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Really, we all know the real reason why cupcakes are so popular. Cupcakes are basically an edible utensil for eating frosting, particularly when it comes to certain cupcake "flavors" like red velvet. What the hell is "red velvet?" It's nothing more than a fancy way to shamelessly eat a quarter- to half-cup full of cream cheese frosting.
Cream cheese frosting, you see, is the best frosting out there, and I have stumbled across the end-all, be-all recipe for it. Strangely enough, it's been under my nose this whole time in my trusty Joy of Cooking cookbook for years. I just never noticed it. At first I didn't trust it because it seemed way too easy compared to "fancier" recipes that make you think you need to be Ina Garten to make it, but this recipe is almost so easy, even Sandra Lee could make it. Ouch. Was that too harsh? See, that's how easy this recipe is.
Beat 8 oz. cold cream cheese (not rock solid, but it means you can use it straight out of the refrigerator) with 5 Tbsp. softened butter and 2 tsp. vanilla until combined. Gradually add 2 c. powdered sugar that has been sifted after measuring. Continue to add more sifted powdered sugar until you reach a consistency and sweetness that fits your taste.
No softening the cream cheese (though you do have to plan ahead with the butter). No whipping to a certain point that occurs for all of ten seconds before it's ruined. The hardest part is not eating the frosting straight from the bowl by the spoonful.
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11-26-2010 @8:20PM Stephanie said... True red velvet cake doesn't actually use cream cheese icing.... Don't get me wrong, I love me some cream cheese icing, it's just not what goes on a *real* red velvet cake. Which anyone from the South with a mama who liked to bake could tell you....
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12-12-2010 @8:36PM Tracie said... I just made this frosting and it is fantastic! I put it on top of my pumpkin bars, yum!
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1-03-2011 @10:12AM nina said... i just tried this, topped on a banana cake. it was so tasty and very rich. very decadent. i give it 2 thumbs up :)
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3-19-2011 @6:36PM viczen said... New to your website and love your writing style. Quick question as I plan to make this cream cheese frosting after trying Ina Garten's/Barefoot Contessa icing she uses with her coconut cupcakes (hers was too soft). I want to put the cream cheese frosting on a chocolate buttercream cake as I love the combination of white icing with chocolate cake. Your sentence: "No whipping to a certain point that occurs for all of ten seconds before it's ruined" has me confused. What do you mean? Should it not be beaten for too long? Are you talking only a few minutes after adding the sifted confectioners powdered sugar? Maybe that was my problem, because the consistency of Ina's (not yours, as I haven't tried your recipe yet) was too soft and started drooping out of the middle of the double layer eight-inch cake. I love cream cheese frosting and want to get it right for a dinner party. Also, cold vs. room temperature?! Most want the cream cheese at room temperature. Are you sure the cold works and is necessary? Thanks.
Read more: http://www.slashfood.com/2007/10/24/last-cream-cheese-frosting/#ixzz1H5RIiIy8
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8-29-2011 @1:13AM Robyn said... This is the most amazing recipe EVER! I just wanted to lick the whole bowl and then maybe start scraping it off the cake to eat too! I ended up linking back to you on my blog because I just HAD to share a recipe so devine! http://tipsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/2011/08/life-lessons-and-lots-of-cake.html Thanks! -Robyn
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9-17-2011 @3:56PM stumpe001 said... this is very good on any baked good. i have made this iciing for many years.
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9-17-2011 @4:00PM stumpe001 said... *****stars this is so easy & yummy. you can eat it off your finger.
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9-23-2011 @3:44PM Lee Lee said... why is this frosting so thin and runny? I am taking cream cheese straight from refridge.I just started having this problem recently.
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11-15-2011 @10:40PM KIM HONISH said... Very easy recipe to follow everything goes together very easily smooth texture. Spreads easily . I'd do this one again . Put it on a strawberry cake. mmmmmmm
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11-28-2011 @2:15AM ANH said... Does anyone know about how many cupcakes I will be able to frost with this recipe?
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11-28-2011 @2:15AM ANH said... Does anyone know about how many cupcakes I will be able to frost with this recipe?
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10-24-2007 @10:21AM wynk said... sweetness. I just got an ice cream cone cupcake pan and this will go excellently with it.
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10-24-2007 @12:20PM Beth said... Don't knock red velvet! Yes, the food coloring is a bit silly, but the hint of chocolate from the cocoa and the velvety texture (I think from the use of vinegar?) are wonderful.
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10-24-2007 @10:50PM BDW said... My best friend's mommy puts two cups of m&m's into her red velvet cake. Great birthday cake for the kids, and a pleasure for us over-50's, too.
Have to try to get her to put the creamcheese icing on. She usually uses a German style pecan/coconut icing with chocolate chips.
Best cake I have ever had in 53 years.
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10-24-2007 @2:19PM Fash said... This is basically the same as the recipe on the Kraft site - it uses Philadelphia cream cheese. The only difference is that this calls for one more tsp of vanilla and has you add sugar to taste instead of just calling for the four cups straightaway.
This is an excellent recipe though - and using cold cream cheese really does make a difference. It's AWESOME on pumpkin cake or bars with a sprinkle of walnuts. At a party, I let people frost their own and I saw them piling it on an inch thick!
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10-25-2007 @12:33AM Chance Morgan said... I just love the idea that cupcakes are just an edible utensil for the cream cheese icing. This will so help me explain to others why I eat the bottom out of a cupcake before I eat the iced part.
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10-26-2007 @8:02AM Silver_Potato said... Isn't this from some Bobby Flay show I saw on Food TV?
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10-26-2007 @3:19PM Marsha said... "so easy, even Sandra Lee could make it. Ouch. Was that too harsh?"
I think it was too kind. This recipe does call for sifting after all. . . ;-)
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11-29-2007 @3:19PM MsAshley said... MY favorite recipe for this frosting is: 1/2 c. of butter, 8 oz. cream cheese (cold), 1 t. vanilla, 1 lb. powdered sugar...oh my!
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12-03-2007 @3:03PM Kim girard said... Can you use this for cinnamon buns too? I can't find a good frosting recipe for them. Has anyone been able to steal Cinnabon's recipe???
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