Shag it all, I'm out of cocoa. Can I make chocolate icing with the following?

[Tippychoocks]

I have a cake in the oven and chocolate and double cream ready for a ganache topping. I was going to make a buttercream type icing to sandwich the cake halves but I'm out of cocoa.
I have
icing sugar
150g chocolate (milk)
unsalted butter
Revolting instant hot chocolate from back of cupboard.

Any ideas?

I think you could use melted chocolate in a buttercream thing. I often put a bit of milk in to loosen it up so just use chocolate as the liquid instead.

If its just to sandwich the cake together buttercream with instant hot choc should be fine. The ganache will be so rich you won't really notice it.

just vanilla butter cream icing would be fine.

Jam and melted choc icing.

I've used chocolate spread in a pinch...

Oh, I have a thing about jam and chocolate, it tastes wrong to me

Do you think I could leave it off? I'd rather tbh but it's a birthday cake and she wanted a sandwich one. But will she notice really? I think it could be rich enough

Hmm, I'd either

Do a normal butter cream icing with the icing sugar and the butter, then grate in the chocolate to give it a hint of chocolate and an unusual texture. Basically make a feature of the fact you don't have the ingredients you intended to use.

or

Melt the chocolate and butter then mix in icing sugar till it looks about right
The problem with that is as the chocolate sets it might go a lot harder than you planned... but that could be nice.
I'd probably add a small teaspoon of coffee and enough hot water to dissolve it too, but I do this with most chocolate butter creams, the coffee brings the chocolate out.... but beware in case people don't like coffee.

The hot chocolate could be added, but it probably wouldn't be very chocolatey.

I've neither done either of the above suggestions, so can't vouch for them, but I tend to bake by instinct.

Tippy - you can always leave out the jam! It was fab though.

dare I?

Me too re the instinct thing but I am over thinking it as I don't want to have to make another one at this stage! Have just realised I forgot to time the cake too...

Have you not enough ganache to put in the middle too?

Yes I do actually, have just checked how much cream I have and it is exactly enough for 2 batches. And I bought extra chocolate, just to be sure . So I could ganache it twice. Yum but blimey.

I think "yum" is the important word in that sentence.

Double ganache

Huzzah. The horror that is buttercream averted. I'd always double ganache. Or just cream in the middle. Anything else is just wrong.

I am walking round my kitchen, alone, saying "double ganache" in an Alan Partridge voice to myself

freak. And you really oiught to try nigella's chocolate and cherry jam cake. It will convert you.

Nothing will convert me. Chocolate = good. Cherry jam = good. Together they are Satan's own cake filling.

Try the doubleganache in an Alan Partidge voice. V funny.

Thanks all anyway, it is made and fabulous and waiting for her highness to return from school.

Not a filling - jar of jam in cake mix. It's extraordinary.

It's ds's birthday today too. His first, so he isn't terribly appreciative of our efforts.