**Please read this review if you had trouble with this recipe or are new at baking!
This recipe is good but has flaws with the method. Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) CAN'T be beaten into the peak stage with any presence of fat or grease in the bowl or on the beaters- it won't whip. This is why many recipes will specifically say "start with clean bowl and beaters". So pouring the heavy cream into a big bowl of fat (cream cheese) will most likely end up with a broken mess.
The cream needs to be beat to stiff peaks FIRST & separately. I also would suggest adding 1 tsp of cream of tartar to the cream to help stabilize it. Place cream, cream of tartar in CLEAN bowl (I always use stainless steel one when whipping cream) and clean beaters into the fridge to chill. After it's chilled whip it to stiff peaks then place back in fridge while you do the other part.
Beat the cream cheese, extract, sugar (I used powdered sugar to again help with keeping it stiff) and I added orange zest, so its combined. Then I added about 1/3 of the whipped cream to the cream cheese and gently folded it together, then I added the remaining whipped cream. Folding a smaller amount first lets things mix better and requires less folding/mixing in the end.
The taste was great! Still the great tang from the cream cheese (although subdued a tad) but not overly sweet as cream cheese frosting can be. It piped well for me using this method!
I have been searching for a light whipped frosting that will hold up without refrigeration. THIS IS IT!! Delicious, light, and sturdy. I decorated a cake and left it at room temp overnight just to see, and it was still perfect the next morning. Also tried a chocolate variation by adding a little cocoa with the sugar. That too, turned out beautifully. Thanks!
I was asked to make a wedding cake for a friend on which the frosting was not too sweet. She absolutely loved the flavour. As for sturdiness, I added a package of gelatine powder just before decorating as the cake would be sitting in the fridge overnight, and out on a table for a few hours. Definately a good alternative to supersweet buttercream.
I just served this frosting on my baby boy's first birthday cake. It was a BIG hit, and in my book is perfect--thicker than whip cream frosting and lighter than buttercreme. A great fresh flavor and not too sweet. I used full-fat cream cheese because the store i went to didn't have reduced fat. This will become my standard frosting.
This is my second update: PLEASE NOTE: I submitted this recipe and want to make sure that people understand what it is and what it isn't. This is frosting -- it's NOT meant to be piped like buttercream icing. If you can get it to the consistency that will pipe -- great -- but my own experience is that it will probably "break" if beaten that much. Secondly, my comment about "leaving it out" doesn't mean to leave it out overnight or for a long period of time -- dairy shouldn't be left out long term, as many reviewers have noted. The comment was meant to compare this frosting to standard whipped cream frosting which starts to "fade" very quickly and can be problematic. If you're set on trying to use this as decoration instead of just the frosting I meant it as, you may want to try adding some Confectioners (XXX or 10X) sugar. That should help to stiffen it . Also, using chilled beaters and bowls is always a good idea when working with dairy. Hope you enjoy! Happy baking!
I made this recipe for my daughter's Strawberry Birthday cake. My husband loves buttercream frosting (super sweet) while I prefer a light whipped cream frosting (not too sweet). By adding more sugar and using more vanilla instead of the almond extract (we don't care for that flavor) it was the perfect! Without the extra sugar and vanilla (minus the almond extract) it tasted too much like cream cheese, so I just kept adding sugar and vanilla until I got the flavor I was looking for.
This turned out great! It whipped up nice and fast, was fluffy and held up nicely. The only change I made was that instead of almond extract I used lemon extract. You could use any flavor you'd want with great results, Im sure. I will definitely be using this recipe again! :)
Easy, great flavor, and fairly sturdy. It didn't melt, but it wasn't the best for piping. When piped, the details didn't come out as sharply as buttercream. I had to add a package of whipped cream stabilizer to stiffen it up some more. However, this would work fine as is for regular icing. I also wouldn't let this sit out for hours because it still has cream cheese and cream, which can spoil if left out too long.
This is and EXCELLENT whipped cream Frosting!! The texture is very stable and the taste is heavenly! I used a hand mixer with regular beaters,full fat cream cheese and granulated sugar. It was a cinch to make. I put in a few drops of green dye and it was a big hit at my St.Paddy's party! Thank you Jo-Lynn! This will be my cake icing forever!
Not sturdy. And, as others have commented, because you wait and expect it will GET sturdy, you keep on whipping... and then it collapses. The taste isn't even all that great either - not sweet enough and too much tang from the cream cheese, so I added another 1/4 cup of sugar. While this was a definite improvement in the taste, it of course did nothing to help make this frosting live up to its name. I had intended to pipe this to decorate my cake, but that wasn't EVEN about to happen with this frosting.
