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Cream Cheese Frosting
“What's your cream cheese frosting recipe??” It's the single most-requested recipe in the group, hands down.
The thick, tangy, bakery-style upgrade to the simple glaze in our pillar cinnamon roll recipe: use it on rolls, cakes, or straight off the spoon. Cream cheese and butter both need to be genuinely room temperature; cold lumps are the only thing that ever goes wrong with this recipe.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Yield
- About 1½ cups (enough for 12 rolls)
Ingredients
Frosting
- 4 oz (113g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Instructions
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together until completely smooth with no lumps, about 2 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low until combined, then increase speed and beat 1–2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Spread over warm (not hot) baked goods so it melts slightly into the surface, or refrigerate up to a week and bring back to room temperature before using.
Baker's tips
For a thicker, pipeable frosting, add an extra ¼ cup powdered sugar. For a thinner, glaze-like frosting, beat in a tablespoon of milk.
Swap this in for the simple vanilla frosting on our pillar cinnamon roll recipe, spreading it rather than drizzling it over the warm rolls.
See the full recipe
Questions about this recipe
- Why is my frosting lumpy?
- Cold cream cheese or butter is almost always the cause. Both need to sit out until genuinely soft, about an hour on the counter. Short on time? Cut the cream cheese into cubes first; it softens faster.
- Can I make this ahead?
- Yes, it keeps in the fridge for up to a week in a sealed container. Let it come back to room temperature and give it a quick stir before using, since it firms up when cold.
- Can I freeze it?
- You can, for up to two months, but the texture can turn slightly grainy after thawing. Beat it again for a minute after thawing to smooth it back out.