The Sweet History Of Cream Cheese Frosting

Who would've ever guessed that coagulated milk would wind up becoming one of the greatest culinary achievements in the history of mankind? You can pull apart a fresh glob of mozzarella and plop it on a pizza pie, melt a blend of cheeses into a savory sauce for macaroni noodles, or pair a funky hunk of blue cheese with a selection of cured meats to create a complex flavor experience – the best recipes for cheese lovers are numerous and diverse.

Cheese is also a prominent feature of the dessert table. In Europe, a cheese plate can serve as a dessert all on its own. If you're looking for something a little sweeter, this Sicilian cannoli recipe whips ricotta cheese together with sugar and pipes it inside a crispy shell. Additionally, there are a variety of cheeses that can be transformed into luxurious cheesecakes. Another item that brings cheese into the dessert fold is the much-beloved baked good topper cream cheese frosting, which has a history that is almost as rich as its multilayered taste.

The history of cream cheese can be traced all the way back to the early 1000s in France. Several hundred years later, Neufchâtel cheese emerged, which New York dairy farmer William Lawrence eventually transformed into the spreadable cheese we know today by adding more cream. Lawrence's company eventually became the ubiquitous dairy titan Philadelphia Cream Cheese, enjoyed by countless consumers each morning as a breakfast bagel spread.

The instantly recognizable silver brick of Philadelphia Cream Cheese first hit the shelves in the late 1930s. Though it's difficult to pinpoint exactly when cream cheese frosting popped onto the scene, many people in the same era had the bright idea of using cream cheese in sweet treats. In the early 1900s, the cost of cream cheese dropped, and shortly thereafter, cream cheese-filled blintzes and cheesecake recipes were concocted. By the 1960s, cream cheese was a supermarket staple, which naturally led to the creation of cream cheese frosting, an obvious next step in the field of sweetened cheese dessert innovation.

Today, cream cheese frosting is often enjoyed after it has been generously applied to a carrot or red velvet cake. A standard cream cheese frosting recipe asks the baker to thoroughly whip together cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, milk, and vanilla — some recipes call for an additional fat source, like butter, or shortening.

Cream cheese frosting may have become such a popular dessert fixture because of its complex flavor profile. The frosting is made of fat and sugar, two ingredients that are not noted for their subtly. The tangy saltiness of cream cheese gives depth to the simple sweetness. Furthermore, the smooth texture of cream cheese is the perfect complement to a crumbly confection.

If you want to add a little extra punch to the salty notes of your next cream cheese frosting batch, you can try this simple frosting hack. Just add a few pinches of salt to the frosting as it is in the process of mixing, and your next dessert is sure to have the perfect flavor balance.