Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

The best easy recipe for chocolate cream cheese frosting! Made with cream cheese, butter, cocoa powder, milk, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar this frosting will be your new favorite chocolate frosting. This frosting has a delicious tang from the cream cheese creating a perfectly sweet, not overly sweet frosting recipe!

To me you need a good cake and good frosting, having a good cake without good frosting is pointless, and the same goes for a bad cake and good frosting.

I often find that American buttercreams are very sweet, in my opinion, sickly sweet. I find that I like a Swiss Meringue Buttercream or a Cream Cheese Buttercream much better.

Cream cheese provides two things, a delicious tang flavor that helps counterbalance all the sweetness, and a luscious creamy texture. So its a win-win in my book.

This frosting is perfect on top of a chocolate, yellow, white, or coffee cake. The options are really endless!

Let's get to the recipe .

What are the ingredients for Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting?

• Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature,
• Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
• Cocoa Powder ( I prefer Dutch-process- Bensdorp Cocoa Powder)
• Salt 
• Pure Vanilla Extract 
• Whole Milk or Heavy Cream 
• Powdered Sugar/ Confectioners Sugar

How do you make Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting?

I can not stress enough how important it is to make sure your cream cheese and butter are softened to room temperature.

To speed up the process of softening them I suggest cutting them into small chunks. I find that microwaving either the cream cheese or butter is too risky, you can end up melting the solids.

You can make this frosting in a stand mixer, in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer, or by hand- but be prepared for a workout!

Beat the softened cream cheese and butter for 2 to 3 minutes on medium to high speed. The mixture should be light and fluffy and fully combined.

While the cream cheese is beating sift the cocoa powder into a clean bowl and sift the powdered sugar into another clean bowl. Sifting the powders helps prevent a lumpy frosting. You do not have to do this but I find that cocoa powder especially is often lumpy.

The absolute last thing you want is lumpy frosting when you are going to the trouble o making it from scratch. Take the two minutes and sift it! Trust me!

When the butter and cream cheese mixture is light, fluffy, and fully combined add the cocoa powder and vanilla extract. Beat the frosting for one minute, mix it on low with any powders you risk creating a cloud so mix it on low until the powder is incorporated.

If the mixture is very thick add a splash of milk or heavy cream.

Add in 2 ½ cups of the powdered sugar and mix on low for one minute, when the powdered sugar is combined increase the mixing speed to medium-high and let the frosting mix for 3 to 4 minutes.

If you desire a thicker frosting add the remaining powdered sugar.

Can you make Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting ahead of time?

Yes! You can make the frosting and store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week before use.

Can you freeze Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting?

Yes! Make sure you store it in an air-tight container. Place the container of frosting in the fridge the night before you want to use it. The next day see how much the frosting has thawed, if you need to let it sit at room temperature for a little bit before re-whipping in the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl with a hand-held mixer.

Here are some of my other favorite frosting recipes:

• Coffee Buttercream
• Bailey's Swiss Meringue Buttercream
• Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Print

Recipe Card