How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting

Homemade frosting doesn’t have to be finicky or intimidating; this foolproof recipe for cream cheese frosting is proof. Use it to frost your favorite cakes, cupcakes, cookies and bars. You’ll love how tangy, sweet and creamy–not to mention simple and easy–it is.

To start, you’ll need a stick of softened butter, a package of softened cream cheese, some vanilla and powdered sugar.

Place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl.

Using an electric hand mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and cream cheese together until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally with a spatula.

If you don’t have an electric mixer, you can also use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer.

When the butter-cream cheese mixture is well combined, stir in the vanilla.

Add the powdered sugar and stir until combined and smooth.

You may want to add even more powdered sugar, depending on how smooth and spreadable you want the frosting.

Immediately use the frosting to frost a cake or pipe on cupcakes. If you don’t plan to use it right away, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Just be sure to bring it back to room temperature before using it to frost or it will be too thick to spread.

Enjoy the sweet, tangy taste of homemade cream cheese frosting on your favorite carrot cake recipe, as a dip for fresh fruit or straight out of the bowl with a spoon.