Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

I would like to start off with a big thank you to my absolutely super-lovely husband, Mr WWW, for the gorgeous cake stand. It was given as a gift on our wedding anniversary (a week ago) and I have been using it constantly since. Thank you babe!

I started thinking "I need a pretty cake to go on my pretty cake stand" and so I made this chocolate cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting which turned out so beautiful [blush]. I've been having a hard time finding a 'go-to' recipe for cream cheese frosting which has a good balance between the sweet and the tang and is also easily adaptable for other flavours. I had a big problem with this frosting, as soon as I would add the sugar, the whole thing would become a soupy mess :( I did everything by the book - not softened, no overbeating but still no luck. However my good friends over at the Daring Kitchen gave me brilliant advice. And it's worked! Yay!!! Oh, and it is sooo quick and easy to make - can it get any better?!

Cream cheese frosting is quite often seen with carrot cupcakes and red velvet cupcakes but lately I've seen alot of bakeries frosting their cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Perhaps the tooth-achingly sweet traditional buttercream is becoming too sweet for people??!! I also like frosting my cupcakes with frostings other than the normal butter-sugar American buttercream. This recipe had just the right amount of icing sugar which gave it a spreadable, thick consistency and didn't gloop once. I'm just so excited now about all the flavours I can try with it. Most cream cheese frostings starting with beating the butter and cream cheese together but this one asks you to beat the sugar and butter together just like a normal buttercream and then add the cream cheese. Give it a go, it's a sure winner!

Unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the inside of the cake as I quite smartly gave the cake to my sis-in-law (rather on her hips than mine - lol!)

One final note - I've just designed my logo which should be at the top right-hand side of this page. I'm quite happy with it but would always love to hear all your opinions.

Here is the Cream Cheese frosting recipe:

Adaptable Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

this makes enough to fill and cover a 2 layer 9" cake

1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (55g) icing sugar
8oz cream cheese, room temperature  
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla extract or any other flavouring

Make frosting:Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until blended (about 3 mins). Beat in cream cheese, then flavouring. Chill until beginning to firm, about 20 minutes.

Assemble cake:

Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with 3/4 cup frosting. Top with second layer. Spread 1 cup frosting in thin layer over cake. Chill 15 minutes. Spread remaining frosting over cake. Decorate cake as per usual. Chill until frosting is set, at least 30 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.)