I've been having a lot of fun working with a big bag of dried wild spicebush berries (the seeds of Lindera bezoin) that my friend Val sent me. Spicebush frosting is the first real winner.
Granted, I don't consume lots of frosting, or bake that often, but I suspect that knowing fat and dairy can absorb the aroma of the seeds really well will be helpful in the future, and I'm sure you can probably extrapolate a few ideas from this post whether you bake or not.
I'm a little picky about frosting, and I think more people should be. Under no circumstances will I consume the pasty, chalky, saccharin-sweet, gag-inducing garbage most Americans will know from cheap birthday cakes and other commodity products.
For me, it's either going to be buttercream, cream cheese frosting, or chocolate, and the proportions of spicebush here (2 finely ground teaspoons to 2 ¼ cups/1.25lb) can probably be used with any of the aforementioned.
Here I take my favorite cream cheese frosting, which is a little different than most people will be used to as it contains some butter for structure, and a paltry amount of powdered sugar compared to most, and simply add a couple teaspoons of frozen, finely ground spicebush berries that will give it a spiced aroma of white pepper.
You'll be able to notice the flavor right away, and the fat and dairy will continue to absorb it as the mixture sits. It'll be great spread over cupcakes, on gingerbread, cakes containing molasses, carrot cake, or anyplace where warm spices and the flavor of white pepper would be welcome.
The key to having it be uniform is having all the ingredients at room temperature, and whipping the cream cheese until smooth with the sugar before you add in the butter.
If you find your frosting looks lumpy, you can buzz it in a food processor. This also makes a small amount, about 2 cups, perfect for frosting a double decker 9 inch cake. Scale it up to suit your needs.
How to use it
Most frostings are for cakes, but cream cheese frosting is a little more versatile. Here's a few ideas of where I'd use it.
- Used on cupcakes
- Frosting for a carrot cake
- Spread thinly inside crepes and gently warmed up with a hot berry compote like raspberry
- Spread on warm banana bread
Spicebush Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with whisk
Ingredients
- 16 oz cream cheese at room temperature/softened
- 4 oz unsalted butter at room temperature/softened
- 4 oz powdered sugar this is roughly 1 cup of powdered sugar
- 1-2 teaspoon finely ground fresh or frozen dried spicebush berries
- ¼ tsp kosher salt a good pinch
Instructions
- In a stand mixer with the whip attachment, whip the powdered sugar, salt and cream cheese like it owes you money, meaning until it's homogenous and fluffy, about 5-10 minutes on high.
- Add the butter and spicebush and whip until incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Apply the frosting to a cake using an offset spatula, or refrigerate in a covered container if making ahead.
- If you make the frosting ahead of time, allow it to soften completely at room temperature before attempting to use it to frost something. It also works on bagels.
- Sprinkle some extra ground spicebush on top of whatever you make for a little extra punch.
Lauri
Would ground dehydrated spicebush berries work in this recipe? I'm struggling to understand how to grind a fresh berry and not end up with something more towards a paste or puree.
Alan Bergo
Keep them in the freezer and grind straight from there. Works like a charm.
Lauri
Got it! And does a spice grinder work best for that?
Alan Bergo
Yes that’s what I use. To clarify I am using dehydrated frozen spicebush berries here too, if I didn’t mention that.
Lauri
Thank you! That makes so much more sense to me! The ingredients list did not mention that they were dehydrated and that was what was confusing to me.
Alan Bergo
Thanks Lauri that's probably an important thing to note! I fixed it, appreciate that.
Doug
This is lovely -- this frosting was perfect on top of an apple cake with black walnuts (typical apple walnut cake, but with a 50-50 mix of english walnuts and black walnuts, half the sugar, half the cinnamon, and no vanilla). Perfect with a mineral-heavy sweet riesling.
And I definitely agree with dairy absorbing the flavor of spicebush berries. Spicebush ice cream rocks -- I use 8-10 finely ground berries per pint, letting it steep in the 150F milk/cream mixture for 30 minutes or so before proceeding with the cook.
Glad to see you're using these!
Alan Bergo
Hey thanks Doug. Ice cream is on the list now. Next year I planned on doing whipped creme fraiche for the Wild Harvest Festival.
Jen
This frosting was the perfect choice for my persimmon bread. If I send you some spice bush berries, can you tinker with them too? I have a forest of it and need more inspiration. So far, excellent with venison, chicken, in cookies and breads.
Alan Bergo
Thanks Jen. I have some spicebush berries but I just moved and everythings crazy right now. I'll get more done with them but it's going to take time.