Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
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This is the BEST Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting! Silky smooth and creamy, yet thick and sturdy enough for piping on cakes or cupcakes. It’s super easy to make and not too sweet.
I’ve gotten many requests for a chocolate version of my BEST cream cheese frosting recipe, so I’m very happy to share this chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe today.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
My recipe for regular cream cheese frosting uses a good amount of butter and way less powdered sugar than most recipes, which keeps it from going soft and stringy.
To make chocolate cream cheese frosting, I simply added unsweetened cocoa powder and just one more cup of powdered sugar from my original cream cheese frosting recipe. Still less sugar than most other recipes, but perfectly sweet. It’s rich and chocolatey, but still has that tang we all know and love from the cream cheese.
You’ll definitely want to sift your cocoa and powdered sugar for this chocolate cream cheese frosting so there are no obvious clumps. This will also help ensure a smooth, velvety texture.
I recommend these large round sifters that I used in bakeries to make sifting quick and easy. TIP: Sift ingredients onto a piece of parchment paper. Then bring both ends together to create an easy pour spout to empty the contents.
If buttercream is too sweet for you, then give this chocolate cream cheese frosting a try. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. It goes great on my Chocolate Cupcakes. I’m thinking it would also be really good on my Chocolate Zucchini Cake. Yum!
More Cream Cheese Frostings:
Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
This is the BEST Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting! Silky smooth and creamy, yet thick and sturdy enough for piping on cakes or cupcakes. It’s super easy to make and not too sweet.
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese, cold (brick style, not spreadable tub)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted or unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (not hot chocolate mix)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Measure, then sift the cocoa and powdered sugar together. Set aside.
- Place the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl.
- Using an electric hand mixer, beat until smooth.
- Gradually add the butter 2 Tablespoons at a time, and continue beating until smooth and well blended.
- Add the powdered sugar/cocoa mixture and vanilla all at once. Blend until combined and smooth. Use for any recipe that calls for chocolate cream cheese frosting.
Notes
*Will frost about 12-15 cupcakes. Double the recipe for a layered cake.
*Don't beat too long or the frosting will be too soft to pipe. If this happens, place the frosting in the refrigerator or freezer until it firms back up.
*You can store this frosting either at room temperature (which is 70 degrees Fahrenheit) or in the refrigerator. Do not go back and forth storing from one to the other, for food safety reasons. Use your own judgement.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 2 TbspAmount Per Serving: Calories: 94Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 36mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 0gSugar: 11gProtein: 1g
This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix, and is an estimation only.
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Welcome!
Hi, I’m Amber! I am a culinary graduate and dessert lover! This is where I share my favorite sweet and savory recipes alongside my knowledge and skills as a culinary graduate. I hope you find something you like!
42 Comments on “Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting”
This looks fantastic! Does it freeze well?
You can freeze it. I would do so in an airtight container with plastic pressed directly on top of the frosting, or in a freezer bag with all of the air squeezed out. You can freeze this frosting up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature up to 2 hours. You may need to beat it for a few minutes to get it back to its creamy texture before using it.
Wonderful frosting. I don’t like sweet butter creams and this is amazing! I frosted 16 cupcakes!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this frosting Toni! I agree. It’s much better than buttercream!
I’ve been looking for a great tasting chocolate frosting for a very long time now. It was something that kept me up at night. Well, no sleepless nights anymore! This chocolate frosting is the BEST! Silky smooth, not too sweet…just perfect!
I’m so glad you are enjoying this recipe Rita! Thanks for your comment!
This is my new favorite! Thank you so much for such a delicious chocolate frosting recipe. It’s not too sweet and has just the right amount of tang to balance out the sweetness. I’ll be using this one for years to come!
Glad to hear it Heather! Thanks for your comment!
This was delicious! I made it to go on a chocolate Bundt cake and it was perfect. Not too sweet and just enough chocolate flavor. Very creamy and fluffy. Will definitely make this again!
Wonderful! Glad you liked this recipe Kelly!
This recipe was very easy to follow and it truly was excellent! I paired it with Chocolate Cake and Raspberry filling!!
Will definitely be making again in the future!
Awesome! So happy you enjoyed this recipe Tonya!
My twins wanted chocolate frosting on their cake so I made this frosting. They didn’t like it at all. I didn’t care for it much either. So it’s not for everyone’s taste buds.
Why do you specify that the cream cheese should be cold? I am curious about that.
Hi Nikki,
I’ve made this recipe and other variations of it dozens of times. The cold cream cheese works well with the soft/room temperature butter to create a smooth consistency that doesn’t get soft and stringy.
Hi. I’m hoping to use this frosting recipe for a chocolate birthday cake I’m making next week, but could I please have the recipe in metric units?
We don’t use cup measurements in the UK as it’s not accurate.
Many thanks!
Hi Sunyah, I don’t currently provide metric units, but most online calculators are helpful to make the adjustments. Best guess off the online tools:
225 g cream cheese
113 g butter
50 g unsweetened cocoa
200 g powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
4.2 g vanilla extract
Best chocolate icing ever. Piped beautifully on my cupcakes. YUM
Wonderful news! Thanks for sharing your experience Kathie!
Can I use cacao powder? That’s all I have right now and making a cake. I know it’s different so if anyone knows the ratio I would use, that would be great. Thank you!
They are basically the same. Cocoa powder, the beans have been roasted, where cacao powder they have not. They should work interchangeably in equal amounts.
I just frosted some chocolate cupcakes with a Hershey Kiss surprise inside with this frosting. OMG so good! Creamy, chocolatey goodness!! Best frosting EVER! Thanks for the recipe😘
Such a fun idea with the Hershey Kiss! Glad you loved the frosting!
All I had to see was “cream cheese”! So tomorrow I’m making white
cupcakes and trying this recipe. Question….should the cream cheese be at room temp? Can’t wait.
Thank You
I use cold cream cheese so that it keeps the frosting stiff enough to pipe. The butter should be room temperature/soft though. Enjoy!
Oh,man!
This frosting is sooo fluffy, smooth, and delicious!
I just made it for my husband’s birthday cake and it is perfect!
I won’t make or buy any other frosting from now on. So easy, too. Thank you!
Keeper👍
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Janette! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with it.
This frosting was delicious! Slight tang from the cream cheese, not too sweet, and perfectly smooth! Very yummy!
Wonderful! Thanks for your comment Crissy!
sorry………are you using the cream cheese right out of the fridge?
I do use it straight from the fridge and it doesn’t crust.
Can you put high ration shortening in it.
High ratio shortening should blend ok, but it will not have the same flavor as using butter.
will this crust? sounds very good!!
I have made hundreds of frosting over the years, a lot of them were just blah frostings. This is by far the best Chocolate Frosting I have ever made…It was truly light,airy,smooth and fluffy…On top of all these things it was heavenly!
Yay! Glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your experience Jani!
Tried this for the first time and it tastes so good. I made mine with special dark chocolate cocoa and my husband cleaned the batter bowl with his fingers! Will make again, thank you so much!
Love that special dark cocoa! Glad you liked this recipe!
My last round of chocolate buttercream was way too sweet. Definitely trying this soon!
Prepare to be addicted!
First time making chocolate cream cheese frosting and I’m hooked!! I think I like it better than plain cream cheese frosting! There was more than enough to frost my 9×13 cake, even with what I ate before frosting!! SOOO good!!!
Haha! Glad you saved some for the cake! I am definitely hooked on the chocolate cream cheese frosting too. It just beats buttercream any day!