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Saturday, April 14, 2012

Favorite Chocolate Frosting


Oh my, two posts in one day! :) I am trying to make up for lost time...
This post though is about a chocolate frosting that I have tried recently and made some modifications to suit my needs/wants. Whenever needing a plain chocolate frosting recipe, I've used this one recipe, which is pretty reliable. What I don't really like about it is how fast it sets! So you better be ready to frost your cake/cupcake when you are finished with the frosting or else it hardens and then you are out of luck.
So I figured it wouldn't hurt to try another recipe... and when I read this one from Annie's Eats, I knew I had to try. I tried, my husband tried, my brother-in-law tried... and our verdict was that, although nice and smooth/silky, it was a little too sour. So, second time around trying this recipe, I made it with heavy cream instead of sour cream. I like it this way much better! But both recipes deliver a nice not over-the-top sweet, very chocolate-y frosting :) This has definitely surpassed my previous frosting choice!
Oh, and a side note: do NOT skip on the sifting step of the confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder... I did that the first time and the frosting came out with little clumps... that got stuck when trying to pipe through a star tip. Second time around, I sifted both items and got much better results!
And a second side note: both cupcakes shown above (and below) were decorated with the same tip! If you start from the center and go outwards, you get the rose look (on the left in the picture below)... if you start making your "swirl" from the outside in, you get the ice cream cone-like piping (On the right in the picture below)... Neat huh?
Chocolate Frosting
Melt the bittersweet chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over a pot of simmering water (make sure to not let the boiling water touch the bowl!). Set aside to cool until just barely warm. 
While the chocolate is cooling, in a separate bowl, sift and whisk together the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside. 
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Gradually mix in the sugar/cocoa powder mix and add about 2 Tbsp of the heavy cream. Beat in the melted and cooled chocolate, until the mixture is smooth and well blended. If necessary, add another 1 Tbsp of heavy cream (depending on your desired consistency of frosting). 
Frost cupcakes immediately before the chocolate hardens and the frosting sets.

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

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