Orange you glad you saw this?

If your sweet tooth is in the mood for something different, try this orange-flavored cream cheese frosting. I threw together a carrot cake from a mix and topped it with this delectable treat. The frosting was the best part. If I had had a real orange on hand, I would have sprinkled orange zest on the finished product. Keep this recipe in mind for spice cake, carrot cake, pumpkin desserts -- anything really.

THE RECIPE:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter or spread, softened
2 tsp. orange extract*
6 c. powdered sugar (more or less)

Beat cream cheese, butter and extract with mixer. Gradually add powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency. This is enough to frost the tops and sides of two 9-inch layers. You could easily halve it if desired.

*It's fun to keep a few different extracts on hand to experiment with.