Tangy Cream Cheese Icing

Active time: 5-10 minutes | Yield: enough for 1 sheet cake or 24 cupcakes

I’m a big fan of cream cheese icing because the tangy flavor can pair so well with lots of really sweet desserts. I often find cream cheese icing recipes being half cream cheese and half butter, but I wanted to create a strong tangy flavor, so I decided to amp that up by eliminating the butter and going with just cream cheese! I developed this recipe to pair with a grapefruit cake (which turned out to not taste like grapefruit *sad face*), but it would go really well with just about any cake/cupcake flavor!

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces (2 blocks) cream cheese, softened

• 1 ½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

• ¼ tsp salt

• 4-6 tbsp heavy cream (or milk)

• 300g (2 ½ cups) powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Place cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Use either a handheld or stand electric mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed until cream cheese and butter are light and creamy.

   1. Keep in mind, if you do this by hand, the icing will be lumpy and will have a more rustic look. It will still be delicious though, so definitely doable!

2. To the cream cheese mixture, add vanilla, salt, cream, and powdered sugar.

3. Start by mixing on low speed until sugar begins to incorporate, then increase to medium-high until your buttercream is light and fluffy.

   1. If icing is too thick, add 1-2 tbsp heavy cream and mix until incorporated, then reevaluate.

   2. If icing is too thin, add 1-2 tbsp powdered sugar and mix until incorporated, then reevaluate.

4. Ice on a completely cooled cake or cupcakes and enjoy!