One of my favorite cupcakes is a yellow cupcake with chocolate buttercream. Know what’s even better? Any cupcake with this chocolate cream cheese buttercream!
Seriously. The tanginess from the cream cheese cuts the sweetness from the powdered sugar. The absolute BEST thing to put this on is our Ultimate Fudge Brownies (post coming soon). Sooooo good!

The consistency of this frosting makes it super easy to spread or pipe. For deep chocolate flavor and that great rich color, use Hershey’s Dark Cocoa. You can find it at just about any supermarket in the States.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream
Course: BakingDifficulty: EasyIngredients
Unsalted Butter, room temperature 226g
(1 cup)Cream Cheese, softened 8 oz
(1 package)Dark Cocoa Powder 100g
(1 cup)Powdered Sugar 520g
(4 cups)Salt 1/2 tsp
Directions
- Place butter and cream cheese in the bowl of stand mixer. Mix on high speed until smooth and creamy and pale yellow, 3-4 minutes.
- Add cocoa powder. Turn mixer on lowest setting and mix until fully combined.
- Add half the powdered sugar. Mix on low until combined.
- Add remaining powdered sugar and salt. Mix on low until combined. Turn mixer on high and beat for 4-5 minutes until smooth.
Notes
- You want the cream cheese to be soft enough to not leave clumps, but not so soft that it becomes grainy in the frosting. Leave it on the counter for 1-2 hours before making this recipe.