Frosting Recipes

Striking a lovely note for fall, this Epicurious recipe is for apple cider cupcakes with cider cream cheese frosting.

The frosting is very straightforward.  A hint of cinnamon may also be nice added to the cider.  You’ll find the full recipe for both cake and frosting after the link.

Icing ingredients:

• 2 cups apple cider
• 6 ounces cream cheese, cut into bits and softened
• 1/2 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar

Make the icing:
In a saucepan boil the cider until it is reduced to about 1/4 cup and let it cool. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together the cream cheese, the confectioners’ sugar, the reduced cider, and a pinch of salt until the icing is smooth.

Apple Cider Cupcakes with Cider Cream Cheese Icing Recipe at Epicurious.com.

This is a simple, unusual frosting that looks just lovely on its Martha Stewart Honey Cake Recipe.  This is a wonderful birthday cake, particularly (as this article indicates) for those who are not big fans of chocolatey desserts.

INGREDIENTS: (Honey Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe)

1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup honey

PROCEDURE:

In a bowl, beat cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add honey; beat until smooth, about 1 minute.  use immediately or refrigerate, covered until needed.

Yield:  1 1/4 cups, enough for one single-layer cake

Cafe Munchkin » Honey Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting.

The NYTimes published an interesting article on culinary students competing to reinvent the traditional birthday cake using “better for you” ingredients.   The contest was sponsored by the American Cancer Society and had some delicious results that are lower in butter, sugar and oils than some traditional recipes. Even the frosting was uplifted with some tasty and somewhat healthier options.

The cream cheese icing by finalist Laura Sansone is as follows:

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

2 pounds of low fat cream cheese
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Warm cream cheese to room temperature. Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar until well blended.

2. Add vanilla and orange zest. Frost cake as desired.

In addition to using low fat cream cheese, recipes also called for healthy-ish ingredients such as blueberry-pomegranate juice, applesauce, fresh fruit and dark chocolate.

Here’s one of many delightful recipes for the Southern classic Hummingbird cake frosting where cream cheese beautifully compliments the flavors of pineapple, banana and pecan.

This recipe covers a triple layer hummingbird cake.  If you don’t need that much, it can be easily halved.

Hummingbird Cake Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

16oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1lb. powdered sugar
1 cup of chopped, toasted pecans

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla together. Gradually add powdered sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Sprinkle pecans evenly over the top and sides of the cake.

This fabulous cream cheese frosting recipe comes from Donna Diegel of the Providence Food Examiner.   Use it on your red velvet or carrot cakes or cupcakes. read more »