Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting for All Your Cake Needs

We all know that a cake sometimes needs to come from a mix, but not the frosting! Top your favorite cake with this easy-to-whip-up Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting.

Every mom knows that sometimes a cake needs to come from a box. There are times and places for things, and while you would love to be the hostess with the mostest, some times and some places call for a cake mix shortcut.

However, I draw the line at using frosting from a can. I’ve done my time in Frosting Can Land, and I know — yes, sweet sister — I know with every fragment of my being that there’s a better way.

The wonderful thing is that homemade frosting is not hard. Oh no! It’s not hard. It’s so quick and easy that when you slather it on your cake mix cake and serve it at your next party/potluck/PTA meeting, everyone will want to know what in the world you did to make such an amazing cake!

Trust me.

Such is the case with this Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting. It’s what I typically use to top my very favorite Carrot Cake. But, I’ve been known to use it on chocolate cake, lemon cake, zucchini cake, and banana cake. It’s just very friendly and versatile like that.

Now let me tell you there are two tricks you need to keep in mind in order to make this Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting quick and easy.

1. Your butter and cream cheese MUST be softened.
2. Your powdered sugar MUST be sifted.

If you don’t follow these rules, my young Padawan, your frosting will not be Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting, Lumpy Cream Cheese Frosting it will be.

And lumpy does not get you points at the PTA meeting. Sorry.

You want this to be almost like whipped cream, which means you’ll need to prep your ingredients accordingly.

You will note that there’s a range recommended on the sugar content in this frosting. If your cake is very sweet, feel free to use the lower amount of sugar. I find that cream cheese does a great job in “cutting” the sweet. If you prefer a sweeter, but not overly sweet frosting, use the 2 cups of sugar. My boys prefer it with the full 2 cups. Of course.

How to make this good and cheap:

Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:

• Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the price of butter and cream cheese is important.
• Buying in bulk – I buy my butter in big ginormous packs at Costco. It offers the best unit price in my neighborhood. If you don’t go through butter very fast, just freeze it, packaging and all. Thaw in the fridge or on the counter when you’re ready to use it.

How I make this recipe easy:

This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.

• a large mixing bowl – here’s the Pyrex one I have.
• a hand mixer
• a sifter – The powdered sugar must be sifted!