This is truly one of my favourite whipped icings to go with all sorts of cakes and cupcakes. Chocolate, peanut butter, vanilla, Nutella, or a mixture of all above...it is so yummy and versatile! It's not overly sweet so you definitely won't see people scraping it off to get to the cake like you might with a buttercream.
The whipped cream makes it smooth and creamy while the cream cheese gives it balance. You may not even taste the cream cheese in the frosting with the addition of cocoa powder and vanilla too. And the cocoa powder really stabilizes it so it's easy to spread and decorate. Check out how it looks on my Decadent Chocolate Cake too. I used it there along with a chocolate pudding centre.
Make sure you sift both your icing sugar and cocoa powder. Maybe it's the humidity where I live, but I ALWAYS sift these two items. I've forgotten this step before and trust me...the little flecks of white in a chocolate icing are so noticeable! It makes me cringe looking at it.
There are just a couple of steps to making this whipped icing. Simply cream the cream cheese using a paddle or whisk attachment. Add some sifted icing sugar and vanilla to the mixture and whip until fully combined. Then transfer this mix to another bowl.
Clean your whisk and bowl and chill. Whipping cream whips up better using a cold bowl. Whip the cream until soft peaks before adding the remaining sifted icing sugar and cocoa powder. Whip until it has stiff peaks and then add back in the cream cheese mixture. Whip it all together now until it's the consistency you want. Either for a filling and/or decorating. If you run into trouble with the consistency at all...pop it into the fridge for a bit and re whip. I find depending on the heat in your house, the fridge is sometimes needed to make it perfect! Try my Whipped Vanilla version of this frosting too!
I really hope you try and enjoy this recipe! If you do, please leave me a comment below!
Whipped Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
2 bricks room temp cream cheese
1 and 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar* divided
2 cups whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder**
Directions
Cream the cream cheese in mixer.
Add 1 cup icing sugar and vanilla to mixer. Mix together until fully combined.
Move this mixture to a different bowl.
Clean mixer bowl and throw a few ice cubes into the clean bowl for a couple of minutes to chill.
Empty chilled bowl and whip the whipping cream until soft peaks.
Add remaining icing sugar and cocoa powder to whipped cream.
Whip until stiff peaks.
Add cream cheese mixture to bowl and whip until combined and firm enough texture to pipe. May need to be chilled for more detailed piping.
Makes enough to fill and ice an 8 inch layer cake or a 3-layer 6 inch cake plus a dozen cupcakes with leftovers.
Tips
* Sifting icing sugar ensures no little white flecks of sugar in the icing. It is very noticeable especially in a chocolate icing. Do not overwhip the cream cheese either. It gives more stability to the mixture.
**Sifting the cocoa powder is for the same reason as above. Adding some of the icing sugar and cocoa powder to the whipped cream helps it stiffen up too. If you are are having trouble with the consistency...put the icing for a quick flash in the freezer or fridge and it should firm up for you a bit.