If you aren’t a fan of a super sweet cake topping, cream cheese frosting may be the ideal option for you.

It’s sweet, rich and tangy which can be made as sweet as you want with the addition of icing sugar.

It differs from buttercream because this topping is often only made with butter and icing sugar.

Cream cheese icing is made with butter, icing sugar and cream cheese.

I use it to decorate carrot cakes but also use the same recipe for cheesecake.

Ingredients:

100g butter, softened

100g icing sugar, sieved

200g full-fat cream cheese

It may seem unusual to add butter to cream cheese frosting, but it helps to add stability and cuts to the cream cheese flavour.

It also helps the topping to hold its structure as without it, it can end up melting and not holding its shape.

Beat the softened butter to a soft and even consistency.

Add the icing sugar and cream until you have a smooth, soft buttercream.

It’s really important to sieve the icing sugar as any small lumps will affect the result of the frosting.

Then, add the cream cheese and work it in by slowly mixing it with a wooden spoon.

The mixture can look a little split at this point, but keep working it in until fully incorporated.

Although not traditional, I do like to add a squeeze of orange juice or vanilla to the frosting for added depth.

Depending on how soft the mixture is, you can put it in the fridge for 10 minutes at this point.

If it’s runny, it will firm up again and should be spreadable and not run off the cake.