Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe makes enough frosting to frost one single layer round cake, a 9x13 quarter sheet cake, or 12-18 cupcakes.

To frost a double layer cake, use 3/4 cup butter, 12 ounces cream cheese, 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

• Prep time: 5 minutes
  

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick, 4 ounces), room temperature
• 8 oz of Philadelphia cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
• About 3 cups of powdered sugar sifted
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

METHOD

1 Beat the cream cheese and butter together: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until completely smooth, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure that the mixture is mixed evenly.

2 Beat in vanilla extract and powdered sugar: Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer running on low speed to start, slowly add in 2 cups of the powdered sugar.

Powdered sugar has cornstarch in it that will thicken the frosting as well as making it sweet. Keeping adding more powdered sugar to the frosting until you get your desired level of sweetness and thickness.

3 Spread or pipe the frosting to decorate: Use a blunt knife or spatula to spread the frosting, or spoon the frosting into a piping bag to decorate your cupcake or cake.

Here are some fun variations:

• Add 1/2 a cup of unsweetened cocoa powder and a pinch of salt for a chocolate cream cheese frosting
• Mix freshly grated or dried, flaked coconut to the frosting to make a coconut frosting
• Intensify a vanilla frosting by adding some scrapings from a fresh vanilla bean to the frosting
• Add some blueberry syrup for blueberry cream cheese frosting
• Add a tablespoon of Amaretto or a quarter teaspoon of almond extract for an almond flavored cream cheese frosting