Cream cheese frosting

Cream cheese frosting is sweet, soft and slightly tangy, and it suits red velvet, carrot and vanilla cakes. The classic problem is that it’s runny and slides out between the layers. The cause is nearly always the same: the cheese was overbeaten, or it was too wet or too warm.

Ingredients and what each one does

• Cream cheese brings flavour, tang and some of the body. It contains a lot of water, so it thins easily.
• Butter is what gives the frosting its shape: it firms up as it cools and holds the cheese. Without it the frosting stays soft.
• Icing sugar sweetens. Icing (powdered) sugar is used rather than granulated because it dissolves with no gritty crystals; unlike in meringue, the starch in it does no harm here.

How to make it

1. Soften the butter to about 18–22 °C. Beat it with the icing sugar until pale and fluffy. This builds volume and dissolves the sugar.
2. Use the cheese cold, straight from the fridge, and add it last. Beat on low for about 30 seconds, just until smooth. Warm cheese loosens quickly, and long beating breaks the cheese structure and releases water.
3. Check the texture: it should hold the track of a spatula and not run. If it’s soft, chill it for 20–30 minutes and stir gently.
4. Use it cold but not hard. For filling between layers, pipe a ring around the edge so it doesn’t squeeze out.

What can go wrong

• Runny frosting. The cheese was overbeaten, warm, or very wet. Chill it. Don’t add more sugar to thicken it: you’ll only make it cloying. A firmer block cheese helps over the soft spreadable kind.
• Lumps of butter. The butter was too hard; it should dent under a finger without looking shiny.
• Greasy and separated. The butter melted from the warmth of the room; chill and stir briefly.
• Squeezes out when sliced. The cake hasn’t had a few hours in the fridge to firm up.

Substitutions

An expensive brand isn’t necessary: an ordinary firm full-fat cream cheese works if it isn’t loose. Tub-style spreadable cheeses hold more water and stabilisers and behave differently, so test a small batch. Mascarpone gives a milder, softer frosting but also thins out when overbeaten. Cheese without butter is too soft for a tall cake.

Storage

Two to three days in an airtight container in the fridge. If it has firmed up, just stir with a spatula until smooth rather than whipping. Keep a frosted cake cold and take it out 20–30 minutes before serving.