Chocolate Cake Cream Cheese Icing

A deliciously creamy icing that combines sweetness, tang and the richness of chocolate. This Chocolate Cake Cream Cheese Icing is perfect for your any of your chocolate cake creations.

This style of icing is perfect when you want to create a chocolate cake that:

• is a little extra decadent
• looks like a true dessert
• has a deeper flavour and adds some tang to balance out the sweetness.

Jump to:

• Ingredient notes
• How to make Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
• How much icing will I need?
• Chocolate Cake Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredient notes

To make this icing, you need just 5 ingredients:

• cream cheese (the block or brick variety rather than cream cheese spread – in Australia, we often know it by the brand name "Philadelphia Cream Cheese")
• butter (salted or unsalted is fine)
• icing sugar / powdered sugar
• cocoa powder (natural cocoa powder or Dutch cocoa powder is fine – choose according to your flavour preferences or what you have in the cupboard).
• milk.

For ingredient quantities, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

Equipment

While it is technically possible to use just a wooden spoon, this recipe is a whole lot easier if you use a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter.

How to make Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

TIP: Ideally, stand cream cheese and butter at room temperature for half an hour to soften before proceeding and then chop into cubes.

It really is a cinch to make this wonderful creamy chocolate icing.

Start by beating the cream cheese with a handheld electric or stand mixer until it is smooth and creamy. This should take about a minute on med-high speed.

Add the butter, and beat again until combined and the mixture is smooth.

Sift in the icing sugar and cocoa powder and beat on low-med speed until combined.

TIP: Start off on the very lowest setting when you mix in the dry ingredients to ensure they combine with the cream cheese and butter rather than flying out of the bowl.

Add the milk and beat again on low-med speed until combined.

Using and storing

If you're going to add the icing with a spatula, you can just go ahead and use it immediately.

If you'd like to pipe the chocolate cake cream cheese icing, place in the fridge for 15-30 minutes first to help the icing keep its shape better as you pipe it.

You can store leftover icing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let soften out of the fridge for half an hour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon before using.

This icing also freezes nicely. Again, place in an airtight container before freezing – for up to 3 months. To use again, thaw overnight in the fridge and then beat the frosting for about 5-10 seconds or until it's smooth and creamy.

How much icing will I need?

This chocolate cake cream cheese icing is enough to generously fill and cover a 20cm round sandwich cake or about 24 cupcakes.

Decrease or multiply the quantities used here accordingly.