White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Caryn's Note:

This recipe comes from "The Cake Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum. This ivory-colored buttercream is mellow and creamy - a perfect compliment for cheesecake. It makes an unusual and spectacular presentation because it pipes wonderfully and is the identical color of the cheesecake within. White chocolate adds firmness, texture, sweetness, and an undefinable flavor

• Total Time: 25 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 150

Yield: 13.0 cups (f ...

• 24 ounces white chocolate baking bar (preferably Tobler Narcisse)
• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

1. Break the chocolate into individual squares and place in a bowl set over a pot of hot water (no hotter than 160 F) on low heat.
2. The water must not touch the bottom of the bowl.
3. Remove the pot from the heat and stir until the chocolate begins to melt.
4. Return to the heat if the water cools, but be careful it does not get too hot.
5. Stir until smooth.
6. (The chocolate may be melted in a microwave on high power if stirred every 15 seconds. Remove before fully melted and stir, using the residual heat to complete the melting.) Allow the chocolate to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
7. In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese (preferably with a flat beater) until smooth and creamy.
8. Gradually beat in the cooled chocolate until smoothly incorporated.
9. Beat in the butter and lemon juice.
10. Use at once or to ensure smoothness rebeat at ROOM TEMPERATURE (to prevent it from curdling) before frosting.
11. Store: 1 day room temperature, 2 weeks refrigerated, 2 months frozen.
12. Allow to come to room temperature before rebeating.
13. Pointers for success: Do not overheat the chocolate and stir constantly while melting.
14. Be sure no moisture gets into the melted chocolate.
15. Beat constantly while adding the chocolate to prevent lumping.
16. If lumping should occur, it can be remedied by pressing the buttercream through a fine strainer.
17. Buttercream may separate slightly if room temperature is very warm.
18. This can be corrected by setting the bowl in ice water and whisking the mixture.
19. The buttercream becomes spongy on standing.
20. Rebeat to restore smoothy creamy texture.
21. Use ice to chill your hand during piping to maintain firm texture of the buttercream.

Reviews

[sugarplum fairy]

ohhhhh! This frosting was heavenly! I love cream cheese anything, but hate the overly sweet and powder sugar taste most frostings have. This will now be the cream cheese frosting for me. I only had enough cream cheese for I/4 of the recipe, but that frosted 18 zucchini bread muffins. The temperature today was going up to 80-85 degrees, so I did not frost until right before serving. I kept it chilled because of the high butter/cream cheese factor. Then, I let it sit onthe counter for 10 minutes to soften, stirred well, and frosted. Lovely!

[Jockey]

WOW.... I am not a cake / frosting / sweet things kind of person but this was just something else. I used on zucchini bread but can only imagine for those of you that bake a lot how this stuff would put your cakes and stuff over the top. It is fabulous. I didn't have to pipe it so I can't comment on that but it has just a indescribable decadent taste and the lemon juice gives it just a tiny explosion. I even did one of them with lime juice as I ran out of lemon. It was different but again that POW. Just one problem - All you can think of is eating the frosting!!! Thanks Caryn!

[Black Radish]

I feel Chef Kathy's pain regarding the consistency of this frosting. I, too, used it for a wedding cake in October and it worked beautifully - held up beautifully - and tasted amazing. I used the same recipe for my brother's groom cake in July, and struggled every step of the way to frost the cake, make the decorations...it was a nightmare. I was even sticking my hand in icewater to "chill" the piping bag - but it just kept breaking down. The moral of the story? Its a great tasting recipe thats perfect for cakes in cooler weather. But the high butterfat content in the butter, cream cheese and the white chocolate makes it difficult to work with in warmer weather.