How to Make Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

A step-by-step tutorial on making the best chocolate cream cheese frosting. And SURPRISE, it’s not as intimidating as you may think.

What is Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting?

To me, cream cheese frosting needs no introduction. It’s a go-to for most people looking to frost their cakes, cupcakes, cookies, or just to eat straight from the bowl. I will never shy away from licking the beaters used to whip up this luxurious, smooth frosting, and this easy chocolate cream cheese frosting is no exception. I like to look at cream cheese frosting is a spin off of the classic American-style buttercream. It still includes both butter and powdered sugar, but the addition of cream cheese as a new type of fat gives it the perfect tangy flavor – perfect for balancing out that sweetness.

American-style buttercreams often get a bad wrap because they tend to be overly sweet. Adding cream cheese to the mix solves that problem beautifully, in my opinion.

If you’re a buttercream lover like me, check out these other recipes on my site!

• Chocolate French Buttercream (Easy Tutorial)
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream (Easy Tutorial)

Why this recipe works

There are hundreds of chocolate cream cheese frosting recipes on the internet – but this one rivals them all. I’m sorry, I love a lot of the different frosting options I’ve tried over the years, but nothing comes even remotely close to this chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe. 

There are a couple of reasons I think this is the best chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe you’ll ever try, starting with the instant coffee. If you’ve been around here for a little while you’ll notice that a lot of my chocolate recipes tend to have this unusual ingredient added to them. This is because I am and will always be a believer in the beautiful combination of chocolate and coffee. Coffee, in my opinion, even in a small amount, makes chocolate taste more like… itself. It only enhances the chocolate flavor of just about anything, so I’m excited for you to try this combo as well!

Second, we go heavy on the cocoa powder. When you’re scooping out the cooca powder you may think to yourself, “gosh this seems like a lot!” But I’m telling you, using a lot of cocoa powder, especially when you’re using Dutch-process cocoa powder, makes this the best chocolate cream cheese frosting out there.

Ingredients for Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

There are not too many ingredients used in this recipe, which is part of what makes it so simple, but you will need these staples:

• Cream cheese – this will be the base of our frosting, and we’ll need a lot of it! I made sure to use the entire block when developing this recipe so we don’t waste any of that creamy goodness.
• Unsalted butter – another must-have in any good buttercream recipe – butter. This, in combination with the cream cheese, makes for the perfect texture in our cream cheese frosting with cocoa powder.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder – I’d encourage you to look for Dutch-process cocoa powder. Helpful hint: any cocoa powder with “alkali,” or something along those lines, is Dutch-process!
• Powdered sugar – I tried to keep the perfect balance of tang and sweet, so we’re not using just too much powdered sugar here. See the helpful tips below for how to incorporate it into the frosting without the mess.
• Instant coffee – my secret ingredient, and the thing I add to so many chocolate recipes here on the site. As I said above, I think it makes chocolate taste more like itself.
• Heavy cream – this is what we will dissolve the instant coffee in before adding it to the bowl with our chocolate cream cheese frosting.
• Kosher Salt – always should be “to taste” in any frosting recipe, in my opinion! I included a suggested amount in the recipe, but taste as you go and make any changes you see fit.

Possible ingredient substitutions

This is probably not a recipe I’d suggest using substitutions on, but if you don’t already have unsalted butter in your refrigerator, salted will work just fine! I’d just be sure to eliminate or reduce the additional salt you add at the end of the recipe. I always give an amount, but I think salt in a buttercream is always something that should be added to taste regardless!

Some equipment you may need…

Stand mixer – I use this one for all of my baking, and I’ve never had any issues. It has stood the test of time and the test of many, many recipes (like Swiss meringue buttercream and chocolate French buttercream – both things that require a lot of mixing), so its definitely a reliable purchase if you don’t have one yourself!

Rubber spatula – You’ll notice that this will be important thing to have when we scrape down our mixing bowl! I use rubber spatulas for almost every baking recipe I make. I love the ones with metal handles that can easily go in the dishwasher.

Wooden spoons – I also love wooden spoons, and these are a great choice!

Ok, now let’s get into the how-to:

How to Make Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Step 1 – Beat the cream cheese and butter

I always use a paddle attachment in just about any buttercream recipe, except when you’re whipping egg whites for a swiss meringue buttercream. This will ensure we’re not beating too much air into the cream cheese and the butter (resulting in a smoother frosting!). 

Step 2 – Scrape down your bowl! Don’t skip this step!

One of my best tips for any buttercream recipe is to scrape down your bowl – and do it often. I know it can be a little bit of a hassle, but this will ensure everything gets incorporated properly which results in a better chocolate cream cheese frosting.

Step 3 – Add your cocoa powder

This step can be a bit of a mess because we’re using a lot of cocoa powder here! It might seem like a lot, but I promise it is just the right amount.

Helpful tip: to mitigate any flying cocoa powder, I like to first fold it in with my rubber spatula before I put it under the paddle attachment. Then, I pulse the mixer several times before fully whipping it to incorporate.

Step 4 – Scrape down your bowl, again! Don’t skip this step!

Especially after adding the cocoa powder to our chocolate cream cheese frosting – go ahead and scrape down the bowl again. Cocoa powder that is not fully incorporated into the rest of the frosting will just look streaky when you go to spread or pipe the frosting onto your cakes or cupcakes.

Step 5 – Add the powdered sugar

Now for the messy part – adding the powdered sugar. I swear sometimes I think I can’t make a buttercream without wearing the powdered sugar all over me, but again something you can do to mitigate this is to add it in small portions. Then, each time, use your rubber spatula to fold it in before beating it with your mixer.

The consistency will seem a little bit off once you finish adding all of the powdered sugar, but don’t worry – we still have some more ingredients so stick with it!

Step 6 – Combine the instant coffee and heavy cream and add it to your chocolate cream cheese frosting

Now for our secret ingredient: the instant coffee! You’ll want to dissolve the granules in the heavy cream.

To do so, gently warm the heavy cream in a small bowl in the microwave for about 15 seconds – this should be enough! Then pour the instant coffee granules into the cream and stir it until everything is dissolved.

Next, go ahead and pour the entire bowl into your chocolate cream cheese frosting. I recommend pulsing this at first too, it will prevent any splashing from taking place!

Step 7 – Done!

Trust me, you’ll want to try some of this chocolate cream cheese frosting as soon as you finish whipping everything up – just try not to eat the entire bowl before you frost your cakes or cupcakes (it’s tempting). 

This chocolate cream cheese frosting can now be used on cakes, cupcakes, cookies, you name it. It pipes beautifully and is unbelievably smooth. It makes a wonderful companion to my chocolate fudge cupcakes and my super moist one-layer chocolate cake.

The Best Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting FAQs

Can I store this frosting?

Yes, this is something you can store for later! If you make it in advance, I would either keep it in the mixing bowl, covered with plastic wrap, or put it in a separate air-tight container. I’ve just found that if you put it in the piping bag and let it sit in the refrigerator, the air bubbles are worse. It’s always good to give it another good stir once you let it come back to room temperature to get any air bubbles out!

Recipes to use it with?

The possibilities are endless with this chocolate cream cheese frosting, but here are a few suggestions for ways to use the best chocolate cream cheese frosting.

• As the frosting for these Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes
• As the frosting for this Super Moist One-Layer Chocolate Cake
• As the frosting for these Classic Vanilla Cupcakes
• As the frosting for this Moist Strawberry Vanilla Layer Cake

I hope you all love this recipe, and I hope this step-by-step tutorial was helpful! I know it’s always helpful to me to see images along with recipes. If you make this chocolate cream cheese frosting, or if you have any questions about it, please feel free to send me a message at sarah@sarahsdayoff.com, or leave a comment below! I’d love to hear about the ways you used this frosting.

As always, be sure to follow along on socials @sarahsdayoff for new recipes and everyday life!

Love,

Sarah

“Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” -Luke 6:28-

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