Look no further for the perfect keto chocolate frosting. Smooth and creamy, with rich chocolate flavour. This is the best recipe for all your low carb cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and brownies!
Fake it til you make it, as they say. And to make this amazingly delicious keto chocolate frosting, you’re going to have to fake it a bit, my friends! It’s not a true buttercream but it acts like one and it tastes like one. Keep reading to find out the secret!
And if you’re looking for perfect keto vanilla buttercream, I’ve got that too!
There is something you should know about me. I am a total faker and I am okay with that. I have accepted my fakery with aplomb and you should too. Because sometimes faking it gets you exactly where you want to be.
Now of course I am not talking about pretending I went to Harvard or saying that I am a close cousin to Queen Elizabeth. (As far as I know, I am exactly 30 millionth in line for the throne…pretty much all of England and Canada would have to die before I was your royal highness).
But I do fake it til I make it when it comes to low carb cooking and baking, and that’s what I did with this low carb chocolate frosting. And although I know some naysayer will inevitably come along and say it’s not a true buttercream, I say don’t be a hater. And don’t bother to give me a hard time about it, you will not ruffle my feathers. I know what I am about.
We get kind of used to faking it in this low carb diet of ours. We have to, if we want to enjoy some of the same foods we used to love.
So zucchini and cucumber and eggplant become noodles, cauliflower becomes potatoes and rice, and pork rinds become rice crisps (I got a hater comment on my low carb Scotcheroos which I thought was absolutely hilarious!).
Faking it comes naturally to me now, and I think as long as I can achieve my ultimate goal, which is the best taste and consistency in one of my keto recipes, I don’t care what I have to do. It’s all about the food, people!
The Secret to Keto Chocolate Frosting
And so the secret to perfect keto chocolate frosting is…cream cheese. Gasp! No really, this is something I’ve known for a while now and I am passing this secret bit of low carb wizardry on to you.
Why does cream cheese help so much in a low carb frosting? Because it gives the frosting structure without having to use copious amounts of powdered sweetener.
Think about it…a traditional buttercream frosting takes ridiculous amounts of powdered sugar. Take this gorgeous vanilla buttercream from Sally’s Baking Addiction, for example. It’s perfect but it also takes 4 to 5 cups of sugar, just to be able to be a proper spreadable and pipe-able consistency.
While I could do something similar with powdered Swerve, I just don’t want to. Here’s why:
1. My tastes have changed and I find frosting, even low carb frosting, much too sweet.
2. Low carb sweeteners are expensive! Who wants to pay $25 just to make enough frosting for one cake?
So a few ounces of properly softened cream cheese will give your low carb chocolate frosting a smooth consistency…unlike a some of the lumpy, clumpy frostings you see on many low carb cakes! Ugh!
Now, don’t try to tell me this is a low carb cream cheese frosting. It’s not and nothing you say can convince me otherwise. I love cream cheese frosting but it has a significant tanginess from the cream cheese and this keto chocolate buttercream does not.
All that the few ounces of cream cheese do is give it some structure so you don’t have to keep adding powdered sweetener. Instead, you simply get the best low carb chocolate buttercream around. Rich, smooth, chocolate-y, all without spending a small fortune on sweetener.
So the only question is…what are you going to put it on? How about my Classic Low Carb Chocolate Cupcakes? They are a match made in heaven!
Low Carb Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate chopped
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ cup butter softened
- 3 ounces cream cheese softened
- ⅔ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy cream room temperature (give or take a few tablespoons)
Instructions
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate and coconut oil. Melt in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate and coconut oil together in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Beat in the powdered sweetener and the cocoa powder until well combined.
- Add the chocolate and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. The mixture will be very thick at this point.
- Add the cream a few tablespoons at a time until a spreadable consistency is achieved. (How much cream you need depends on the other ingredients...certain brands of cream cheese and cocoa powder have more fillers and fiber, which thicken the frosting and require more cream).
Notes
Bonnie says
It’s weird, nobody else ever explained why sometimes you need to add more cream than other times. I never knew it had to do with the cocoa and cream cheese. I appreciate you explaining things like this.
This is a really good recipe.
Carolyn says
Welcome!
Tamy says
Hi! I’d like to make this for some keto cupcakes…is there another oil I can use besides coconut oil? I’m not a fan of that oil and I’d rather not buy it if I don’t have to. I’m really excited to try this frosting!
Carolyn says
Try cocoa butter to melt the chocolate with.
Martine says
Is the coconut oil critical in this recipe? I hate the taste of unrefined coconut oil but haven’t gone out to get the unrefined kind that doesn’t taste as strong. Would cacao butter work? or failing that, avocado oil or melted butter.
Sherrie says
Would powdered BochaSweet work for this recipe?
Carolyn says
I haven’t tried it so I think you will need to experiment!
Nikki says
I can’t wait to make this! Just a quick question.. is the butter salted or unsalted?
Thank you 🙂
Carolyn says
Doesn’t really matter. I personally use salted as it brings out the sweetness.
Danielle says
Currently frosting a three layer 6″ keto cake for my friend’s birthday and oh my god. I am not on keto nor will I ever be, but this frosting is delicious!! I quintupled the recipe so I’d have enough to decorate after the crumb coat and final coat (it’s an extra tall cake) but I probably could have quadrupled and been fine. A couple things: adding melted chocolate to any buttercream can be tricky and make it prone to splitting. Less experienced bakers may not know how to fix split buttercream (it can be fixed by melting a small portion and beating it back in until smooth). Second, absolutely no cream was needed. Any thinner and I wouldn’t be able to smooth this on my turntable. Third, it seems prone to discoloration when making lots of contact with a bench scraper. I have sections of my cake that are darker than others. It looks weirdly intentional but it wasn’t. I’m not exactly sure how to fix it nor do I think I’ll be able to. Fourth, it’s important to note that this frosting cannot sit for long without needing to be beaten again. It starts to develop insane air bubbles and gets a very pocked curdly look if left untouched for too long. So your readers may want to know it should be used right away or reconstituted frequently in the stand mixer. Anyway this was my first foray into keto baking, so thank you for the wonderful recipe. It smooths so beautifully and I cannot wait to pipe with it.
Carolyn says
I have never had any of these issues with this frosting and I make it regularly. So not sure what’s going on with yours.
Alicia L Cantu says
I made this chocolate flavor for my bday cake and it was so good! This is my new fav frosting I’ll use even if not doing keto! It was so creamy and rich without being super sweet. My kids love it. Thanks!
Elle says
Thank you, great recipe! The cream cheese really does seem to make a big difference. I found I didn’t need to add any cream at all, it was already whipped to perfection, although I still added in a bit anyway. Delicious. I then put it in the fridge and it hardened, so I added some more cream and that’s when the frosting changed in look and texture. Anyway, no matter, it was still delicious!
Shelley D. Richards says
Great recipe thank you. I have a tip to offer – Start by beating the creamed cheese & butter with a paddle on low-med speed for 5 min. Switch to whisk attachment & beat on medium for 10 min. This procedure builds up a fluffy airy texture. I didn’t need to add any cream at all as the frosting was perfectly light & spreadable after I added the other ingredients in the order per your instructions.
Kelly says
Is powdered monk fruit sweetener an option?
Van says
Seriously so good! Taste better than the chocolate buttercream frosting from my favorite bakery!
AngelaK says
Do you happen to have a VANILLA buttercream recipe?? Hoping to make some keto cookie “doozies” for myself to enjoy during my daughter’s bday party this weekend, and prefer vanilla frosting over chocolate! This does look delicious, though!!! <3
Carolyn says
https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/best-sugar-free-frosting/
GVKW says
Do you have a vanilla frosting that doesn’t require egg whites and a stand mixer? I’m worried that omitting both the chocolate and the cocoa will just make this recipe flop, but I definitely prefer a buttercream texture over swiss meringue…
Carolyn says
Use the frosting from this cake: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/keto-chantilly-cake/
stassi says
can i use jaggery for the sweetener?
Carolyn says
No idea since I don’t use it. You will have to experiment.
Pia Lee says
I just made this and it was so good! I used Lillys chocolate chips for the chocolate part and Hersheys cocoa for the powder stuff. I put it all in a gallon ziploc back and generously frosted 24 cupcakes. So good! Its very VERY rich, I regret licking the bowl because now I have to wait to taste it on a cupcake. Thank you!
Anne says
I’ve been making chocolate frosting with icing sugar, butter, vanilla cream and cocoa since I was 4 years old. I know how it works. The only difference here is a Swerve granulated sugar and cream cheese But I’ve made this twice today, and it split both times. It’s very tasty, but it doesn’t look or feel like frosting should. Any clues on what might have gone wrong?
Carolyn says
Hmmmm, tell me what brand of chocolate you are using? Or the cocoa powder. Could be that, maybe. Hard to say, but I have made this without issue more times than I can count!
Anne says
Thanks for responding. I used bakers unsweetened chocolate, and Rodel cocoa powder. Both products I’ve been using forever in icing. It tasted fine, but the texture was off. I’m going to try it again today. (another birthday), and I’ll see what happens.
Anne says
Well, sorry to cause you concern. I made this again today, and it worked just as I expected it should. Normal creamy texture. I have no idea what went wrong two weeks ago, but it’s clearly not a problem with the recipe… Just some sort of user error.
Carolyn says
Rodelle is fine. Baker’s could be the issue. I’ve had plenty of trouble with them, it’s much more prone to seizing. Ghirardelli works well, as do even pricier brands like Guittard and Scharffenberger.
Tess says
Oh My God, I never thought I could eve enjoy chocolate frosting on Keto. I have tried so many other recipes and finally found a recipe like this. It has a mousse like texture and would be awesome on chocolate cake. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe.I am in heaven!!!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
STACEY ROYLE says
I bake a lot. This is best chocolate keto frosting I have made,least gritty, best mouth feel due to the cream cheese and whipping cream. It is similar to a whipped cream cheese frosting I make for wedding cakes. Excellent recipe! Thank you!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Jaymie says
Very bitter tasting – what am I doing wrong??
Carolyn says
What sweetener did you use?
Pam says
Would this work as a filling for Keto cream puffs?
Carolyn says
Sure!