Healthy Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is an easy and popular icing used in many cake recipes. While it is simple and only contains two common ingredients, it is laden with fat, calories and sugar. Fortunately, there are ways to make a healthier version of cream cheese frosting, using ingredients that won't cause weight gain or spikes in blood-sugar levels.

Use Light or Fat Free Cream Cheese

By using light or fat free cream cheese, you can cut a lot of the calories and fat out of your cream cheese frosting. According to the nutritional information on CalorieKing.com, you can save 35 calories and 5 grams of fat per ounce using low fat cream cheese, and 9 grams of fat and 73 calories with fat-free cream cheese. If you want to maintain some of the flavor and mouth-feel, it's best to stick with low-fat cream cheese versus fat free.

Use a Sugar Substitute

While nothing will replace the taste of real sugar, if you are really looking to cut calories, you can replace the confectioner's sugar in a standard cream cheese frosting recipe with a substitute. Simply blend two cups each of cornstarch and powdered milk with one cup of Splenda or other granular sugar substitute until it is the consistency of powdered sugar.

Use Less Icing

If you want to keep the original recipe, or substitute only one of the ingredients, use less frosting or use a sugar substitute when baking the cake. There are also several cake recipes that use applesauce or other ingredients instead of butter. By baking a healthier cake, you'll be able to afford a few extra calories or fat in the icing. Using half the amount of icing that the recipes call for will cut hundreds of calories and fat off the recipe.

A Recipe for Healthier Cream Cheese Frosting

Here is an easy variation of Martha Stewart's Light Cream Cheese Frosting recipe:

3 ounces light or fat-free cream cheese

1 cup confectioner's sugar substitute (equal parts powdered milk and cornstarch, 1/2 part Splenda, blended until smooth and powdery)

Simply mix these together and you have a lighter, lower-in-sugar variation of cream cheese frosting.

Tags: cream cheese, Cheese Frosting, cheese frosting, cream cheese, Cream Cheese Frosting, sugar substitute