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    Home » Recipes » Frosting

    Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

    July 23, 2018 By Sam 472 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe
    Chocolate cream cheese frosting

    How to make chocolate cream cheese frosting! This recipe is made with cocoa powder and is simple, fool-proof, and richly chocolaty.

    It’s creamy and smooth but is still sturdy enough for piping and would be the perfect complement to your favorite cake or cupcake recipe!

    Chocolate cream cheese frosting on a cupcake

    Due to popular demand (and a persistent sweet tooth), I’ve been trying to amp up my frosting section on the blog recently.

    So far I’ve covered some of my favorite frostings, including a decadent, silky smooth (but not too-sweet) chocolate frosting and a classic (and perfect, it’s literally my favorite) cream cheese frosting, and today I’m marrying these two favorites together into this chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe.

    Despite my afore-mentioned sweet tooth, buttercream frostings were always too sweet for me growing up, so as soon as I discovered cream cheese frosting my mom switched over to icing and decorating my birthday cakes exclusively with classic and chocolate cream cheese frosting. While many cream cheese frostings don’t stand up well to piping or decorating (too many are too soft and runny), this recipe is stiff enough for decorating and, as you can see in the above picture, works perfectly for piping on top a cupcake.

    Ingredients for chocolate cream cheese frosting

    Chocolate cream cheese frosting only requires 6 ingredients and for my recipe I always use cocoa powder (rather than melted chocolate) to give my frosting a rich chocolaty flavor.

    Take a good look at your cocoa powder before adding it in to your mixer, and if it looks particularly clumpy I recommend running it through a sifter with your powdered sugar so that you don’t have any lumps when you go to pipe the frosting — there’s nothing more annoying than ruining that perfect chocolate swirl because your piping tip has a lump of cocoa powder or powdered sugar jamming up the flow.

    Another tip for silky smooth frosting: Make sure that your cream cheese and butter are softened before beating them together. Cream cheese that’s still cold can also cause lumps in your frosting. I always recommend beating the cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer first until both are well-combined and lump-free, and then adding your other ingredients.

    creamy chocolate cream cheese frosting in a bowl

    Alright, I think that’s all I have to say about today’s super simple frosting recipe. I’m also just back from vacation and recovering from a crazy/wonderful week of sunny days and late 2AM nights with 29 of my favorite family members, so hopefully everything I just typed came out as coherently as possible 😉

    Enjoy!

    And if you’re wondering about the cupcakes in this picture, I just made my favorite vanilla cake recipe, added a handful of sprinkles, and baked into cupcakes. My funfetti cake or chocolate cupcakes would also work nicely!

    How to Make Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

    Chocolate cream cheese frosting on cupcake

    Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

    This chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe will cover either one 2-layer 8" or 9" cake, 24 cupcakes, or generously frost (as much frosting as in the photos) 12 cupcakes.
    4.97 from 239 votes
    Print Pin Rate
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    Course: Frosting
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Servings: 24 cupcakes or 1 8" or 9" 2-layer cake
    Calories: 139kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened
    • 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese softened brick-style, not spreadable
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 3 ½ cups (440 g) powdered sugar*
    • ½ cup (50 g) natural cocoa powder

    Instructions

    • Combine the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and, using an electric mixer or a stand mixer to beat until creamy, well-combined, and lump-free.
      ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened, 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese softened
    • Add vanilla extract and salt and stir well to combine.
      1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
    • With mixer on low, gradually add powdered sugar until completely combined.
      3 ½ cups (440 g) powdered sugar*
    • Add cocoa powder and beat until well-incorporated into the frosting -- be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so that all ingredients are well-combined.
      ½ cup (50 g) natural cocoa powder
    • Frost completely cooled cake or cupcakes.

    Notes

    *If you plan to pipe the frosting with a small tip, I recommend sifting the powdered sugar and cocoa powder (after measuring) to remove any lumps. The cupcakes in these photos were frosted using an Ateco 848 tip.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1/24 batch | Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 42mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

    Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing on a cupcake

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Emily

      May 12, 2025 at 10:56 am

      5 stars
      Turned out great. I made it vegan using vegan butter and vegan cream cheese. Didn’t need any milk because my house was so hot that the cream cheese and butter were very soft. Tasted chocolatey and not-too-sweet. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 13, 2025 at 12:20 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Emily! Thank you so much for the feedback! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Cre

      April 24, 2025 at 10:25 am

      Hi Sam! Your cakes are always so beautifully frosted – do you have any posts where you discuss/show what you use for frosting tools? I don’t need a method/technique post, but would like to know what to buy as the basic tools, maybe things you’ve tried and liked/disliked, or tools that seemed like a good idea but you never use?
      Many Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 28, 2025 at 10:26 pm

        Thank you so much! I don’t have a post particularly on just producst, but I actually have a shop on Amazon that has pretty much all of my favorite tools.

        Reply
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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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