A perennial classic recipe, cream cheese frosting has been spread on some of America’s favorite cakes—the carrot cake, red velvet, and Hummingbird. And as long as cream cheese has been used in baking, it has been folded into frostings. An early chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe can be found in the 1948 Rumford Complete Cook Book. Here are 2 variations for preparing this frosting, depending on the number of layers in your cake. Make sure your cream cheese and butter are at room temperature before beginning. If needed, place them in a glass bowl in the microwave on high power for 20 seconds to soften.