Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream Cheese frosting is creamy and velvety smooth with the perfect balance of tangy and sweet. This cream cheese frosting is a tried and true frosting that is pretty straightforward with only five ingredients required so anyone can make it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (or 2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup (or 8 ounces) cream cheese block, not spread room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar sifted or whisked to declump sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
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In a stand mixer bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese. Blend on medium-high until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure the butter and cream cheese is smooth. Continue to cream them together until light and fluffy about 5 minutes.
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Next, add the salt and vanilla extract. Add in half of the powdered sugar then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
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Then add the other half of the powdered sugar. Once all the powdered sugar has been added turn up the speed gradually and mix on medium-high until the frosting is smooth and creamy but do not overmix or else the frosting will become soupy.
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Refrigerate the frosting for 10 minutes to set and firm it up.
Recipe Notes
Important note: makes sure the cakes or cupcakes are cooled completely. Cream cheese frosting typically does not do well in warm weather, so it’s always best to refrigerate the cake to make sure it doesn’t melt.
Pro Tip: use the block of cream cheese, not cream cheese spread. Cream cheese is sold in 8-ounce blocks, and you’ll need 1 block of the full-fat stuff for the best results. I’ve gotten many questions about cream cheese frosting being too runny, but you can quickly fix this by using the block of cream cheese.