Best cup cake icing?

[Jellypudmum]

I usually do buttercream with vanilla or other flavouring but it seems a bit heavy to me.
Any ideas for better icing?
Cream cheese? Best ratios for buttercream? Help!

I always use 175g unsalted butter, 300g icing sugar and a teaspoon vanilla paste making buttercream, never let me down!

Just beat it for like 15 mins and it will be so light and fluffy :)

Maybe it's the beating thing; never done 15 mins.

Whipped cream. I hate butter icing. Or marscapone.

I don't like cream. It doesn't keep well and it gives me the runs.

Mary Berry puts lemon juice in her buttercream on the kids bunny cake - it makes it soooo much nicer!

Swiss meringue buttercream?
And yes if you beat regular buttercream for a while it's becomes really light and delicate.

I use a cream cheese based icing: 200g cream cheese, 100g butter, 600g icing sugar. I usually halve the recipe as it makes quite a lot. Add flavourings as desired.

Italian meringue buttercream!! It's gorgeous!

I do eton mess filling - layer of strawberry jam, then fill with whipped cream, broken meringe and sliced strawberries. Looks great with 3 layers then top with cream and choc dipped strawberries and then choc fingers all round outside. My daughter has variations of this every birthday.

and I didn't read that properly at all as you are talking about cupcakes and I am talking about one big cake - sorry!