My grandmother was a fantastic cook, and iced chocolate cake was her signature dish. Every pot luck dinner, family gathering, party, or funeral, she would get a request to bring chocolate cake. Her chocolate cake was homemade. But it was the icing (frosting) that people raved about. She baked thin cakes in shallow rectangular metal pans and iced them right in the pans. And – I’ve heard this exact statement many times – “the icing was as thick as the cake.” To the dismay of my grandmother’s sisters, the cake was transported and served from the baking pans.
As a bad to mediocre cook, I used to panic when I had to take a dish to a family dinner or party. I was always asked to bring the bread, or the paper plates, or the tea – anything that did not require preparation. One night I had the idea to make brownies from a box and ice them using my grandmother’s recipe. They were an instant, smashing hit. From that night through the present day, I am asked to bring iced brownies to every dinner. When guests visit, they expect to see the brownies sitting on the counter when they arrive.
It doesn’t matter if you are a pastry chef or a new cook, you can make my grandmother’s simple recipe and the compliments are sure to follow.
Ruby’s Chocolate Icing
Ingredients:
1 box (1 lb) confectioner’s powdered sugar
¼ cup of cocoa
1 stick of butter
6 tbsp milk (¨÷ cup)
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Sift the powdered sugar and set aside.
Melt cocoa, butter, and milk in small pan over low heat, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add vanilla.
Pour the chocolate mixture into the sifted powdered sugar.
Stir with a spoon until all sugar is mixed in and there are no big bubbles.
Spread icing over cooled cake or brownies.
Tips:
#1 The milk is the key ingredient for the perfect texture. If there is too much milk, the icing will be runny and will not harden like it is supposed to. But it will still be good. If there is too little milk, add drops of milk to the icing until it is the proper thickness. If the icing is too thick, it will be almost impossible to spread it on the cake or brownies. You should be able to pour the icing from the bowl onto the cake or brownies. Then spread it out evenly. When it cools, it will be thicker than most frostings.
#2 Even when the icing is at the proper consistency, don’t wait too long to ice the cake or brownies, because the icing will soon be too thick to spread.
#3 My grandmother’s recipe calls for oleo, probably because that was what she had. I always use real butter.
#4 My grandmother wrote on the recipe that the icing is just as good stirred with a spoon as with a mixer. She always used a spoon.
#5 The cake or brownies should be in an 8″ x 8″ or a 9″ x 9″ baking dish. You need to make a double recipe if the cake is in a 13″ x 9″ dish.
#6 The brownies are really rich with the icing. I usually cut brownies into pieces about half the size of a normal brownie piece. Guests feel more comfortable taking a smaller piece. But of course they come back for more.
#7 For chocoholics only: You probably don’t need every bit of the icing on the cake or brownies. If there happens to be some icing left over, pour it into a small bowl and refrigerate. You will love it.
