My Favorite Chocolate Frosting (And It's Easy Too!)
At the risk of a massive unsubscribe, unfriend and whatever else the internet allows us to do to show our displeasure, I'm going to come right out and say it--I'm not a huge fan of frosting. Are you still here? If so, thank you and I love you!! Now scroll down and let me explain...
Growing up, all I knew was that frosting came in a can and that it was not for me. Too sweet and artificial-tasting to boot, I felt the same way about it, that I did about Pop Tarts (yeah, I was that kind of kid). I'd watch in wonder at friends of mine who'd buy a can of frosting just to eat as a snack by the spoonful!! Yuck!! So even though I baked a ton in my early twenties, I steered clear of cakes with frosting unless it was some sort of a ganache. It wasn't until I was married with kids that I actually thought a lot about frosting again and that was only because of my kids' birthdays and bake sales. I just couldn't bring myself to buy the readymade stuff for the requisite cupcakes, so I began a quest to discover a homemade one to my liking. I tried buttercreams, cream cheese versions, whipped cream based ones, swiss meringues, italian meringues, ganaches etc. and some I more than liked, but none that quite won my heart, until this wondrous, stupendous concoction!!
Guys, this chocolate frosting is to die for-- intensely chocolate, creamy without being too buttery, not overly sweet, easily spreadable and works well on pretty much everything from cake to cupcakes to brownies to a swipe of your finger!
And, and this is a biggie, it is ridiculously easy to make!! The whole thing comes together in about 10 minutes and then just sits still for a couple of hours to thicken up. If you're really in a hurry, you can chill it in the fridge and you're good to go in under an hour. I've even been known to throw it into the freezer and stir every 10 minutes or so to really speed things up and it's come out just as glorious as usual.
Whenever I make and serve this, no matter how not amazing the cakey item below it is, people rave (for example, the actual cake in the picture above that I was testing out, was so not special—kind of flavorless and grainy, but so many people gobbled it up happily because it was slathered in this amazing transformative fudgy frosting!!) It’s made a convert out of me and I promise that no matter where you stand on the frosting spectrum, you are going to love it too! After all, does life really get much better than a big bowl of chocolate-y goodness?!!
My Favorite Chocolate Frosting (And It's Easy Too)
Makes about 2 cups of frosting, enough to frost a regular sized layer cake or at least a dozen cupcakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes to prepare, plus several hours of chilling
Ingredients
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
- 5 1/2 tablespoons (2.75 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
The Recipe
1. Place the chocolate and butter in a medium, heat-proof bowl. In a medium saucepan, bring the cream, sugar and salt to a simmer and let cook for 4 minutes, stirring often. Pour the hot mixture over the chocolate and butter and whisk just until everything is melted and smooth. Let cool at room temperature, without stirring, for 2-3 hours until the frosting has cooled and is thick and glossy enough to spread. If you're in a rush or just feeling impatient, you can also place the mixture in the fridge for about 45 minutes, until the mixture is thickened and spreadable, again not stirring.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts by Alice Medrich.
