Save me a trip to the supermarket please! Chocolate icing recipe that doesn't use icing sugar.

[Dumbledoresgirl]

I have run out of icing sugar. I have a 7 inch chocolate sponge cake I need to sandwich together and ice on top. I have a small amount of butter, plain chocolate, small amount of granulated sugar (dammit why have I got so low on basic ingredients?) and pretty much anything else I might need, but only about 1 ounce of icing sugar. Any ideas anyone?

Think you can make a buttercream with granulated sugar - would be easier with a foodmixer.
Will be more "gritty" thank you're used to but should work?
Maybe use that for the sandwich (do you have any cocoat?) and just used the melted plain choc on top???

Have you got any dark choc and double cream? You can make chocolate ganache icing by melting choc and adding cream. Utterly delicious.

I used granulated sugar once before and it was horrid - really gritty.

But thanks for replying. I could just melt chocolate I suppose.

Melted Mars bars are a brilliant cake topping.

No double cream. Loads of milk

Have you got double cream? If so you could make a chocolate ganache.
Or
You could sandwich it together with a berry jam & whipped cream. Dust top with icing sugar. Thinking poor man's black forest gateaux.

Oh yes!!! Half a pint of double cream!! Do you know the proportion of cream to chocolate BallpointPen?

Ah, x-posts!

Or KnottyLocks...

Ahhh no, come back KnottyLocks!!

Hello Lapin

You sure about that?

ganache - ml f cream =g of choc
so 250ml cream + 250g choc
heat cream but do not boil
pouroverbroken chhoc

stir

leave till thick

smear on cake

In my book called "Chocolate" it says 6 oz dark choc and 2 tblsp of double cream but I think that sounds a bit stingy on the cream.

Ta muchly MrsBadger

Will do as described.

Thanks a lot.

Well, given what you have said BallpointPen, and also given the time and I am trying to get this done for teatime today I think I might use a bit less cream than MrsBadger suggests but a bit more than your recipe says, and hope it sets quickly.

Again, thanks a lot.

Whack it in a coffee grinder. Grind a bit for caster sugar or a lot for icing sugar. Although the ganache sounds lovely!

Right. Ganache.

warning: this is very rich.

185g (82) plain choc
100g (50) butter
100ml (50) double cream

I normally half this (in brackets) as this measurement is designed to completely cover a sponge cake. half will sandwich and cover top.
Melt choc and butter in bowl over saucepan half-filled with water. Bottom of bowl should not touch water.
Remove from heat.Cool for a few mins.
Beat in cream. Set aside to thicken.

Loverly.

Oh yes, come to think of it, I used to make caster sugar by putting it in the grinder, so I suppose icing sugar could be achieved with more grinding.

I am going to give the ganache a go though as I actually don't have much granulated sugar either.

Thanks everyone.

Oh thank you KnottyLocks. Eeek your recipe says butter too! What to do?

Try making the ganache without the butter. Should still be thick enough and do the job. Think the butter may only be in there to make it glossy.

Would reduce the horrific calorie content by, oooo, maybe 100

how did it go?

For future reference, Nigella uses same weight dark chocolate to double cream, melts it in a saucepan. Done. (e.g.100g choc to 100ml cream)

Ha, well, unwittingly, I followed Nigella. I used 100ml of cream, heated it in the saucepan, managed to boil it despite warnings not to but it was fine. Added it to 100g of chocolate. It made a very glossy mix so I am still not sure what the butter would do. It only took about 15 mins to harden sufficiently to ice the cake and it was a lot less sweet than butter icing which was a plus for dd as she does not much like butter icing (strange child!) though I have to admit, I have a very sweet tooth and would have preferred butter icing. But still, a very quick and easy alternative which I am pleased to know about.

BTW, should the remainder of the cake be in the fridge since there is fresh cream in the icing or do you think heating the cream means it won't go off as easily? I have not refrigerated it, and probably it will all be eaten by teatime today, and after all, I don't feel the need to refrigerate a cake with butter icing, but I am still wondering all the same.