You. Must. Make. This. Frosting.
That’s all I’m gonna say. The rest is up to you.
Chocolate Frosting
(recipe from here)
6oz dark chocolate (60-70% cacoa… I used Varlhona Guanaja)
4 oz salted butter
3/4 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp light corn syrup
7 oz icing sugar, sifted
1-3 tsp hot water
1. Melt butter and chocolate on a double boiler. Once smooth and melted, gently whisk in corn syrup and vanilla.
2. Whisk in icing sugar, a little at a time. Don’t worry about how gunky it looks at this point.
3. Scrape the mixture into a food processor with the blade attachment. Switch on the processor and as it’s running, drop it the sour cream. Stare in amazement as the mass of brown gunk becomes a satiny smooth and luscious chocolate confection. Add in hot water, a teaspoon at a time, until the frosting reached your desired sheen and consistency. 1 tsp is usually enough for me.
4. Pour out delectable frosting into a bowl and let it sit around for a while to thicken to a spreadable consistency, stirring every once in a while.
Taste Goblet 
I wish I wish I wish you could make it for me! Next time I visit Singapore, maybe? 🙂
hey there 🙂
i love ur siteee!!!!! nwy i was just wondering for step 3, if i dont have food processor, will the brown gunk turn into the silky pic at the end if i use hand to mix it together? i was just wondering…the ganache looks yummy!!!
ashiebee
Wow….is all I can say. lolzz
Can I use this frosting for cakes?
Ashiebee, the link to the original recipe has a short discussion on the use of the food processor…may be helpful… Basically, you need the mixture to be blitzed really fast (thus the use of the processor) so that the sour cream emulsifies quickly into the chocolate to create that silky smooth texture. I think you could get somewhat similar results with electric eggbeaters but definitely not a good idea to try beating it manually… cos I dun think we could whip it fast enough with our hands.
btw, this frosting could be a good enough reason to buy a food processor, really. haha.
Jacelyn, you could definitely use this for cakes! I’ve used it to sandwich and frost cakes (even rossette pipings!) with great results. You just have to let it sit out for about 15-20 mins to thicken slightly before spreading. Or you could speed up the process by bunging the bowl in the fridge for a bit. Just remember to stir the mixture ever so often.
And Shammi, for you, definitely!! *grin*
heyya
hmm but i dont have food processor :S huhuh…nwy, urm i tried one of the choc recipe that you posted. but mind turned out horrible! as in the middle part was a bit wombly and the crust part abit hard! hahaha…do u have any idea why??? i used manual method…coz i dont have any hand mixer! hehehe 😛
oh and can u gimme any tips to produce yummilicious choc cake??? i always failed terribly with choc cake…but not cheesecake! thats why i always bake cheesecake! hahaa…but my friends want choc cake now! bored of the cheesecake 😛
help meeee!!! thanksssssssss
*hugs*
Ooh…thanks so much!
Btw, does the frosting has a tinge of sourness from the sour cream?
Hey J, I was a little worried about the sourness too but it’s not at all noticeable actually. The people who tasted it didn’t figure it out… and the I think the only reason why I could detect a slight tang was because I KNeW there was sourcream in it and was expecting that taste.
And by the way, this is the fudge frosting I used on the cakes in the “because I’m too lazy…” post!
Hey ashiebee… sorry to hear that the cake did not turn out well. I think maybe it’s a little tough to make fluffy cakes without electric beaters because it’s really important that you get alot of air into the butter, sugar and eggs. (Cheesecakes don’t have that problem because they are meant to be dense and rich rather than soft and fluffy…so you don’t need to whip it too much). Creaming the mixture by hand may not be as effective, which can explain why the cake did not bake properly.
The only other thing I can think of is that your oven may have been too hot, resulting in burnt sides but an underbaked centre.
I tried looking aroung for a recipe that doesn’t need much creaming and here is one I found: http://chockylit.blogspot.com/2006/03/rich-chocolate-cupcakes-filled-with.html
I’ve used it in cupcakes but you can bake it as a layer cake as well. Maybe you could try it out?
Cheers!
hello, i’ve been going to your blog now for quite sometime to try the recipes you’ve posted. they always turn out yummy although the cakes don’t turn out pretty like yours. still need to work on the decorating part.
anyway, i just wanted to know where you bought your varlhona/lindt chocolate from? although i saw lindt in the supermarket, i was wondering how do i get to buy them in like more than 100g packaging. its so troublesome to keep going to the supermarket when i need them.
thanks in advance!
rgds,
lin
Hey Lin…glad to hear your bakes turned out well !! 🙂 Anyways, I buy my Varlhona chocolate from B-I-Y, a speciality bake shop in Novena. They sell it in 500g and 1kg packages… As for Lindt, I still have not managed to find a wholesale supplier. I too buy my Lindt chocolate in those measely 100g packages… =(
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Hi there. I love this site because all the food makes me drool. Yummy.
May I know what’s a double boiler? Sorry. Amateur baker here. 😛
Hi, am still quite new to baking. Can I know where to get sour cream and also, how much do the varlhona chocolate cost? Thanks a lot!
Hi Lady Krissy, don’t apologise! I’ll be happy to help you with any baking queries…
Using a double boiler is essentially a way to gently melt chocolate without it receiving direct heat from the stovetop. Bring a small saucepan filled halfway with water to the boil, reduce it to a simmer and place a heatproof bowl (with the chopped butter and chocolate) over the saucepan. Make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Stir the chocolate gently with a wooden spoon until it is melted. Immediately remove it from the saucepan.
If my explanation has only served to make you more confused (which I think it just might!), here’s a picture of what a makeshift doubel boiler looks like: http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/155/Tempering-Chocolate.
Hope it helps! 🙂
Bernice, I buy sourcream from Cold Storage and I’m not too certain about the cost of Varlhona. It depends on the cocoa percentage.. the higher it is, the more expensive the chocolate costs… maybe you could call up the people at B-I-Y and ask them for their price list??
hi how do you get your frosting to look so perfectly spread all the time
z,
It’s really just a bit of practice.. you get the hang of it after some time. I use a long pallete knife, which has flat edges. This allows the frosting to be spread out evenly.
Another thing is not to overwork the frosting. After a few swipes of the pallete knife, you just have to know when it’s time to stop… if you keep on going, the frosting will just get messier. It is okay even if there are a few lines or uneven surfaces.. that’s what home made cakes are supposed to look like! 🙂
we use a national panasonic food processor and this seems to be a bang for the buck’.:
~’, I am really thankful to this topic because it really gives up to date information ~”
Tried this recipe for a pot luck party and it was a super hit. Thanks so very much. 🙂