The History of Cream Cheese…
Without cream cheese, we wouldn’t have cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese was invented in America in the 1870s by a New York dairyman named William Lawrence. The whole thing was actually created by accident. Lawrence was trying to make a French cheese called Neufchâtel. By adding cream to the process, he developed a richer cheese that he called ‘cream cheese.’ Lawrence’s cream cheese eventually came to be the brand we now know as Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
Cream cheese frosting gained popularity in the United States as a variation on buttercream frosting in the 1960s. As cream cheese became more readily available in supermarkets, people began adding it as part of their recipes.
I Put It on Everything
Cream cheese frosting is most often thought of as a topping for carrot cake, red velvet cake and spice cake. If you have never tried it on banana bread/cake or chocolate cake, I urge you to do so. It is also delicious on cinnamon rolls.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer or electric hand-held mixer
Ingredients
- 283 grams unsalted butter, room temperature (2½ sticks)
- 452 grams cream cheese, room temperature (16oz)
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract or paste
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (¼ teaspoon, if using table salt)
- 325 grams confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Make sure all ingredients are room temperature, but not overly soft.
- Combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use an electric hand mixer), and beat until creamy, well combined and lump free.
- Add vanilla extract (or paste) and salt; mix well to combine.
- With mixer on low, gradually add confectioners' sugar until completely combined.
- Frost cooled cake or cupcakes completely.
