Cream Cheese frosting is the best choice for moist cakes such as carrot cake, prune cake, banana cake, and zucchini cake. It is rich and creamy, so it is also a good frosting for cookies. This frosting can also be thinned down with extra milk or cream and used to drizzle orange rolls, cinnamon rolls, coffee cakes, and Danish pastry.

The light and creamy texture of this frosting comes from vigorous beating, so it's helpful to have a hand or stand mixer to do the work. To insure that the texture will be extra creamy, make sure the butter and cream cheese are softened.

Leftover frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for several months; it can also be successfully frozen. To use, let sit at room temperature for an hour or two, then stir well.

Basic Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes about 5 cups or enough to frost a 2-layer cake

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup softened butter (absolutely no substituting margarine)
4 cups powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons whipping cream or milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
2. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar; beat until thoroughly incorporated.
3. Add the second cup of powdered sugar and beat until thoroughly incorporated.
4. Add the third cup of powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon whipping cream or milk; beat until light and fluffy.
5. Beat in the final cup of powdered sugar and enough more whipping cream or milk to make a spreading consistency.
6. Stir in the vanilla.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 244 Calories from Fat 76
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 31% Protein 2% Carb. 66%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 8 g
Saturated Fat 5 g
Cholesterol 27 mg
Sodium 67 mg
Total Carbohydrate 40 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 1 g

Vitamin A 7% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 1%