Cream Cheese Frosting

Name: Cream Cheese Frosting
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 6 cups
Ingredients: 2 sticks (1 cup, 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature; 2 cups confectioners’ sugar; 2 tablespoons milk, more as needed; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

By Melissa Clark

Total Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 5(1,506)
Comments: Read comments

Made with much less confectioners’ sugar than the usual cream cheese frosting, it’s sturdy, dependable and not too sweet - just right for a child’s birthday party or to ice three-dozen cupcakes for a bake sale. While it’s not quite as silky as a buttercream based on beaten eggs and sugar syrup, it’s much, much less persnickety to make and it holds up well without refrigeration for several hours before it starts getting soft. Plus, the cream cheese makes it incredibly creamy while adding a tangy bite that helps tone down the sweetness of the confectioners’ sugar. To make lemon cream cheese buttercream (which tastes a little like a cheesecake), substitute one tablespoon lemon juice for the vanilla and add a teaspoon of grated lemon zest to the frosting.

Featured in: Video: How to Frost a Cake

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Ingredients

Yield:6 cups

2sticks (1 cup, 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2(8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
2cups confectioners’ sugar
2tablespoons milk, more as needed
2teaspoons vanilla extract

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

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Step 1
Using an electric mixer, whip the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar, milk and vanilla. If the frosting seems too thick to spread, add a little more milk.

Ratings

5 out of 5

1,506 user ratings

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Comments

Jennifer7 years ago

This is a great recipe! It went wonderfully on my babana hazelnut praline cake. However I have one suggestion. Without reading the introduction at the top, the way the ingredient list reads, I would have used 16 oz of cream cheese. I've never seen a package of 4 oz cream cheese. I think it would be best just to say 8 oz of cream cheese and leave out the word package.

Deborah7 years ago

Read all the notes but still not convinced about the quantities of butter and cream cheese. The intro says 'equal weights' of butter and cream cheese but the recipe says 8 ounces butter and (2x8oz) 16 ounces of cream cheese - which is clearly not equal weights. Please ask Melissa to clarify.

Hazel7 years ago

I got to make this twice -- here's what not to do and the correctives
1. Try to cream the butter and the cream cheese together at the same time (cream the butter first, and then add cheese in chunks)
2. Use a locally made cream cheese with the added stiffeners and thickeners (use the nationally known stuff)
3. Add the milk at the same time as the sugar (wait until after the sugar is in to see if you need milk. I did not).
Makes enough for 4 dozen cupcakes. Now, how will this freeze?

Layla6 years ago

Between the recipe instructions, the recipe notes in the link, and the comments, I have no idea how to make this frosting. The quantity of butter or cream cheese I decide to add could be as far as 50% to 200% off from the intended amount. Unfortunately I will have to search for a cream cheese buttercream recipe somewhere else.

Hannah6 years ago

cake, and only needed about half. After having little luck finding a good frosting recipe (not too sweet, but still adding flavor), this one is perfect. Note: I made the full recipe for a 13x9 cake and definitely only needed half. No one complained about the generous portion of frosting though!

Adrienne6 years ago

This was so easy and delicious. I made it just as written, with 16. oz cream cheese (2 8-oz packages of Organic Valley cream cheese) and topped a three-tiered lemon cake with it. (I substituted lemon extract for the vanilla extract in this case.) It was a huge hit. Easy to handle, and it made plenty for a large cake.

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