The following “Chew This!” column originally appeared in “The Courier-Times” and / or “The Shelbyville News”. Check their websites for further information and dates.

The Perfect Chocolate Frosting
Blaise Doubman

My Grandma Barbra celebrated her 80th Birthday a few years ago and for her Birthday I wanted to make her one of her favorite cakes from childhood. She had talked about a yellow cake with chocolate frosting that her mother, Lulu, used to make for her when she was a little girl. She said it was the “best cake” she had ever had and that it was one of her fondest memories from childhood. As I was planning to make her cake, I took that story into consideration and decided to make it for her. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I knew going into it, that it was not going to be as good as her mother’s…but guess what!? She said it was! I was floored. Either that, or she felt like she had to say that! Ha! I thought it was pretty delicious myself. My thoughts are though that the memories of the cake that I had made and her eating it, had brought her back to those special memories of her mother, and the cake, she remembered from childhood.

I made a typical yellow cake, there are thousands of recipes for one online and decided to create my own chocolate frosting for it. I hate using frosting from a can because I think it tastes like chemicals. Although, when I was younger, my brother, cousins and I, would all eat it straight from the can but that is a different story for another time. I did research online and looked over my cookbooks and decided that I would just take what I knew and use it to create something different. Frosting is mainly just powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, and cream. You can add extracts, flavorings, chocolate, coconut… the possibilities are really endless. I decided that mine would be a thick and rich chocolate frosting that tasted like chocolate fudge. Grandma Barbra has been gone now for almost 18 months and I still look back on this cake and frosting recipe and smile because I know of the joy and the memories that it brought back to her.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

This is best made and used within the same day. Add a little peppermint extract for a fresh mint twist.

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
4 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Start by sifting together the powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder and salt. This will combine together the ingredients and ensure that there will be no lumps in the frosting.

In a separate bowl combine 1 cup of the powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder and salt mixture with the softened butter and 1 tablespoon of the heavy cream. Beat this until smooth.

Add another cup of the powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder and salt mixture along with another tablespoon of heavy cream and beat until smooth.
Continue doing this method until all of the ingredients are combined, and the frosting becomes a creamy constancy. The frosting will be THICK but still spreadable and this is desired.

Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Finally, add in the corn syrup and beat well.

This will frost, and fill, several cupcakes and will frost a layer cake with some left over. This frosting is perfect for double layer round cakes. It also frosts an 8- or 9-inch double round cake beautifully! This frosting is also perfect on brownies, cookies and cookie pies.

Ask and Answer: Susan F. from Shelbyville wanted to know if you could substitute sour cream in place of Greek style yogurt in baking recipes. Yes, you 100% can with no trouble at all! Just use the same amount of sour cream that the recipe calls for in Greek style yogurt.