Learning how to make cream cheese frosting is easier than you may think. If you’re showing them your love with a homemade cake—take it all the way with homemade cream cheese frosting, too! Our cream cheese frosting recipes include both the cake (or cupcake) to be frosted, as well as the frosting itself.

How to Make Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting: The Basics

The most important ingredient in your cream cheese frosting? Cream cheese, of course! In the same way cream cheese adds creamy richness and body to cheesecakes and savory dishes (see these PHILADELPHIA recipes for more of those), it also gives cream cheese frosting its thick, spreadable texture and subtly tangy flavor. Add to that a sweetening agent (usually sifted powdered sugar), butter/margarine and vanilla or almond extract, and you have a basic cream cheese frosting recipe.

How to Make the BEST Cream Cheese Frosting

If you’re looking for the straight-up best recipe to top banana cakes, carrot cakes and spiced pumpkin cakes (and cupcakes), you can’t go wrong with classic PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese Frosting. Generally speaking, the “best” cream cheese frosting recipe will vary according to the type of cake or cupcake you’re making. For example, Vanilla Creme Frosting is made with JET PUFFED marshmallow creme and tastes heavenly with chocolate cake.

As you learn how to make homemade cream cheese frosting, remember: ingredients matter. PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese is our favorite for frosting. If the recipe calls for butter, unsalted will give you the purest butter flavor. Confectioners’ sugar, also labeled “powdered” or “10X” sugar will blend into the cream cheese and butter more smoothly than granulated sugar, and sifting it ensures the smoothest frosting.

When making your frosting, start with softened cream cheese and butter, and beat them together in a medium to large bowl to blend. Gradually beat in the sugar until smooth, being careful not to over-beat: your frosting could separate into liquid and little clumps of cheese. Add the flavoring at the end, taste and adjust. If you are making the frosting in advance, be sure to refrigerate it. When you’re ready to frost your cooled cake, remove the frosting from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes or until it is the perfect consistency for spreading on your cake. You don’t want to tear your cake when you are frosting it!

Did Someone Say Chocolate?

Homemade cream cheese frosting is a good bet for any kind of chocolate cake—as in our famous Tuxedo Cake. It’s also a good idea to get to know how to make chocolate cream cheese frosting to go with yellow cakes. Like their non-chocolate counterparts, chocolate cream cheese frostings can be varied with different ingredients. There are a number of recipes you can try, like White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting or Chocolate Creme Frosting made with cocoa and marshmallow creme.

Learning how to make homemade cream cheese frosting is hardly a daunting task. Get out there and make some special memories for your loved ones today!