My bucket list includes a non-ganache chocolate frosting.  My aim is for a child who cannot appreciate the richness of ganache.  For some reason I had previously goofed on Bill’s buttercream because my chocolate hardened pretty quickly and I had chunks in the buttercream.  But I braved last night and added melted chocolate 3 parts milk and one part 60% to neoclassic.  It was delicious…but not seeming to be enough chocolate for me…So with knowledge of Bill’s, I added about 3 or 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder. 

I think this buttercream is delicious anyway…I am thinking also that I need not use milk chocolate.  I think I added the cocoa powder because the buttercream seemed too sweet.  I will be giving Bill’s Buttercream and the Choc egg white buttercream a try soon. 

This was for lunch (drove an hour) with a colleague - who had a slice and then confessed she should not have sweets.  I told her to drink lots of water today and I will take the remainder of this 6” cake to the little girl for whom I am testing.  It is delicious.

Oh yes, that is shaved chocolate on top.  This is the DPC cake from RHC.

I love the neoclassic buttercream and I make the chocolate version exclusively when I want a chocolate buttercream.  It is just so rich and yummy.  I do however add more melted chocolate than the recipe suggests.  I just made some this week as well and I added 9 ounces of chocolate than the 6 ounces called for.  It did make it a little stiffer but not too stiff to pipe.  I used callebaut semi sweet callets and it wasn’t too sweet, just heavenly.

I hate to admit this on this blog, but I don`t really like ganache ( except as a glaze)  I find it to be too heavy, even the light whipped ganach

e.  I know, people are probably gasping at that, especially with all the butter in the neoclassic buttercream.  I just like the mouthfeel of the neoclassic and mousseline buttercreams better.

Your cake looks so good.  Two great recipes married together.

Liza - 08 March 2013 07:26 PM

I love the neoclassic buttercream and I make the chocolate version exclusively when I want a chocolate buttercream.  It is just so rich and yummy.  I do however add more melted chocolate than the recipe suggests.  I just made some this week as well and I added 9 ounces of chocolate than the 6 ounces called for.  It did make it a little stiffer but not too stiff to pipe.  I used callebaut semi sweet callets and it wasn’t too sweet, just heavenly. 

This is good to know.  I imagine if I add more milk chocolate in particular, it will not be too heavy.  I will try the semi-sweet. 

Liza - 08 March 2013 07:26 PM

I hate to admit this on this blog, but I don`t really like ganache ( except as a glaze)  I find it to be too heavy, even the light whipped ganache

I like the ganache tasting but at times found it harder to work with.  Most often, now I have returned to using the one from F&W with Mom’s choc. cake.  It uses unsweetened choc, butter, sugar and heavy cream. 

Liza - 08 March 2013 07:26 PM

  I like the mouthfeel of the neoclassic and mousseline buttercreams better.

I did not like that someone thought the ganache was fudge .

Your cake looks so good.  Two great recipes married together.

  that frosting was delicious.  and I do love that cake.

What is F&W?  I wouldn’t mind trying that recipe to see if I like it better.  The one thing that I do like about ganache is that the color is nice and dark for a chocolate icing.

Liza - 09 March 2013 05:59 PM

What is F&W?  I wouldn’t mind trying that recipe to see if I like it better.  The one thing that I do like about ganache is that the color is nice and dark for a chocolate icing.

Food and Wine - Mom’s Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake.  Accompanying Chocolate Frosting found here: 

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/moms-chocolate-cake-chocolate-frosting

CRenee - 09 March 2013 09:55 PM

Food and Wine - Mom’s Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake.

CRenee, when you make that cake, what weight do you use for a cup of flour?  121g?  142g?  It bears some similarity to a couple of other dissolved-sugar chocolate cakes I am looking at right now.

Your DCP with milk chocolate neoclassic looks divine- I like the neoclassic for a chocolate base, the richness is quite nice

Julie - 10 March 2013 10:50 AM

CRenee - 09 March 2013 09:55 PM

Food and Wine - Mom’s Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake.

CRenee, when you make that cake, what weight do you use for a cup of flour?  121g?  142g?  It bears some similarity to a couple of other dissolved-sugar chocolate cakes I am looking at right now.

Your DCP with milk chocolate neoclassic looks divine- I like the neoclassic for a chocolate base, the richness is quite nice

Thank you Julie, I really like the taste.  In addition to testing with other chocolates (and more chocolate as Liza does), I will test other chocolate frostings for reference and experience. 

For the F&W cake, I use AP flour (because I think that is what recipe says).  So I use 114g for a cup of flour.  After making so many of that cake over Valentine’s, I have renewed my quest for chocolate cakes.  I always have unmixed flour in the cake and took to straining through a sieve before putting in the pan.  I would love to know what other cakes you are looking at.  Oh and yes, I took to adding a little cocoa powder to the hot water, choc and butter to kick up the flavor. 

My bucket list is so huge, I feel like I should be bakin every day.

The other cakes I’m looking at are dissolved sugar cakes in general, my goal is to find the perfect choc bundt cake:  dense, rich and full of flavor, and very, very moist.  Nigella Lawson has a guiness choco cake that uses the same method.  I’m not sure when I will get to this, but my hope is to use that method to develop a recipe for a chocolate bundt cake with caramelized sugar.

my hope is to use that method to develop a recipe for a chocolate bundt cake with caramelized sugar.

Baked Explorations (the 2nd book) has a burnt sugar bundt cake.  You might look at that as a springboard for ideas.

CRenee - 08 March 2013 06:05 PM

My bucket list includes a non-ganache chocolate frosting.  My aim is for a child who cannot appreciate the richness of ganache.  For some reason I had previously goofed on Bill’s buttercream because my chocolate hardened pretty quickly and I had chunks in the buttercream.  But I braved last night and added melted chocolate 3 parts milk and one part 60% to neoclassic.  It was delicious…but not seeming to be enough chocolate for me…So with knowledge of Bill’s, I added about 3 or 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder. 

I think this buttercream is delicious anyway…I am thinking also that I need not use milk chocolate.  I think I added the cocoa powder because the buttercream seemed too sweet.  I will be giving Bill’s Buttercream and the Choc egg white buttercream a try soon. 

This was for lunch (drove an hour) with a colleague - who had a slice and then confessed she should not have sweets.  I told her to drink lots of water today and I will take the remainder of this 6” cake to the little girl for whom I am testing.  It is delicious.

Oh yes, that is shaved chocolate on top.  This is the DPC cake from RHC.

Yummm! Looks soooo good CRenee.

My husband is not a fan of ganache. I made the Milk Chocolate frosting from TCB. My husband loved it out of the bowl but it didn’t work for me when I frosted the cake. Probably my error because I doubled the recipe.

Is Bill’s buttercream recipe posted on this forum?

[quote author=“Flour Girl” date=“1363030131My husband is not a fan of ganache. I made the Milk Chocolate frosting from TCB. My husband loved it out of the bowl but it didn’t work for me when I frosted the cake. Probably my error because I doubled the recipe.

Is Bill’s buttercream recipe posted on this forum?

I could not find Bill’s buttercream, tho’ I am sure it is here.  I think it was posted in September 2007

Hi All,
Bill’s Buttercream Recipe can be found under “buttercream that can last without refrigeration” in the search box. Or better yet try “Cocoa Fudge Frosting” in the search box.

It’s always better to use Google to search sites like this, rather than any built-in mechanism:

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/index_ee.php/forums/viewthread/670/

(BTW, I had always assumed that “Bill” was our Bill, but reading his post carefully, it looks like he’s referring to some other Bill as the creator of this buttercream varation. Yes?)

Got it! Thank you Darm and Charles.  I appreciate your help.

I thought this recipe was our Bill’s too