Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting (2 Ingredients)

Quick Summary: This chocolate whipped cream frosting is made with just 2 ingredients, real chocolate and heavy cream, for a light, airy texture and rich chocolate flavor. It pipes beautifully onto cakes, cupcakes, cream puffs, and eclairs after an overnight chill.

What is chocolate whipped cream frosting?

Chocolate whipped cream is light and airy, made with heavy cream and chopped chocolate. It is not the same as whipped chocolate ganache. In the UK, whipped cream is known as "squirty cream," so another name is "chocolate squirty cream."

You may find recipes using unsweetened cocoa powder to make a chocolate-flavored whipped cream, but it should be called cocoa whipped cream.

Why you'll love this recipe

• Just 2 ingredients. Real chocolate and heavy cream are all you need for a rich, glossy frosting, no butter, cocoa powder, or powdered sugar.
• Made with real chocolate. Melted chocolate gives a deep, ganache-like flavor and a silky texture that a cocoa-powder frosting cannot match.
• Refined sugar-free. With no added sugar, you can make a dark chocolate version that is naturally less sweet.
• Endlessly versatile. Use it to frost and fill layer cakes, top tarts and pies, or pipe into cream puffs, eclairs, and cupcakes.
• Quick and no-bake. It whips up in minutes, so you can frost a dessert at the last minute.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

• Heavy cream with at least 30% fat is essential for making the best chocolate whipped cream: its fat is necessary for the emulsion. Make sure to use cold, heavy cream that has been refrigerated for at least 3 hours. 

Look for a cream labeled as "heavy cream" or "heavy whipping cream" in your grocery store. Light whipping cream will not set properly. If you live in the UK, choose double cream, but remember that its fat content is higher (48%) than that of US heavy cream. So the risk of over-whipping the cream is higher.

• Chocolate: High-quality chocolate is another essential ingredient. Choose white, milk, or dark chocolate, depending on your preference and the recipe. For the best results, avoid chocolate chips for this recipe.

Note: This recipe uses real chocolate, not cocoa powder. It is also refined sugar-free.

What chocolate should you use?

This frosting is made with real melted chocolate rather than cocoa powder, so the chocolate you choose sets the flavor, color, and sweetness. Always pick a high-quality bar you would happily eat on its own, since a two-ingredient recipe has nowhere to hide a cheap chocolate.

• Dark chocolate yields the deepest, least-sweet result, letting you keep the frosting refined sugar-free. Use brands like Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, Ghirardelli, or Callebaut.
• Milk chocolate makes a sweeter, mellow frosting that kids love; choose a good-quality bar so it does not turn cloying.
• White chocolate creates a pale, very sweet frosting and is best tinted or paired with tart fruit.

Avoid chocolate chips, which contain stabilizers that keep them from melting smoothly, and skip cocoa-powder shortcuts if you want the silky, ganache-like texture this recipe is known for.

Recipe variations

• White chocolate whipped cream: Use white chocolate such as Lindt or professional-grade Callebaut white chocolate.

• Milk chocolate whipped cream: Choose top-quality milk chocolate to make the whipped cream.

• Dark chocolate whipped cream: Use high-quality dark chocolate from Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, Ghirardelli, or Callebaut, with at least 60% cacao. For the sugar-free option, opt for dark chocolate with 90% cacao.

• Stabilized chocolate whipped cream frosting: Add gelatin or non-fat powdered milk to stabilize your cream.

If desired, add 1 sachet of vanilla sugar, 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, or the scraped seeds of a vanilla bean to the cream as it boils.

Finally, you can play with the heavy cream-to-chocolate ratio: from 1:1 to 2:1.

How to make chocolate whipped cream frosting

Step 1: Chop chocolate into small pieces with a knife (photo 1) and place in a mixing bowl (photo 2).

Step 2: Bring ⅔ of the heavy cream to a boil in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Pour it over the chocolate (photo 3), then mix with a hand whisk until smooth. Add the remaining cream and mix again (photo 4).

Step 3: Cover the preparation with plastic wrap in contact and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Step 4: Transfer the chocolate mixture to the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the cream on low speed for 1 minute to get soft peaks (photo 5).

Step 5: Gradually increase the speed from slow to medium, then to high, while monitoring the cream's consistency. As a result, the cream will go through medium to stiff peaks (photo 6).

Step 6: It usually takes about 3-4 minutes to whip up the cream from start to finish. But to avoid overwhipping, you must check on the cream every 10 seconds, starting from the soft peak stage.

Step 7: Place the finished whipped cream in a piping bag and garnish your dessert (the dessert has to be cooled).

Expert Tips

1. Read on how to make sugar-free whipped cream properly and prevent it from being grainy and turning into butter.
2. Refrigerate the chocolate and cream mixture for at least 8 hours. Don't omit this simple step.
3. Chill the stand mixer bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes before whipping the cream.
4. Use an electric hand mixer or a hand whisk to whip up the cream if desired.
5. Quick option: If you are in a hurry, place the still-warm bowl with the chocolate and heavy cream mixture on a bed of crushed ice and whisk vigorously until the whipped cream sets. 

Storing & freezing

Store chocolate whipped cream in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. But it will start losing its shape in about 2-3 hours. You may need to whip it up again before use. You can't freeze chocolate whipped cream.

Troubleshooting tips

The cream doesn't rise

Cause: The cream will not rise if it is not cold enough or contains less than 30% fat. Fix: Chill the bowl and whisk for at least 10 minutes (ideally 1 hour) and use cream with at least 30% fat that has been refrigerated for 3 hours.

The cream doesn't hold its shape

Cause: The cream barely holds its shape when it is underwhipped, or the cream does not have enough fat (at least 30%). Fix: Add a tablespoon of mascarpone and whisk again.

The cream looks grainy

Cause: The cream looks grainy when it is overwhipped, so the butterfat solidifies and the whey separates. Fix: Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cold, unwhipped heavy cream and whisk slowly to revive it; use it for garnishing rather than decoration.

There is a chance you will not be able to save your cream. It depends on the cream's whipping stage when you stop the mixer. The stiffer peaks you try to reach, the more you risk ending up with butter.

Recipe FAQ

Is chocolate whipped cream frosting the same as chocolate icing?
They are used interchangeably. This recipe is a light, pipeable frosting whipped from chocolate and cream, so it works as both a frosting for cakes and cupcakes and an airy icing for pies, eclairs, and cream puffs.

Can I make chocolate whipped cream frosting with melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder?
Yes, and that is exactly how this version works. Real melted chocolate is warmed into part of the cream, chilled, then whipped, giving a richer, more stable frosting than the cocoa-powder-and-powdered-sugar method.

Is chocolate whipped cream frosting sugar-free?
No sugar is added to this frosting, so it is refined sugar-free, but the chocolate itself still contains some sugar. For a truly sugar-free version, use dark chocolate with 90 to 100% cacao, keeping in mind it will taste more bitter.

How do you stabilize chocolate whipped cream frosting?
The melted chocolate already helps this frosting hold its shape, but for extra stability, you can add a little mascarpone, a whipped-cream stabilizer, or dissolved gelatin before whipping to stiff peaks.

How do you make chocolate whipped cream frosting thicker?
Opt for heavy cream with a higher fat content (36%), use a 1:1 cream-to-chocolate ratio, and whip the cream until it reaches stiff peaks.

How do you keep chocolate whipped cream frosting stiff?
Use a whipping cream stabilizer, and keep the finished frosting covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator until ready to use, whisking it again if needed.

How long will chocolate whipped cream frosting hold its shape?
It holds its shape for about 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator, although leaving it out on a hot day reduces that time significantly.

Looking for whipped cream frosting for cakes?

Here is a collection of delicious cream frosting recipes made with heavy cream.

• French Chantilly Cream
• Sugar-free Whipped Cream

Also, you may like other Basic Recipes on the website.

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The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.