Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Icing

One of my favorite ingredients has to be the vanilla bean.  So rich and simple and perfect.  I love seeing the little black flecks in my recipes.  I have recently discovered Vanilla Bean Paste, and oh boy am I addicted!  I found it at a local health food store (I've also seen it online).  The great thing about the paste is that it is much more cost effective than using a vanilla bean.  Don't get me wrong, I will still be using my vanilla beans, but for recipes like the one that follows the paste is a perfect way to go. 

There is a candy store downtown that sells "Cheesecake Filled Cupcakes" and they are pretty darn yummy.  I tried their cupcakes with my sister-in-law over the Fourth of July and have been thinking about the icing ever since. To me it tasted like cheesecake batter.  A lot of the cream cheese icings I have seen online are more traditional like what you would find on a carrot cake and that was not what I was looking for.  I didn't want something overly sweet.  I wanted to come up with a dessert similar to the cupcake I had over the Fourth of July and here is what I came up with.:

     French Vanilla Mini Bundt Cake with Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Icing

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Icing

1 8 oz package of cream cheese

1/4 c. butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp of vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract would work as well)

Cream together cream cheese and butter.  Mix in the vanilla and powdered sugar until ingredients are well blended and icing is smooth and creamy.