There is an abundance of recipes out there for chocolate ganache. This is by far the easiest I have used as there is no need to pre-melt the chocolate or any other fiddly bits to mess with.
Ganache is the rich shiny chocolate topping used on cakes as a glaze, an icing or frosting or even can be used to make chocolate truffles.
Generally for a normal coating or filling I use:
1 part chocolate (white, plain* or milk)
1 part heavy cream
Small knob of butter (for shine can be omitted)
Chop 200g of your choice of chocolate and place in a bowl.
Place 200ml of cream into a pan and slowly bring to the boil.
pour boiling cream over chocolate
When boiling pour over the chocolate and leave alone for 5 mins.
Add a small knob of melted butter or ½ teaspoon of oil.
After the 5 minutes are up whisk/stir everything in the bowl until fully mixed together.
Chocolate ganache - mix well
Leave to stand a short while until almost cool and it starts to thicken then use as a topping or filling or both.
If allowed to cool completely the texture will be more of a frosting consistency
Simple!
*If you choose to use a chocolate that is more than 60% cocoa mass it will be necessary to use more cream. Between 60-70% cocoa mass around ½ the amount of cream again and over 70% up to ¾ of the amount again.
These days, there’s not a lot of mystery left to making black frosting. Wilton’s colored gels (which include black) are available in more places (like many Michael’s craft stores) and McCormick’s has a liquid black food coloring available in many grocery stores.
Still, some tips are in order for the easiest black frosting you can make.
Make your life easier by starting with chocolate frosting. It’s possible to get a black frosting when starting with white frosting, but you’ll have to add so much food coloring (liquid or gel) that you might notice a change in the taste of the frosting.
If the Wilton’s gel colorings are available, choose those over the liquid coloring. You’ll use less coloring and run less risk of ruining the texture of your icing.
If your black is looking a little green (sometimes a problem with McCormick’s), add a few drops of red coloring (one drop at a time). If your black is looking a little purple (a problem with some gels), add a few drops of green coloring (one drop at a time).
The first time you make black frosting, be aware that the color will deepen with time. You may think you can’t get any deeper than a very dark grey, but if you’ve started with chocolate frosting, that very dark grey will likely be very black within an hour or so.
If you simply can’t find black food coloring (or it’s a late night cake emergency and no stores are open), you can combine green, red, and blue, food coloring to make a passable very dark grey. It won’t be black frosting, but in a Cake Emergency, sometimes a compromise is good enough.
Thoroughly cream butter, vanilla, and one cup of powdered sugar.
Add one cup of powdered sugar and one tablespoon of milk. Beat thoroughly at medium speed.
Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder.
Repeat step #2 until you have added all of the milk and powdered sugar, repeat step #3 to taste (up to 1 cup of cocoa).
Beat for an additional 5-7 minutes at medium speed.
Yield: Approximately five cups of frosting.
Because this is a shortening-free frosting, it is softer than many people expect. For a stiffer frosting, try decreasing the milk or adding more powdered sugar (whichever suits your tastebuds better).
Oh, and be forewarned — cocoa powder puts up more dust than powdered sugar, so until it’s blended in, keep those mixers on low speed.
