Monday, October 22, 2007

brown is beautiful, part II

a picture is worth a thousand words, they say....

who wouldn't want to dive into a big bowl of chocolate frosting, head first?!

this is a simple no-brainer recipe for a frosting that is great for topping brownies or cupcakes. the added bonus is that it only uses 2 tablespoons of fat (butter or margarine) and still tastes great. of course, if you are worried about sugar, there is no way out of this one: either take your insulin or call the dentist!

the only caveat to making this recipe is that you need to add the liquid (milk or cream or soymilk) slowly to get the texture you like. if you add too much all at once, you'll have to add more icing sugar. too much liquid always messes up an icing so proceed carefully.

simple chocolate espresso frosting

this can be made with or without espresso (if you don't like coffee). if you do, make sure to use extremely fine-ground beans and not the instant kind — the flavour is just not the same. this icing also doesn't require a mixer. it can be done with a wooden spoon or a good wire whisk. as always, make sure to sift the cocoa as it tends to be pesky and leave little granular bits if not fully sieved with the icing sugar beforehand.

ingredients:

4 tbsp dark cocoa powder
2 c confectioners (icing sugar)
2 tbsp butter or margarine
2 - 4 tbsp milk or cream or soy milk, a little at a time
1 - 2 tsp finely ground espresso coffee (from beans)

method:

sift the icing sugar and cocoa first to eliminate granular bits (of cocoa).

mix everything together with a whisk or spoon. you can use an electric mixer too or the food processor.

voilà, easy and perfect frosting!


enjoy!


8 comments:

Margaret Polaneczky, MD (aka TBTAM) said...

Gorgeous! I make a similar icing. Don't you love the sheen?

burekaboy — said...

hey tbtam - if only they'd make frosting into a food group of its own, i'd be truly happy. i think you should talk to the higher ups and persuade them to do so in a most convincing doctor-ly way! :))

thanks for the visit and comment -- hope all is well. and yes, the sheen is great. it only makes me want to eat more! LOL.

Anonymous said...

Hi BB, Loved all your recent posts. They left me hungry and drooly. :)

Beenzzz said...

Wow! That is beautiful. I want eat it all!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Simply gorgeous and so wonderful! I've always loved frosting on cakes and kept it for the end... Yummy!

Cheers,

Rosa

burekaboy — said...

lakshmi - hi there :) thanks for nice comment and your visit -- i need to drop by your blog to see what you've been up to in the kitchen lately!

hi beenzzz - LOL, i DID eat it all!

rosa - the best part was always cleaning up the bowl and beaters from the mixer ;)

Anonymous said...

loved this frosting, so unusual for me.i make it usually with bittersweet chocolate and olive oil, guess it sounds weird but it's great too.(i substitute butter for olive oil-mild one-in cakes, sometimes)

burekaboy — said...

sarita - sounds very european, actually. most people aren't used to using (olive) oil in baking. many of the recipes from my (father's) family have it in baked goods. i only usually use it in certain things like specific cookies and maybe a cake or two. it's supposed to be healthier than butter....

i don't feel SOOO guilty with this icing since there's almost no fat in it. usually there is a ton more of butter in instant frostings.