This Cream Cheese Buttercream recipe is the perfect blend of cream cheese and butter. It's rich and flavorful thanks to plenty of vanilla, a touch of tangy sour cream, and just the right amount of confectioners sugar.
"Honestly, this recipe is killer. Every time I make it, 100% someone will ask me for the recipe. Thanks for this! It's my go-to frosting!" - Brittany
This is the recipe I've relied on for decades when making desserts that demand to be covered in a thick layer of cream cheese buttercream, like Carrot Cake and Red Velvet Cake.
This is also my favorite frosting for homemade Cinnamon Rolls. And, with the addition of a bit of coconut extract, it's insanely delicious on Coconut Cream Cake and Hummingbird Cupcakes.
And, honestly, it's hard to beat a slice of dark chocolate Devil's Food Cake or a simple One Layer Chocolate Almond Cake slathered in a thick layer of cream cheese buttercream.
If you want a raspberry version of this buttercream, try this raspberry cream cheese frosting recipe!
Why This Recipe Works
Cream Cheese Buttercream is one of the easiest kinds of frosting to make. You basically put all the ingredients into a bowl, beat them together, and you're done.
Because it's such a simple frosting, the quality and ratio of ingredients really matters. Here's what you'll find in this recipe:
- An equal amount of cream cheese and butter
- A touch of sour cream for flavor and to balance the sweetness of the sugar
- Enough salt to bring out the flavor of the cream cheese and butter
- Plenty of vanilla extract
*For a more mild-flavored alternative to cream cheese buttercream, try Mascarpone Frosting.
Ingredients Needed to Prepare this Recipe
You only need 6 ingredients to make cream cheese buttercream. As is the case with all simple recipes, the quality of the ingredients you use will determine the quality of the buttercream.
- Cream Cheese: My preference is to use Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese because it's a bit tangier than other brands. That extra tang is a delicious balance to the sweetness of buttercream. Do NOT use spreadable or low-fat cream cheese. The fat in regular full-fat cream cheese helps stabilize this buttercream.
- Unsalted Butter: Salt is a vital ingredient in buttercream, but it's important to be able to control the amount. Choosing unsalted butter means you have 100% control over how much or how little salt the frosting contains.
- Sour Cream: Just 3 tablespoons of sour cream boosts the flavor of cream cheese buttercream and gives it a subtle tang that's the perfect compliment to nearly any flavor of cake.
- Vanilla Extract: Use pure vanilla extract, not the imitation kind.
- Salt: Salt balances out the sweetness in this buttercream and brings out the flavor of the cream cheese and butter. Start with 1 teaspoon of salt and then add as much more as you like.
- Powdered (Confectioners) Sugar. It's very important to use powdered sugar (confectioners sugar) NOT granulated sugar to make cream cheese buttercream. Powdered sugar will dissolve easily into the butter and cream cheese to create a creamy consistency. Granulated sugar will not completely dissolve and will create a grainy consistancy.
How to Make Cream Cheese Buttercream
#1. Start with room temperature cream cheese and butter. Cold butter and cream cheese will not blend. To bring them to room temperature just let them sit out on your countertop for an hour or two. Or, here's how to bring them to room temperature quickly.
#2. Beat the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer until very creamy and almost fluffy. This will take about 3-5 minutes.
#3. Add 9 cups of powdered sugar to the bowl. Turn the mixer to LOW and beat on low speed just to incorporate the sugar without it flying all over your kitchen.
Slowly increase the speed of the mixer and beat on medium-high for another 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl two or three times.
If the buttercream isn't thick enough to ice your cake, add more powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, until you get the consistency you're looking for. (See note below about temperature.)
You can also incorporate a bit of cornstarch to thicken the buttercream if you like. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, beat well, and check the consistency. If you want the buttercream to be thicker, add additional cornstarch in very small amounts -1 teaspoon at a time.
#4. Taste and add more vanilla or salt if you like.
This buttercream can also be flavored with almond or coconut extract. Cream Cheese Buttercream flavored with coconut extract is my favorite frosting for Coconut Cream Cake.
Recipe Notes
The Temperature of Cream Cheese Buttercream is Important
Cream Cheese Buttercream is, of course, mostly cream cheese and butter - two ingredients that are super duper sensitive to temperature. Too cold and the buttercream will be difficult to work with. Too warm and it will just slide right off your cake. No bueno.
The good news is that temperature is easy to fix. If the buttercream is too warm to work with, just put it in the refrigerator for a while. If you're working in a warm room and your buttercream is getting too warm, stop and put the whole cake in the refrigerator. Do not, I beg you, think "If I hurry, I'm sure it will be fine."
Just recently I ruined a whole cake with my impatience. Noticing that the buttercream was too warm, I thought I'd just rush though frosting and filling the cake and then put it in the refrigerator. The top two layers slid right off the cake, breaking apart as they did. Some lessons must be learned the hard way.
I also like the buttercream I'm piping decorations with to be a bit firmer than the buttercream I'm using to frost the cake. So, after frosting a cake, I usually put the cake and the remaining buttercream in the refrigerator for a spell to firm it up before proceeding with decoration.
This Recipe Uses a 1:1 Ratio of Butter and Cream Cheese
For cream cheese buttercream that's thick enough to fill and frost a layer cake, and even pipe decoration onto a cake, it's important to use equal amounts of butter and cream cheese.
A lot of cream cheese buttercream recipes call for a 2:1 ratio, with double the amount of cream cheese to butter. This results in a more pronounced cream cheese flavor, but it has a loose consistency that's difficult to work with - especially if you're trying to fill layers of cake.
This is a problem because when the consistency of cream cheese buttercream is too loose, cake layers can slide around and you'll end up with a big mess instead of a beautiful frosted layer cake.
Pro tip! How to Fill and Frost a Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream
I usually freeze cake layers for at least an hour before filling and stacking them into a layer cake.
Frozen cake layers are just so much easier to work with because you don't have to worry about them cracking or crumbling. Working with frozen layers also makes maintaining a good buttercream temperature super easy.
When using cream cheese buttercream as a filling over frozen cake layers, the buttercream will harden slightly, making the cake layers easier to stack. However, be sure to work quickly when icing the outside of a cake with frozen layers. If the buttercream gets to cold it will become difficult to spread.
Cream Cheese Buttercream FAQs
A: Just 3 tablespoons of sour cream boosts the flavor of cream cheese buttercream and gives it a subtle tang that's the perfect compliment to nearly any flavor of cake.
A: Because this recipe includes butter, it will always be a creamy, off-white color. However, the kind of butter you use can affect the color.
Butter made from corn fed cattle tends to be much whiter than butter made from grass fed cattle. This is because the diet of grass fed cattle contains a lot of beta-carotene, which colors the milk and makes the butter more yellow.
A: Yes. Always store cakes or cupcakes that have been frosted with cream cheese buttercream in the refrigerator.
But, if you want to serve a dessert that's been frosted with cream cheese buttercream at room temperature, it's perfectly safe to leave it at room temperature for 2-3 hours before putting it back in the refrigerator.
A: Yes! The sour cream adds a delicious subtle tang, but this cream cheese buttercream is perfectly delicious without it.
8 Cakes to Frost with Cream Cheese Buttercream
- Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream & Caramel Rum Sauce
- Banana Cream Cake
- Pistachio Cardamom Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream
- Hummingbird Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Buttercream {nut free recipe}
- Coconut Cream Cake with Coconut Pastry Cream
- Sinfully Rich Chocolate Devil's Food Cake {or Cupcakes}
- Spice Cake {intensely flavorful and moist}
- Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream
Cream Cheese Buttercream is a Building Block Recipe
Building block recipes are tried-and-true recipes that I consider foundational to great home baking. They are the kind of recipes I come back to over and over again, sometimes baking them as is, but often using them as a jumping off point to create something new. > Scroll through all Building Block recipes.
More Buttercream Recipes:
📖 Recipe
Cream Cheese Buttercream
This Cream Cheese Buttercream is the perfect balance of cream cheese and butter. It's rich and creamy without being overly sweet.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces (454 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 16 ounces (454 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoon (43 grams) sour cream
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 9-10 cups (1021 - 1135 grams) powdered sugar (*Or more - See note.)
Instructions
- Beat the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer until very creamy and almost fluffy, 3-5 minutes.
- Add 9 cups of powdered sugar and beat on low speed just to incorporate the sugar without it flying all over your kitchen. Slowly increase the speed of the mixer and beat on medium-high for another 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl two or three times.
- If the buttercream isn't thick enough to ice your cake, add more powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, until you get the consistency you're looking for. (See note below about temperature.)
- Taste and add more vanilla if you like. This buttercream can also be flavored with almond or coconut extract.
Notes
How Temperature Can Impact the Consistancy of Cream Cheese Buttercream
Add as much powdered sugar as necissary to achieve a spreadable consistancy. However, please note the temperature of your buttercream before adding more powdered sugar. If the room is warm, the buttercream might be on the thin side simply because it's too warm. Place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour, re-beat it and check the consistency.
How to Thicken Cream Cheese Buttercream Without Adding More Powdered Sugar:
If you want your buttercream to be on the stiff side (for decorating), or if you want a thicker buttercream without adding more powdered sugar, you can add a bit of cornstarch. Start by beating 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into the buttercream. Check the consistancy and add more as necissary, adding it in very small amounts until you get the consitancy you want.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1/24th of the recipeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 163Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 281mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 4g
Brittany Cooley says
Honestly, this recipe is killer. Every time I make it, 100% someone will ask me for the recipe. Thanks for this! It's my go-to frosting!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Brittany! I am so happy to hear that you like this recipe so much! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! You've totally made my morning. xo
Julie says
.My icing turns out quite yellow.
Whtas the trick to keeping it white?
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Julie! The yellow color must be coming from the butter. The level of the natural pigment carotene in milk, derived from the diet of cows, is what makes butter yellow. Your butter must have quite a lot of this pigment in it. 🙂 You can either look for a different brand of butter or just increase the amount of cream cheese and decrease the amount of butter in the recipe. This will change the taste and texture of the buttercream, so adjust the ratio carefully, until you get a balance that allows for the buttercream to be more white. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xo
D.M says
Hi can this recipe work if I dont add the sour cream? I want to do a strawberry crumble cake with this recipe.
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi there! Yes! The sour cream just adds a bit of tang, but the buttercream will still be delicious without it. A strawberry crumble cake sounds delicious!
Katie says
Hello! I just want to double check before I make this-it says 16oz of butter which is 4 sticks, is that right? Just want to make sure I don’t add more butter than I have to! Thank you!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Hi Katie! Thanks for the question! Yes - you are correct. 16 ounces of butter translates into 4 sticks of butter. Please let me know if you have any more questions! xo