Citrus Cream Cheese Icing

Name: Citrus Cream Cheese Icing
Yield: makes enough for one 3-layer 8-inch cake, one 2-layer 9-inch cake, or about 3 dozen cupcakes
Ingredients: 3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 1 1/2 pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature; 3 cups confectioners’ sugar; 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, lemon juice, or orange juice; 3 tablespoons freshly grated lime, lemon, or orange zest

December 22, 2011

In this icing, the acidity of the citrus enhances the tanginess of the cream cheese. Orange, lemon, and lime all work well. Although the orange icing is my favorite, lemon is especially flavorful with fruity vanilla cakes, such as the Blueberry “Cheesecake” (page 123), and the lime icing spread over a vanilla cupcake and sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs, or sandwiched between two homemade graham crackers (see Graham Cracker Dough, page 86), can evoke a Key lime pie.

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