EatSavvy Blog

Topic —  Baking

Two-Ingredient Frosting

February 27, 2013
Jan Scott

Pocket

I have a passion for making cakes, and while I’m certainly no Sweetapolita, I can hold my own when it comes to baking and icing a birthday or simple celebration cake. I’ve taken several cake-decorating classes, have made a three-tiered wedding cake, and I’m even in charge of creating what you see here at SavvyMom in the monthly PartySavvy feature. Overall, I’m somewhat knowledgeable about cakes.

At least that’s what I thought, until recently, when I was asked how to make a healthy birthday cake frosting.  To start with, I’ve always assumed that it was general knowledge that if you’re going to eat birthday cake it’s going to be unhealthy, but apparently that isn’t the case. There is a new trend leaning itself towards healthier birthday confections, and while I’m not sure they’ll ever be part of my baking repertoire, I was up to the challenge of creating a frosting that wasn’t sugar and butter laden.

It turns out the task was much easier than I expected. Cream cheese and jam, when whipped together, make a mighty fine replacement for the traditional cake frosting. Not all variations on the product works best, but here’s what I’ve discovered:

• To make a frosting that’s thick enough to spread, use two parts cream cheese to one part preserves.
• While it might be tempting to use a low-fat or fat-free cheese product, the end result will not be pleasing. ‘Thin and lumpy’ best describes the state of your frosting if you go for the low-cal options. I used a full-fat, slightly softened cream cheese, and the result was a thick and smooth consistency.
• The same can be said for the jam. The thinner the product, the looser the frosting, so keep that in mind when mixing your products. If you opt for a runny jam, increase the cream cheese until you reach your desired thickness, but take note that the icing will taste more tangy than sweet.

Find the full printable recipe here: Two-Ingredient Frosting