This is the icing that I have always used on my All-in One Chocolate cake, and it’s worth putting it separately on the site, because you can use it for topping Buns or Muffins, or my Chocolate and Rum Grown-up Cake, if you don’t fancy the Rum..
This Icing has an amazing shine when you first ice the cake – it’s positively gleaming! The shine only lasts about a day (it still tastes terrific) so if you want a cake to look its absolute best, just ice it on the day it’s going to be eaten.
Here’s the recipe: Lifted, as is my fashion, directly from the All-in-One Chocolate Cake – which should be no surprise to anyone who knows me.
For the fudge icing:
Sift these two together into a bowl:
- 75g icing sugar
- 25g cocoa powder
Then put the following into a small saucepan:
- 40g butter
- 2 tbsp./30ml water
- 50g caster sugar
- few drops of vanilla essence
- Put the butter, water, caster sugar and vanilla essence into a saucepan.
- Then measure out the icing sugar and cocoa powder, and sieve it into a medium sized bowl.
- Bring the contents of the saucepan to the boil and stir it gently with a wooden spoon to make sure the sugar is dissolved – Be careful! It will foam up, and anything with heated sugar in it should always be treated with respect!
- Carefully add the boiling syrup to the icing sugar/cocoa mixture, and mix well until the icing comes together and there are no lumps. This usually takes me about 5-10 minutes, and once it has thickened up and cooled a little, you can ice the cake.
Deliciously chocolaty! You’re allowed to taste it to make sure it’s ok ..
- Use some of the icing (about 1/3rd) to sandwich the sponges together, and spread the rest over the top using a flat bladed knife.
- I like to let the icing run down the sides of the cake, rather than a smooth finish, ‘cos I’m artistic like that 😉
- Allow the icing to set (about 20 mins), then you’re ready to rock!
I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx