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    Home » Recipes » Desserts

    How to Make the Best Cream Cheese Frosting

    Updated Aug 8, 2022

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    The Best Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

    Frosting Fans, pay attention. This is the VERY Best Cream Cheese Frosting. Perfectly smooth, never stiff. Creamy and cream-cheesy, and excellent for piping and decorating. And it won't melt and droop at room temperature! Hallelujah! This is our new go-to frosting recipe for all the goodies that need cream cheese frosting. You know...cupcakes, red velvet, carrot cake, brownies...puff pastries...my spoon. The usual.

     

    The Very Best Cream Cheese Frosting

    So, I can't say that I have ever eaten "bad" cream cheese frosting. I mean, it is pretty much cream cheese, sugar, butter, etc. You can't really go wrong.

    However, I have often experienced cream cheese frosting that is goopy. That literally slides off of a cake after a little while at room temperature.

    And forget decorating with it. Just too soft unless you keep it refrigerated. Not anymore!!!

    Frosting Fans, pay attention. This is the VERY Best Cream Cheese Frosting. Perfectly smooth, never stiff. Creamy and cream-cheesy, and excellent for piping and decorating.

    Ingredients Needed to Make Cream Cheese Frosting:

    • Powdered confectioners sugar
    • Cream cheese
    • Salted butter - If you use unsalted, add a wee pinch of salt to the recipe.
    • Shortening
    • Milk
    • Vanilla

    After a little testing, we have come up with what we think is the Very Best Cream Cheese Frosting. It is smooth and holds its shape when piped. Never stiff, but it doesn't melt either.

    You can sift your powdered sugar if you like. We just beat ours on high for a few seconds to break up the lumps.

    Frosting Fans, pay attention. This is the VERY Best Cream Cheese Frosting. Perfectly smooth, never stiff. Creamy and cream-cheesy, and excellent for piping and decorating.

    How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting:

    1. In a large mixing bowl, beat powdered sugar on high speed for a few seconds to break up lumps.
    2. Add the room temperature cream cheese, butter, and shortening. Beat on low, gradually increasing speed. Continue to beat, scraping the sides, on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until smooth and creamy.
    3. Beat in the milk and vanilla and increase speed and beat for another 1 to 2 minutes until desired consistency.

    Make sure the butter, cream cheese and shortening are at room temperature. Like, almost warm. Don't microwave them, but sit them on the counter a couple of hours before you need the cream cheese frosting.

    This will make sure the cream cheese frosting is nice and smooth.

    Beat on low and increase the speed until the frosting comes together. It will first resemble crumbs, but stay at it. Soon it will start to form a smooth frosting.

    Here are more Sweet Treats to Try:

    Lemon Chia Seed Muffins

    Sweetheart Brownie Bliss

    Biscuit Peach Cobbler

    Frosting Fans, pay attention. This is the VERY Best Cream Cheese Frosting. Perfectly smooth, never stiff. Creamy and cream-cheesy, and excellent for piping and decorating.

    To keep the sugar from flying everywhere, we held a damp towel around the bowl.

    Once the frosting gets thick, add the milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth and fluffy.

    Frosting Fans, pay attention. This is the VERY Best Cream Cheese Frosting. Perfectly smooth, never stiff. Creamy and cream-cheesy, and excellent for piping and decorating.

    This Cream Cheese Frosting is great for normal frosting, and can also be used with a decorating bag for special occasions and piping.

    So good!! Rich, buttery, smooth and that perfect amount of cream cheese flavor.

    Frosting Fans, pay attention. This is the VERY Best Cream Cheese Frosting. Perfectly smooth, never stiff. Creamy and cream-cheesy, and excellent for piping and decorating.

    We have shown this frosting on Our Favorite Carrot Cake. Get the recipe here!  

    The Very Best Cream Cheese Frosting

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    Our Favorite Carrot Cake

    The Very Best Cream Cheese Frosting

    This is the VERY Best Cream Cheese Frosting. Perfectly smooth, never stiff. Creamy and cream-cheesy, and excellent for piping and decorating. And it won’t melt and droop at room temperature!
    4.39 from 13 votes
    Print Recipe Email Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Total Time 15 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 16 Based on enough to frost a cake to serve 16 people
    Calories 323 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 ½ lbs of powdered confectioners sugar about 6 cups
    • 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
    • ½ cup salted butter room temperature
    • ½ cup shortening room temperature
    • 1 TB of milk
    • ½ TB vanilla

    Instructions
     

    • In a large mixing bowl, beat powdered sugar on high speed for a few seconds to break up lumps.
    • Add the room temperature cream cheese, butter, and shortening. Beat on low, gradually increasing speed. Continue to beat, scraping the sides, on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until smooth and creamy.
    • Beat in the milk and vanilla and increase speed and beat for another 1 to 2 minutes until desired consistency.

    Notes

    This recipe makes enough to GENEROUSLY frost 12 - 16 cupcakes, or a layered 8 or 9 inch cake.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serving (See Recipe Notes)Calories: 323kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 0gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 97mgPotassium: 19mgSugar: 42gVitamin A: 370IUCalcium: 17mgIron: 0.1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Allison Strang

      June 03, 2017 at 1:41 pm

      is there a reason you use half butter half shortening? I'd rather use all butter but want to make sure that won't make it runny.

      Reply
      • Teri

        June 03, 2017 at 2:08 pm

        In the past when I have used all butter in a cream cheese shortening, it had a tendency to start dropping and had to be refrigerated sooner. Just as delicious, and probably even more so because...well, butter is awesome. This recipe was originally made to be piped on a cake, so I wanted to to hold shape longer, so I opted for some shortening.

        Reply
        • Allison Strang

          June 03, 2017 at 7:45 pm

          Thank you so much! I'll stick with the shortening. 🙂

      • Shelia Clinton

        May 07, 2021 at 5:25 pm

        I’m making a Red velvet and cream cheese wedding cake and it’s pretty hot in Bakersville California so how do I keep it from not running off the cake and ruining the wedding cake in heat

        Reply
        • Teri

          May 10, 2021 at 10:19 am

          Keep the cake chilled for as long as possible. I have not put this outside in near 90 degree heat so I can't promise it will hold up.

      • Shelia Clinton

        May 07, 2021 at 5:27 pm

        I’m the one that made the cream cheeseWedding cake and it’s in Bakersville California and it’s hot 86 and I sent you the wrong email

        Reply
    2. Connie

      October 12, 2017 at 8:03 pm

      Can you color this frosting as you would a buttercream?

      Reply
      • Teri

        October 12, 2017 at 8:06 pm

        Yes. although keep in mind it isn't a pure-white. I've tinted it with no issues. I use gel colors for the best color.

        Reply
      • Teri

        May 10, 2021 at 10:18 am

        Yes.

        Reply
    3. Jae

      September 17, 2018 at 4:17 am

      5 stars
      Hi!!
      I came here after failing twice to make cream cheese frosting that wont drip on the sid of the cake.
      Im gonna try this but just want to makes sure what the yield is that I will get from this recipe?
      Could I frost a whole cake?
      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Teri

        September 17, 2018 at 11:03 am

        Yes, you can generously frost a whole cake. I've used it to frost a two-layer 9 inch cake with plenty left for piping.

        Reply
    4. Liz

      February 12, 2020 at 11:40 am

      Can i make this recipe and make it chocolate cream cheese???

      Reply
      • Teri

        February 12, 2020 at 12:09 pm

        Absolutely.

        Reply
    5. Cindy

      May 10, 2021 at 9:28 am

      Is this a crusting cream cheese icing?? Sounds like it.

      Reply
      • Teri

        May 10, 2021 at 10:18 am

        It doesn't crust much.

        Reply
    6. Kerri Cates

      September 19, 2021 at 3:09 pm

      Will this hold up in the mail to send someone frosted cupcakes if they were to receive it one day mail ?

      Reply
      • Teri

        September 26, 2021 at 11:42 am

        Um......that's a very tough question. I can't promise that, I'm sorry. Too many variables.

        Reply
    7. MARY TOGNAZZINI

      February 25, 2022 at 1:37 pm

      crisco?

      Reply
      • Teri

        February 28, 2022 at 10:29 am

        Yes you can use Crisco shortening.

        Reply

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