Fast and Easy Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 ounces sugar
• 5 ounces heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume
• 8 ounces plain, full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese, cold

Directions

1. If your kitchen is warmer than 74 degrees F (23 degrees C), chill both the mixing bowl and the sugar first, until they come down to 70 degrees F (21 degrees C). When the bowl or sugar is too warm, they can warm the cream and keep it from whipping up fully.
2. Add the sugar, cream, vanilla, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or use a hand mixer. Beat on medium-low until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Turn the mixer to high and whip until the cream reaches a thickness similar to Greek yogurt, about 2 minutes longer. Add the cream cheese gradually, 2 tablespoons at a time; the whole addition should take about 30 seconds. As soon as it is mixed in, stop the mixer. At this point the frosting may look slightly curdled, a little like cottage cheese; that is from not being fully mixed yet, not from overbeating.
3. Scrape the bowl and whisk very well, then whip again on high until the frosting turns smooth and airy, with just a few tiny bits of cream cheese remaining. Those small flecks will blend in as the frosting sits. This may take 2 to 3 minutes in a stand mixer, or longer with a hand mixer. When it is finished, the frosting should be about 60 degrees F (16 degrees C). Use right away, or refrigerate it until you need it.