Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

Rich and creamy chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe is a simple cream cheese chocolate icing that takes just minutes to make.

This chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe is a simple cream cheese chocolate icing that takes just minutes to make. It’s a delicious twist on regular cream cheese frosting.

This homemade frosting is rich and cream and chocolaty and goes well with cakes, cupcakes, and brownies.

Ingredients

• Butter: I like to use salted butter. If you prefer to use unsalted butter, just add a pinch or so of salt to the frosting. Also, cool room temperature means that the butter should dent when pressed, but it shouldn’t be warm enough that it’s losing its shape. 
• Cream cheese: I recommend using full-fat cream cheese for the richest frosting. Reduced fat (1/3 less fat cream cheese) will also work. However, I don’t recommend using fat-free cream cheese. 
• Powdered sugar: If your powdered sugar is lumpy, sifting the powdered sugar before adding it will help the powdered sugar better incorporate into the frosting. 
• Cocoa powder: I use regular unsweetened cocoa powder in this frosting. 
• Vanilla extract: The vanilla enhances the chocolate flavor. However, vanilla extract is expensive, so feel free to decrease the vanilla to 1 teaspoon if you prefer. 

How to make chocolate cream cheese frosting

Begin by beating the butter and cream cheese together in a large bowl until well-combined. You want them to really be combined well. It should take about 2-3 minutes on medium-high.

The ingredients should be at about 70 degrees F or room temperature. I don’t recommend using fat-free cream cheese in this recipe.

Add in 3 cups of powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Mix on low speed until combined.

At this point, you can continue to add additional powdered sugar to reach desired consistency and sweetness.

Tips

This chocolate cream cheese frosting is a variation on my chocolate buttercream frosting. It’s incredibly easy to make, but there are a couple tips below that ensure that it comes out well.

• First, the butter and cream cheese should be soft, but you don’t want the butter to be so soft that it’s melting.
• Second, if your cocoa powder and powdered sugar are lumpy, sifting them will give you a smoother frosting.
• Third, the frosting may seem a little soft as you are piping it. It will set up quite a bit once it has been refrigerated, so don’t worry if it it’s not very stiff as you are piping it on.
• Fourth, be sure to chill any frosted cake or cupcake or leftover frosting.

Recipes that go well with this frosting

I like to use this cream cheese chocolate frosting when I make pumpkin cupcakes. The combination of cream cheese, chocolate, and pumpkin just goes so well together!

This rich chocolate cream cheese icing also pairs really well with basic chocolate cupcakes, white, or yellow cakes.

It also pairs well with brownies.

Storage

The frosting should be chilled. It will keep for up to 4 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

More frosting recipes!

• Peanut Butter Frosting
• Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
• Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting
• Cream Cheese Frosting

If you’ve tried this chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!

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