Help with Chocolate frosting problems, what did I do wrong?

J

jennifer_in_ma

Well-known member
I made the following recipe for Tangy Chocolate Frosting. Now, I have made this frosting many times before and never had any issues. I can't figure out what I did wrong or if there is a way to save it. I just hate to throw out the ingredients.

Tangy Chocolate Frosting (Bon Appetit)

1 stick butter

2 oz unsweetened choc, chopped

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teas vanilla

1/3 cup plain yogurt

2 cups powdered sugar

You melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan. Take it off the heat, and add the cocoa and vanilla and whisk. Add 1 cup sugar and the yogurt, whisk. Add the remaining sugar.

Now, I doubled the recipe (again, have done that before), and used sour cream instead of yogurt (which I have also done before). It all seemed okay until the last sugar went in and then it started to get really oily and it never came together smoothly. I tried to put it in my mixer-no help. I added more cocoa (thinking that I would soak up the extra oil. No help. Just clumpy and oily now. Can this be saved??? Ugh, I hate baking at 8:00 at night!

 
Is it possible your chocolate and butter mixture were too hot when you added the other ingredients?

If so, it likely can't be salvaged. Sorry!

 
I'm thinking the same thing. There is a magic temperature (I'll find it) over which chocolate

and butter separate. It's the bane of my existence when it comes to fudge. If you add the butter as a last step and the chocolate is too hot, then they separate and never do come back together again. Or at least they haven't for me.

 
Jenn, I've checked my 3 chocolate books and none mention how to fix this....

Since you have nothing to lose, why not try freezing the mixture to re-firm the butter and chocolate and then whip it again.

Or else, warm heavy cream to boil and add your mixture to that....turning it into a ganache/glaze. But I'd try a small test on that idea first....not the whole batch.

 
You really should write that, Marilyn. You write so well

and you understand cooking and science so well, I'm sure it would be a hit!

 
When mayo does this they suggest beating in hot water a tablespoon at a time. Couldn't

hurt-you might get glaze instead of frosting though

 
Thanks, everyone! I did finally put it in the fridge (out of sheer frustration)

and looked at it this morning. It was hard as a rock. When I finally got it out of the bowl, I noticed pockets of fat (butter?) on the bottom. I think you are all correct--the butter and chocolate did separate. So odd, because I have made this so many times and this never happened before. My only other thought was that the sour cream added more fat than the yogurt would have?? Anyways, I finally just dumped it into the trash this morning. I will start fresh. That is why I try not to bake after 7pm (but never seem to succeed)...I tend to have things go wrong.

 
Jennifer, so sorry to hear of your frustrations but if it helps any you aren't alone!

Last night I started making some Poppy Seed Bars that I wanted to take to work today for all of us held captive doing inventory. This was a new recipe for me and it was progressing nicely--than DH called, he got on the wrong bus, it was late, dark and rainy, a bus pulled up and he got on, then it let him off about 4 miles from the house, could I please come pick him up?? Well, bars were close to being done but I thought I had enough time--HA! they cooked faster than the shortest time listed in the recipe, 1 1/2C of poppy seeds bit the dust!!!!

I hate baking in the late evening too, now I had to get up early this morning and make some more bars.....this time T&T Applebutter bars.

 
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