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Chocolate Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
By Alexandra Stafford
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02/27/2026
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Made with cold cream cheese and cold cream, this whipped chocolate cream cheese frosting comes together in no time. It’s perfectly sweet and perfectly chocolatey and has the loveliest, lightest whipped texture. Step aside, buttercream!
Since discovering this whipped cream cream cheese frosting, it has become my go-to for nearly every cake I make, from this one-bowl birthday cake to this ultimate carrot cake.
Let’s review its virtues: it calls for cold cream cheese — yes, you read that right — no need to soften it. It calls for heavy cream rather than butter, which gives it a light, whipped texture. It comes together in no time.
Recently, after eating a chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate buttercream and disliking the mouthfeel as well as the process, which called for melting chocolate and softening butter, I wondered if I could make a chocolate variation of the whipped cream frosting.
It turns out, yes, I could, and it was surprisingly easy, requiring little more than adding a small amount of cocoa powder to the mixture. Because cocoa powder acts similarly to flour in that it absorbs moisture, it also required an additional few tablespoons of heavy cream to achieve the same whipped texture.
But that was it! Nothing to soften! Nothing to melt! Delicious flavor and lovely light texture!
I tested out the chocolate frosting smeared over cupcakes (this birthday cake recipe), and the result was heavenly, a perfectly sweet and chocolatey match for the vanilla-scented cake. I hope you all love this one as much as I do.
Find step-by-step instructions below.
How to Make Chocolate Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting, Step by Step
First, gather your ingredients: cream cheese (cold), heavy cream (cold), sugar, flaky sea salt, vanilla, and cocoa powder.
Start by placing the cold cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. (Alternatively, you could use a hand beater.)
Beat the sugar and cream cheese together until they are light and fluffy:
Add the cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, and heavy cream:
And beat until the ingredients are blended and the texture is whipped.
Taste. Adjust with more salt, cocoa, or heavy cream to taste. Then blend again:
Use immediately in any cake or cupcake recipe you wish:
Or transfer to the fridge for up to a week:
Chocolate Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Description
Made with cold cream cheese and cold cream, this whipped chocolate cream cheese frosting comes together in no time. It’s perfectly sweet and perfectly chocolatey and has the loveliest, lightest whipped texture.
Notes:
- Adapted from this Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting recipe
- This recipe yields enough for 24 cupcakes or enough to frost this layer cake.
- Cocoa: I have only used Dutch-process cocoa in this recipe, but because frosting is not leavened, you could likely use either Dutch-process or natural cocoa powder here with success.
Ingredients
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, cold
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons (12 g) cocoa powder, see notes above
- 3/4 cup (187 g) + 1–2 tablespoons (15 – 30 g) heavy cream
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Beat the cold cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the 3/4 cup heavy cream, cocoa powder, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, and the vanilla. Beat again until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes more.
- Taste. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, if desired, and the remaining 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream to lighten the texture.
- Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to a week.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Dessert/Cake
- Method: Stand Mixer
- Cuisine: Amerian
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
35 Comments on “Chocolate Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting”
You’re always publishing the recipe I need like a month before I need it 🙂 I’ve been making all my family birthday cakes with this cream cheese frosting for a few years now… and they are all about to be chocolate!
Hooray! I’m so happy to hear this, Tiffany. Thanks for writing.
That frostinglooks good and I got to try the recipe w/ a like enthusiasm win into it! Great
Hope you love it, Phyllis!
Hi Ali!
Do you think this would look more like chocolate if black cocoa powder were used? Or a blend of black and regular?
I do! I think you could use all black cocoa powder for a very dark hue or a mix if you wanted something in between what you see pictured here and a more midnight black hue — I love that look by the way.
Do you use regular granulated white sugar, or icing (powder) sugar for the recipe?
Granulated! I’ll update the recipe 🙂
Thank you!!
I mean your recipe reads like granulated, I’m just so used to using icing sugar in icing recipes that I wanted to double check.
But that’s on me, not your recipe 😊
I’m excited and can’t wait to try it!!
When I first made the original version without chocolate I was skeptical of the granulated sugar and thought it was odd — would it dissolve? would it taste gritty? why not just use confectioners sugar? But it works beautifully! And you are good to question it bc so many people will be thinking/wondering the same thing 🙂 Thanks for writing!
This was so easy everyone loved it.thanks for the recipe.
I have used your regular recipe, and the family loves it! I am looking forward to trying the chocolate version.
Thanks
PS, can you freeze leftover cream cheese frosting?
I’m so happy to hear this, Jean! I have not tried freezing the frosting, google is telling me that yes you can freeze it in an airtight container for as long as 3 months. It also says that the texture might be altered slightly, but that generally it freezes well due to its high fat content. Hope that helps!
This was so easy everyone loved it.thanks for the recipe.
Great to hear, Catherine! Thanks for writing 🙂
So can I leave out thr chocolate for just a vanilla frosting?
Yes! Follow this recipe: Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting (Lighter, Better)
Great, thank you!🎂
This sounds so good! Definitely going to make it thank you!
Hope you love it, Dj 🙂
While I am going to try it, in my mind. And this day I have yet to find a frosting that doesn’t start with the first step being crisco, that sit at a the top. I know, shortening is not necessarily the best thing for you. If I’m making a frosting for something that I am going to spoil myself with. I’m not cutting corners. That’s I do have recipes withiut it The whipped frosting, that’s closer to a cool, whip, consistency and a couple others. So i’m gonna give it a try.And i’m hoping for the best, and if it beats out the ones that start with a slab, a crisco.My heart will think of you every time I take a bite
I hope you give it a go, Shaun, and I hope you love it 🙂
Oh I definitely am going to. I am always looking for something better than what im used to. Plus I am under no illusions that im the best at anything thats why im always trying everything I can. I mean how do you know if you like something or not until you try it 😁
Hi there. This recipe seems to be exactly what I have been looking for but I just didn’t know it lol. I can’t wait to try it for the next family birthday. I was a cake decorator at a retail store for 5 yrs but we didn’t make the icing. Over the years I have decided my homemade icing is definitely better that that other stuff was. My question though is, would I be able to pipe with this icing? Family members expect pretty from me even before taste lol. I will be trying your recipe either way but I need to be able to pipe with it. Do you think it will work or do you have a suggestion to tweak it for piping? Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Absolutely you will be able to pipe it! You may want to use only the 3/4 cup of heavy cream as opposed to the 3/4 cup + 1-2 tablespoons more. Hope you love it, Dina!
Great!! I can’t wait to try it. Thank you Ali
SImple, simplly delicious. I’ve never been a fan of powdered sugar and/or buttercream, so at Christmas when I made a buchew de noel, I made that with a ganache frosting (melted chocolate and cream.) That was delicious, but this looked even simpler, so I was delighted to try this. I added more cocoa to make it darker and more chocolately and we all loved it. at my grandson’s b’day party last night.
Ali – I continue to try, love, and trust your blog/vlog and recipes. Been following you for years. so I don’t actually “know” you . . . but think of you as an old friend. Thank you!
Dede, hello! I am so happy to read all of this, Thanks for writing and sharing your notes — I’m happy to hear you were able to tweak the recipe easily to make it darker and more chocolatey… yum 🙂 Thank you for your kind words. Means a lot. Think of you every time I drop ears of corn into boiling water, cover the pot, and shut it off 🙂 🙂 🙂
The only thing that gives me pause is the weak color of the ” chocolate frosting”.
Can I use monkfruit instead of sugar?
I have never tried, but Google is telling me yes, but that a powdered monkfruit sugar might be best for frosting.
How long will this frosting “hold” once you’ve decorated cupcakes? Do I need to serve right away? Or best to make frosting ahead, but decorate right before? And, I assume I should keep the decorated cakes in the refrigerator so they don’t turn into a sloppy mess? Just trying to do my make-ahead plan. Thanks!
I have let the frosted cake sit at room temperature for hours — I’d say at least 2 but probably a little bit more. Ideally, however, as you suggest: make the frosting ahead, store it in the fridge until you need it, assemble right before serving. And if you have space in your fridge to store the frosted cake, that works, too.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! It’s going to be perfect for a dessert I’m making next week!!
The recipe and the instructions are well organized and very clear. The ingredients are very affordable and easy to find.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe with all of us.
Professional chef here: LOVE cream cheese icing. Sugar = definitely, although this recipe is too sweet. I know the Yank palette prefers things extra sweet, but it masks the slight tang of the cheese which normally contrasts perfectly with the sweetness of the cake. I would suggest a range of sweetness in the recipe. Also try finely grated orange zest!