Cream cheese frosting is more tangy and less sweet than buttercream. It’s great paired with spiced recipes such as carrot cake or pumpkin muffins, and it’s traditionally served with red velvet. You can use this to frost any cake or cupcakes, and it also works great as a sandwich cookie filling. You can also gently heat this frosting over low heat to give it a more liquid consistency that you can use to pour over a bundt cake or zucchini bread.
Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) (224g) block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar (use as little as 2 cups for less sweetness, or up to 4 cups for a thicker consistency. If you play with the amounts here, go slowly and taste and evaluate the consistency as you go). For smoother consistency, sift after measuring to remove any lumps.
Directions
- In a large bowl with an electric mixture, beat together cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt until well blended. Mix in powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. If you want your frosting to be thicker, you can add a bit more powdered sugar.