Dark Chocolate Icing: Ganache vs Frosting

Okay, so you want to make a cake or cupcakes with some chocolate frosting, but you're just not happy with the regular Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines chocolate frosting they sell by the can at the grocery store and you want to jazz it up a little?  Well, I've got two ways to solve your chocolate icing dilemma!  So you want to make a cake or some cupcakes with a Chocolate-ey, not overly sweet delicious icing but you don't know how?  Try my Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing!  Or, you want to make cupcakes and you want to ensure every bit as much chocolate without the big glob of fluffy icing that's really hard to make look professional and gets all over your mouth when you take a bite?  Well, try my Dark Chocolate Ganache icing, it's like a delicious dark chocolate magic shell for your cupcakes! They'll look delicous and professionally done without much effort, and it's easier to eat than a 1/2 inch thick glob of frosting on your favorite cupcakes!

We'll start off with the Cream Cheese icing.  Take your favorite cake mix (or make it from scratch if you're daring, but frankly without a lot of effort a cake mix can be awesome, so I'll just stick with that for now) and make and bake your cake/cupcakes as directed.  This frosting goes particularly well with a dark chocolate or yellow cake mix, but hey, throw it on whatever cake you like with some delicious dark chocolate icing.  Here's what you'll need!

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 8 oz package Cream Cheese, room temperature
1/4 C butter, room temperature
3 to 4 C Confectioners (Powdered) Sugar
1/2 C Cocoa Powder (Ideally use a good brand here like Ghirardelli, though Hershey's will still make some good frosting, it's not quite the same)

Take the butter and cream cheese out of the fridge and let set out on the counter for 2 or 3 hours before you make the frosting so they can warm up to room temperature and soften up.  Once the cake or cupcakes are cooling, start with the frosting.  In a mixer, blend the butter and cream cheese together until smooth and completely mixed.  Then, add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix until completely smooth before adding in the next batch.  Be sure to scrape the bowl with a spatula to get at any unmixed in sugar.

Add in 3 or 4 cups of powdered sugar until the consistency and sweetness is exactly how you want it (for example, if you're going to be piping this with a icing bag, then you probably want to put in less sugar so it is not quite as stiff).  Once the sugar is completely blended in and the mixture is nice and smoothe, add in the Cocoa powder and blend again until completely mixed in and smoothe.  Then spread/pipe onto your cake and/or cupcakes and enjoy!  Be sure to save the bowl when you're done, you can't let any of this go to waste!


Now, say you want to impress your co-workers or your mother in law with a batch of professional looking cupcakes, and you want something deeply chocolate too?  Go with a Dark Chocolate Ganache icing, it's easy, delicious, and looks like you bought the cupcakes from a cupcakery!  Want to try it?  Take your favorite dark chocolate cake batter and mix up some cupcakes according to the directions on the box.  Once they're cooled, here's what you'll need for the ganache:

Dark Chocolate Ganache Icing:

1/2 C heavy cream
1 C Ghirardelli 60% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

In a double boiler (if you have it) or a heat-proof bowl (like steel or pyrex) combine the cream and chocolate chips.  In a saucepan, place about 2 inches of water and put on the stove on medium-low heat.  Make sure that the bowl isn't resting on the bottom of the sauce pan, and that the perimeter of the saucepan is covered by the bowl.  This way the water will steam up and heat up the bowl without all the heat escaping.  Place the bowl on top of the water and stir constantly until the chocolate melts and the cream and chocolate are completely mixed together.  Make sure to scrape the bowl to get any unmelted chocolate melted and mixed into the cream.

Once the mixture is completely blended and melted, remove the bowl from the heat and let cool for 3-5 minutes.  While it's cooling, stir occasionally with a spatula to test its consistency.  Once the mixture has cooled and thickend almost to the point of hardening back up, quickly take the cupcakes and dip the tops into the bowl, spinning your wrist to make sure that the entire top of the cupcake is covered in icing and immediately set down on a cool cookie sheet or a piece of parchment paper (in case of drips).

If the ganache cools and hardens too much, simply put the bowl back onto the water and heat back up.  Once all the cupcakes have been ganached, turn the burner off.  Let the ganache cool on the cupcakes for at least 5 minutes before serving or packing so that it will harden appropriately.  You should now have a delicious dark chocolate magic shell-like covering on your cupcakes, enjoy!