I was on the lookout for a great chocolate icing recipe and found this one on Baking 911, posted by Tami Smith. It was really nice because aside from tasting really good, it was dark in color and made without shortening. It spread beautifully. I highly reccommend it.
-Alysa

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Ganache Recipe
Generously frosts a two 8- or 9-inch layer cake with enough left over to pipe a top and bottom border.
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup corn syrup, light
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
2 bags (12 oz each) Nestle semi-sweet chips
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat cream, corn syrup and 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter on the stove until it JUST BARELY comes to a boil.

Place chocolate chips in a medium-sized bowl.

Pour cream mixture over chocolate chips.

Let stand 1 minute and stir until smooth. Let mixture cool slightly (but not harden) for a few minutes. The ganache should cool to tepid, about 100 degrees F.

2. In a mixer bowl, beat together 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter and confectioner's sugar until light and smooth. Add in the cooled ganache and vanilla extract and beat until smooth and light.

NOTE: Frost the cake while the buttercream is at room temperature. (If refrigerated, let sit to room temperature before using. If the buttercream gets too stiff to work with, even at room temperature, beat on low with a mixer. Overbeating the mixture can cause it to become gritty. If necessary, beat in a small amount (1 or 2 tablespoons) of heavy cream to soften slightly. However, the more cream you add, though, the softer the end buttercream will be. Stiffen with more powdered sugar.

Sounds delicious! I'll have to give this one try. Thanks for posting it!

That sounds great. I will have to give that a try. Does it crust?

Cindy

THis sounds soooo good. Thanks for sharing!

Wow..that does sound yummy. I think I'm going to have to try this one. I like the fact the it doesn't have any shortening!

I'm so glad you are going to try this! It doesn't crust, but it does harden. It spreads beautifully and you won't have to worry about crusting for smoothing purposes. It just goes on smoothly.
-Alysa

That recipe sounds good. will try it soon. thanks

Ohhh, that sounds so good. I'm going to have to try this one out as well. Thanks for posting it!

Janice

Is this very sweet?? I saw the recipe on their site and thought this would be a good accent on chocolate buttercream...maybe as scrolls or shells???

Will this recipe hold up in heat?

I just tried this icing today. It isn't too sweet and it is very good. I put it on a Chocolate Overload cake (chocolate cake with chocolate pudding added in, chocolate chips and then this icing-can't wait to try it!) I'm not sure that it would hold up in the heat though. It has alot of chocolate in it. One piece of advice-let it cool long enough to thicken up a bit. I think I mixed it in too soon and then tried to put it on the cake too soon so it was too runny but I went back later and put on a border and it was soft but made nice shells!

This sounds so yummy, I'll be giving this one a try too!

I've been out of circularion for a while, so I haven't been around to answer questions. I'm glad you were able to give it a try, dodibug! I didn't think that it was too sweet either. I really hope you like it. Were you able to get it very smooth on the cake? It goes on great, but you can't wait until it sets to hot-knife it. Enjoy!
-Alysa

I ended up just doing a design with the comb on it but I think the next time I make it I've got it figured out! Everything always comes out better the 2nd time I make it anyway! My DH just got home today to try it and he loved it! Thanks again!!

I wouldn't try it in the heat. I tried a similar recipe, though not identical, and it was soup sitting on the kitchen counter. Sure tasted good, though. I wound up using it on cake scraps for DH & DD. Big hit.

Ali

The leftover icing I had ended up sitting on the counter for several hours before I could get back and clean up (teething baby-poor kid) and it stayed pretty much the same consistency but I don't know how safe it is with the cream and butter, etc. Maybe someone else can add to this!!