There is a magical taste and texture to cream cheese frosting. I like it so much more than plain vanilla butter cream because it’s not so sweet. It also captures flavors exquisitely.
Two Recipes for the Best Cream Cheese Frosting
I couldn’t decide which recipe I liked better, so I’m giving you two of them. One is more cream cheese centric; one has a bigger butter ratio. It really depends on which kind of cake you’re making.
I like the cream cheese centric one when the cake is denser, such as the coconut cupcakes, or carrot cake.
Add in some nutmeg and coconut for the best coconut cupcakes in the world. In fact, since you’re here, I need to tell you that I have made those cupcakes more than 30 times and it’s my most requested recipe from friends.
In summertime, I love these chocolate zucchini cupcakes, with an orange and basil cream cheese frosting, and in the spring we brighten up with a carrot cake with a lemon cream cheese frosting.
The quintessential cake and cream cheese duo has always been the much beloved red velvet cake with a vanilla cream cheese frosting. I wouldn’t dare try to play with this combination. It’s classic. It’s perfect and that’s why it shows up so often at weddings and special occasions. Recently, I even created a new cream cheese frosting with espresso.
Either cream cheese frosting would be great in these red velvet jars.
Both are delicious and I’m giving you the choice.
You might even change the ratio for your own taste buds. Ingredients to consider playing with include orange zest, orange juice, dark rum, real vanilla bean, sea salt, crumbled cookies, various herbs, cocoa powder, heavy cream, maple syrup, nutmeg, cinnamon, or any pureed berries. You may need to adjust the amount of confectioner’s sugar to get the right consistency. You want it to be able to hold shape as above.
And just for fun, I recently made a goat cheese, cream cheese frosting.
Espresso Frosting for Chocolate Cake
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting for Carrot Cake
Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Caramel Frosting Recipe that You Can Pipe
So tell me, what is your favorite cake or ingredient in a good cream cheese frosting?
Two Perfect Recipes for the Best Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Frosting No. 1
- 10 ounces cream cheese softened
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 cups confectioner's sugar
- 2 teaspoons real vanilla order here
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream
Cream Cheese No. 2
- 12 ounces cream cheese softened (1 1/2 of the 8 ounce packages)
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 5 to 5 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 3 tablespoons of heavy cream optional If you use this option, you will need to add in another 1/2 cup or more of confectioners' sugar)
- 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract order here
Instructions
Cream Cheese No. 1
- Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add in sugar, one cup at a time. Add vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Add milk or cream if it needed, if it's too stiff.
Cream Cheese No. 2
- Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add in confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time. Add in heavy cream and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.
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If you love this recipe, please give it five stars. It means a lot. xoxo
I only made the first recipe but that is no doubt the best cream cheese frosting I have ever had. Thank you for the recipe!
Myra
Thank you so much for writing me to let me know. It really makes my day when people take the time and I know they had a good experience.
Happy Cooking
Angela
Spinach Tiger
About how many cupcakes can I frost with this recipe?
Which of the two recipes produces a stiffer frosting? I’m on a never-ending hunt for a pipe-able cream cheese frosting, and it looks like the recipe used in your last photo piped really well!
I used chantilly stabiliser (or you can use Agar) to thicken the frosting. You need to heat the water first and then add the stabiliser and it worked great. We ended up adding 4 times the amount of cream cheese because we felt this recipe was much much too sugary for our adult palate. It is more for a young teenage or young adult palate of all sugar and very little cream cheese flavour.
How much Agar did you use?
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I really thought this was my personal Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe Try a teaspoon of Lemon Extract Very Unique
I made the frosting in the first recipe for my mother’s birthday cake. It was amazing; very delicious and it was the perfect consistency.
Hi, by saying serves 8, does this mean it can frost a two layer cake?
Made recipe #1 for my red velvet cupcakes & it was seriously the best cream cheese icing I’ve ever tasted. Perfect balance of sweetness & creaminess. So yummy. Thanks for sharing.
OMG!!! The best cream cheese frosting I have EVER had. Just completed an order for two dozen red velvet cupcakes and I am sooo in trouble…..there is frosting left over (and I piped it on, kind of like the picture)!! Not exactly compatible with Weight Watchers….Thank you for the recipe (#1)!!
Zay, thank you. I’m so glad it worked for you and I love carrot cake!
Sorry I forgot to rate it
I sooooooooo loved this frosting!!! It went perfect with my carrot cake. Thanx a bunch ^_^
I found your site while doing a search for “best cream cheese frosting recipe” – and I must say, I love your blog! The photos are beautiful and the recipes are creative. Excited to try this recipe for banana bars I’m making for a party this weekend.
I really really like cream cheese frosting! How much sugar in the second recipe?
Très gourmand et haut en couleur j’adore
Je te souhaite un bon dernier vendredi de l’année
Valérie
I never thought frosting could be so pretty!
Happy New Year!
I made a brown butter cream cheese frosting this past year that was one of my very favorites ever but then I’m sort of on a brown butter with everything kick!
These look gorgeous!
Ay Dios Mio! I will try this when I learn to bake. My goal is to make bread and bake a cake from scratch for 2012….get ready….
Much love for 2012.
Norma
Beautiful, lovely, deliciously yummy looking frosting. I will try this on my next cake.
I love cream cheese frosting on the deeper, spicier flavor cakes. Thank you for these. For some reason I am dismal at cream cheese frosting, it always ends up too runny. Will try these next time! Happy New Year.
i know this is a year later, but if your frosting is too runny add a couple of spoons of instant vanilla pudding
This is hands down my favourite icing ever! It’s actually quite embarrassing how much of it I can eat! 😛 Interesting using some cream in the second recipe, I must give that a go!
Cream cheese frosting is my husband’s favorite. I usually make it in a 1-1 ratio but I’ll have to try it the other way as well.
I love cream cheese frosting. That cupcake looks so pretty and tempting!
Cheers,
Rosa