cream cheese frosting

Cream cheese frosting is our favorite for just about any cake. It's a little bit tangy, a smidge salty and not too sweet. Plus, it's a breeze to whip up in your stand mixer with SideSwipe. Only about a minute with room temperature ingredients. Why would you want to use that canned stuff from the store?

We frequently halve this recipe for a small size cake, as shown on the heart-shaped cake at the bottom of this post. It's the equivalent of a single, 9-inch layer.

The full recipe yields 2 cups of cream cheese frosting. You can use this recipe to lightly frost a double layer cake, lightly frost 24 cupcakes, generously frost 12-14 cupcakes, or frost a 9x13 cake. If you like sky-high frosting, you may also want to add a bit more powdered sugar for more definition and stability in your piping.

Once frosted, keep your cake in the fridge until ready to serve.
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ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) package brick style full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
• ​1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ​pinch of salt (optional but we recommend it)

directions

1. Set out butter and cream cheese for at least an hour to allow to soften.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with SideSwipe or a flat paddle, beat the room temperature cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth and uniformly incorporated, about 30 seconds to one minute.
3. Add vanilla and salt and mix on medium speed until incorporated.
4. Add in the powdered sugar, about one-forth of the total at a time. Begin on your slowest speed then move to medium speed when the powdered sugar is moistened. Otherwise you'll get a cloud of sugar in your kitchen!
5. Mix on medium to medium-high speed until fully combined and light and fluffy.
6. Pipe or frost cooled cupcakes, cakes, or other desserts as desired.
7. Refrigerate if you're going to be serving more than a few hours later. You may also want to refrigerate piped cupcakes in warmer weather so the frosting doesn't "melt."