc. Here are some suggestions:
Cakes. This cream cheese frosting is a great topper or filling for any cake, try this carrot cake, chocolate cake, yellow cake, banana cake, pumpkin cake, healthy carrot cake, zucchini cake, hummingbird cake, etc. Cupcakes. Use it to top these banana cupcakes (so delicious), chocolate cupcakes carrot cake cupcakes, or vanilla cupcakes! Cinnamon rolls. Cream cheese frosting is the best when used on warm gooey cinnamon rolls (in my opinion), or pumpkin cinnamon rolls! Brownies. I really love spreading this cream cheese frosting recipe on top of homemade brownies, zucchini brownies, pumpkin brownies, etc. Cookies. or use it as a frosting on soft pumpkin cookies, maple cookies, etc.
Store/Freeze
Store leftover cream cheese frosting in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw slowly at room temperature before using – do not microwave. This recipe makes quite a bit of cream cheese frosting, but I almost always make the full batch and freeze half of it for another day (so it’s ready for zucchini bars, cinnamon rolls, banana cake, etc.). If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
