Simple Cream Cheese Frosting

Baking is a science and it can be tough. For some of us, it's just a skill we can't attain no matter how hard we try. And so, we often turned to the lovely Betty Crockers and Duncan Hines of the world; those wonderful folks who produce and sell boxed cake mixes that not even the worst of bakers can get wrong.

But how can you take store-bought cake mix from boring and unoriginal to fresh and delicious? Make your own home-made frosting, that's how! With just a few simple ingredients, you can make any good cake great with this simple cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

• 4 oz cream cheese - softened
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine - softened
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup of milk - optional
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or imitation vanilla extract

What to do:

1. Before you start making your cake, take your cream cheese and butter out of the fridge and set aside. (Do not put it near the oven.)
2. Once your cake is done baking and almost cooled, you can start making your cream cheese frosting.
3. When you start, your cream cheese and butter should be at room temperature. It should still hold it's shape but be soft when you give it a little squeeze.
4. Add your cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl. Using your hand-mixer, blend the two together until it reaches a creamer texture.
5. Add your powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Use a spoon or spatula to blend each 1/2 cup of powdered sugar into the cream cheese/butter mixture.
6. Once you have all 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar added into the cream cheese/butter mixture, you can use your hand-mixed to blend until smooth. m
7. If the mixture's consistency is not to your liking (it may be a little gummy or too thick), you can add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until you reach a consistency you like.
8. Give your frosting a taste and start using it!

To Store

You can store your frosting in an air-tight ziplock bag in the refrigerator for about a week. When you're ready for it again, empty the frosting into a mixing bowl and give it a little blend before using.

Tips

• You can color your frosting with food coloring after mixing it. Just add a few drops to the frosting and mix with a spatula or hand-mixer.
• The frosting tastes the same whether you use butter or margarine. (I prefer to use margarine because you can buy it at a fraction of the cost.)
• Similarly, you can buy imitation vanilla extract instead of vanilla extract at a fraction of the cost and get the same results.
• If your frosting is thicker than you'd like without the milk, feel free to add milk, evaporated milk, or heavy cream until you get the desired texture.
• For me, I like my frosting to be a thin enough consistency that I can dip the top of the cupcakes into the frosting and get full coverage and a little peak at the top. This can be achieved by adding just one or two tablespoons of milk.