Monday, December 5, 2011

Cream Cheese Frosting

Sadly I have come to realization that there is no frosting that you can buy at a grocery store that is worth eating.  I remember as a kid my aunt coving Graham crackers in white glaze and sending me happily on my way to sugar land, but as I have gotten older I just can't stand the stuff.  So, I tried to do it myself and the results were spectacular.

Plus, the end product is easier to spread on whatever you may like than the store bought.  Seriously, that stuff is like spreading plumbers putty.

INGREDIENTS
Cream Cheese       8oz
Unsalted Butter     1 stick
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla                  1 TEAspoon


The first and most important step is to let the cream cheese and butter sit out long enough to reach room temperature. Overnight is your best bet, and contrary to what the germ police might have to say butter and cream cheese do fine if you leave them out overnight.  Now, if you try to heat them up quickly so you don't have to wait go for it, but when you have melted butter and cream goo, just remember OVERNIGHT is your best bet.  I always use unsalted butter, because I hang with some people who can't handle their salt (me included)  I'm sure salted butter will work just as well.

For a double decker 9" cake I triple the recipe above.

Now put your butter and cream cheese into a mixing bowl and combine. You can use a wooden spoon, but I prefer to use my KitchenAid hand mixer, don't try this in the KitchenAid stand mixer, it's a nightmare.

The next step is to add the vanilla and powdered sugar.  I have seen some recipes call for a whole cup of powdered sugar, but I like to add a lot less than that. I like to be able to taste the cream cheese, but whatever floats your boat.

Congratulations you are now the proud new owner of an off-white wonder!

Spread this on a cake, cookies, waffles, pancakes or even just your fingers and enjoy!

If you want to get picky about the icing/frosting debate have a read here:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/01/icing-vs-frosting-glaze-debate.html

This is frosting.