Quick and Easy 5 Minute Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting » Hummingbird High
About This Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
This quick-and-easy chocolate cream cheese frosting takes just 5 minutes to make and makes a delicious, tangy, creamy frosting that won’t melt in warm weather! Its secret ingredient? The recipe uses lots of cocoa powder and just a touch of light corn syrup. These ingredients don’t melt as easily as regular chocolate, and will help keep the frosting silky and smooth without becoming overly melty.
Pair this chocolate cream cheese frosting with these epic recipes: Chocolate Birthday Cake, My Best Yellow Cake Recipe, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake. For more ideas, check out Hummingbird High‘s full collection of cake recipes!
@hummingbirdhigh – 1 stick butter – 3 oz cream cheese – 1/2 cup cocoa powder – 2 tsp light corn syrup – 3 1/2 cups confect sugar – 3 Tbsp milk – 2 tsp vanilla – pinch salt ✨ MAGIC ✨
Ingredients and Substitutions
Now that I’ve convinced you to make the recipe, here’s everything you need to make this foolproof chocolate cream cheese frosting:
Shopping List For Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- unsalted butter
- cream cheese
- Dutch-processed OR natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- light corn syrup
- confectioners’ sugar
- whole milk
- pure vanilla extract
- kosher salt
And let’s talk about some key ingredients, where to find them, and any potential substitutions:
Common Sources and Substitutions For Ingredients In This Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
- Unsalted Butter: In a pinch, you can use salted butter in the recipe. Just skip adding the pinch of salt!
- Cream Cheese: Make sure to get the kind of cream cheese that comes in a box instead of a tub. Tubbed cream cheese usually has extra ingredients in it to make it more spreadable—these can make your baked goods come out weird!
- Cocoa Powder: You can use either Dutch-processed OR natural unsweetened cocoa powder in this recipe. Dutch-processed cocoa powder will make the chocolate taste milder (but still cocoa-y) and give the frosting a dark brown, Oreo-ish color. Natural unsweetened cocoa powder will make the chocolate taste tarter and fruitier, and give the frosting a lighter reddish-brown color.
- Whole Milk: In a pinch, 2% or skim milk will do just fine. You can also use a plant-based milk like any kind of nut or oat milk. Just note that the frosting won’t be dairy-free/vegan since both butter and cream cheese are dairy!
- Kosher Salt: Kosher salt is the best salt for baking recipes. But you can replace the kosher salt in the recipe with table salt.
How To Make The Recipe
Here are the basic steps to make this creamy, tangy chocolate cream cheese frosting recipe from scratch:
- Prep the ingredients. (Prep Time: <5 minutes)
For this recipe, it’s especially important that the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature. If they’re cold, you’ll end up with a lumpy frosting! I like to heat both in the microwave for 5- to 10-second intervals to ensure they truly are at room temperature. - Make the frosting. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
The frosting comes together quickly and easily in both a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer. If you have a KitchenAid stand mixer, I recommend investing in a paddle attachment with a flex edge. The edge scrapes down the sides of the bowl, saving you the work from doing so!
KitchenAid Tilt-Head Flex Edge Beater
If you’re a big baker with a KitchenAid stand mixer, I highly recommend investing in this paddle attachment for your stand mixer. The flexible edge acts like a rubber spatula and scrapes ingredients away from the sides of the bowl as it mixes!
Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ
Do I really need to use corn syrup?
You can technically skip the corn syrup in the recipe—however, I don’t recommend it. The corn syrup has two functions in the recipe. First, it makes the frosting extra smooth and silky. Second, it’s the ingredient that keeps the cream cheese frosting in warm temperatures. Without it, the frosting is more likely to melt like traditional American buttercream frosting!
How To Store Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
To store for later, scoop the frosting into an airtight container with a lid. Press a sheet of plastic wrap against the frosting. Refrigerate for up to 1 week. When ready to use, thaw the frosting to room temperature and beat for 1 minute until light and creamy once more.
Can you freeze chocolate cream cheese frosting?
Yes!
To freeze, follow instructions to store for later. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then follow the instructions to thaw at room temperature and beat once more.
If your freezer is tight on space, I also recommend storing the frosting in a ziptop bag. Scoop the frosting into a ziptop bag and use a bench scraper to press the air out of the bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Best Recipe Tips
- The recipe makes between 4 to 5 cups of frosting, enough for generously frosting an 8- or 9-inch layer cake with either 2 or 3 layers. If using for a sheet cake recipe, I recommend halving the ingredients in the recipe—otherwise it will make too much frosting!
- I recently discovered that you don’t really need to sift confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder when making frosting. Because you’ll be mixing the frosting at high speed, most of the lumps in these ingredients work themselves out pretty easily! Save yourself time and energy—don’t bother sifting these ingredients.
That being said, DON’T apply this advice to other recipes beyond American buttercream and cream cheese frostings like this one. I still encourage you to sift these ingredients (ESPECIALLY if they look really lumpy) when making baked goods with delicate crumbs like angel food cake. You’ll also need to sift confectioners’ sugar when making royal icing.
Use This Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting In A Recipe:
Get the Recipe:
Quick and Easy 5 Minute Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
This creamy, tangy chocolate cream cheese frosting comes together in just 5 minutes and makes the perfect, silky smooth frosting that is easy to pipe and will hold its shape in warm weather.
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Beat the butter and cream cheese. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-low until smooth, about 2 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
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Add the cocoa powder and corn syrup, then add the rest of the ingredients and beat until light and creamy. With the mixer on low, gradually add the cocoa powder and corn syrup, using the spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. With the mixer on low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until just combined. Slowly pour in the milk, and continue beating until just combined. Once combined, increase the mixer to high and beat for 1 minute more, scraping down the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary, until the frosting is light and creamy.
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Use immediately or store for later. Use an offset spatula or piping bag with a tip to frost the cake recipe of your choice. The chocolate cream cheese frosting will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days.To store for later, scoop the frosting into an airtight container with a lid. Press a sheet of plastic wrap against the frosting. Refrigerate for up to 1 week. When ready to use, thaw the frosting to room temperature and beat for 1 minute until light and creamy once more.To freeze, follow instructions to store for later. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then follow the instructions to thaw at room temperature and beat once more.
- The recipe makes between 4 to 5 cups of frosting, enough for generously frosting an 8- or 9-inch layer cake with either 2 or 3 layers. If using for a sheet cake recipe, I recommend halving the ingredients in the recipe—otherwise it will make too much frosting!
- I recently discovered that you don’t really need to sift confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder when making frosting. Because you’ll be mixing the frosting at high speed, most of the lumps in these ingredients work themselves out pretty easily! Save yourself time and energy—don’t bother sifting these ingredients. That being said, DON’T apply this advice to other recipes beyond American buttercream and cream cheese frostings like this one. I still encourage you to sift these ingredients (ESPECIALLY if they look really lumpy) when making baked goods with delicate crumbs like angel food cake. You’ll also need to sift confectioners’ sugar when making royal icing.
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Weeknight Baking:
Recipes to Fit your Schedule
Over the past several years of running Hummingbird High, I kept a crucial aspect of my life hidden from my readers: I had a full-time, extremely demanding job in the tech world. In my debut cookbook, Weeknight Baking, I finally reveal the secrets to baking delicious desserts on a tight schedule.
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