# Looking for old fashion chocolate frosting that hardens



## barbara6711

I am looking for a frosting/icing made to pour on the cake and harden like fudge when it cools.  My husband's grandmother made it with hersheys cocoa powder but that is all I remember.  Her cake layers were less than an inch thick (there were several).  She poured the chocolate over each layer and over the entire cake allowing it to drain down the sides.  The cake was moist but did not absorb the chocolate.  The frosting cracked when cut but did not fall apart.    HELP PLEASE!!


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## siduri

I think i've got it!  I got this from an old betty crocker cookbook from the 50s. 

Creamy Chocolate Icing

Mix 3/4 cups sugar with 3/4 cups cream.  Cook over low heat till it just boils (i always let it boil longer which gives it a little more thickness, at least so i felt).  add 4 oz germans sweet cooking chocolate and 3 squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped finely or grated.  Mix till melted and smooth.  (If there isn';t enough residual heat to melt it, heat it very very slightly.)  If too thick to pour add some cream. 

This was in the book as a frosting for a chocolate roll, to be poured over the slice of cake, but i used to use it as a glossy frosting, and it used to sort of harden up like fudge just as you describe.


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## chefross

Milk is the ingredient that makes for a hardened frosting.


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## chefedb

You asked for frosting and or iceing. Both different . Re the icing are you looking for something like the commercial magic shell type?


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## siduri

chefedb said:


> You asked for frosting and or iceing. Both different . Re the icing are you looking for something like the commercial magic shell type?


Chefedb, I always understood frosting and icing to be the same thing, just different regional terms (like soda, pop, or tonic). Some books I have use frosting, some use icing, i never saw one that used both in different ways.


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## haole

Ganache?


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## siduri

Chefross said:


> Milk is the ingredient that makes for a hardened frosting.


Not sure what you mean by this Chefross. Do you mean if you use water or cream it won't harden? and harden in what way? Crackly hard on top? just plain hard? Usually milk makes things softer (bread dough, cake, meatloaf) - are you referring to uncooked frosting (like milk and powdered sugar glaze)? I would think sugar would be what makes frosting hard, and how it's treated (boiled, etc), so i'm curious.


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## stymie72

First thing I ever learned to cook, learned from mom.  I am sure she learned from her ma, so the recipe dates back maybe to the 1800s.   Melt eqal amounts of unsweetended choc squares and butter in double boiler.    Add powdered sugar (to taste),  will need a few teaspoons of milk, mix fast with a spoon.   Stir longer than u think u would need to.   At some point the consistency of the frosting changes to  shiny velvety, and it starts grabbing to the pan.    A little coffee added is a nice touch.   I make extra and use it as fudge.


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## chefedb

When I worked in the better hotels(according to the pastry chefs) iceing was in most cases pourable and thinner  where frosting was not and was applied with a spatula.


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## chefross

siduri said:


> Not sure what you mean by this Chefross. Do you mean if you use water or cream it won't harden? and harden in what way? Crackly hard on top? just plain hard? Usually milk makes things softer (bread dough, cake, meatloaf) - are you referring to uncooked frosting (like milk and powdered sugar glaze)? I would think sugar would be what makes frosting hard, and how it's treated (boiled, etc), so i'm curious.


I have tried several different ways to create a frosting and an icing that makes a hardened "crust". I have a glaze that I make from brown sugar, skim milk and powdered sugar. After heating the milk, I add th sugars and mix well. After spreading on whatever I am making, I find it creates a hard, dry "skin."

I have tried this with cake frosting using 1/2 shortening....1/2 unsalted butter, vanilla, powdered sugar and milk. I find...again....that the milk create a butter cream frosting that "hardens" when allowed to rest in the fridge.


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## siduri

Chefross said:


> I have tried several different ways to create a frosting and an icing that makes a hardened "crust". I have a glaze that I make from brown sugar, skim milk and powdered sugar. After heating the milk, I add th sugars and mix well. After spreading on whatever I am making, I find it creates a hard, dry "skin."
> 
> I have tried this with cake frosting using 1/2 shortening....1/2 unsalted butter, vanilla, powdered sugar and milk. I find...again....that the milk create a butter cream frosting that "hardens" when allowed to rest in the fridge.


Not being picky, just curious. Is it the milk that did it, or would another liquid have done it as well, like water? I mean, did you try other liquids and did they not make a skin? I make a decorating frosting i use in a small tube to do fine-line decorations on spice snaps to hang on the xmas tree. They get hard, and i make them with powdered sugar and egg white. I used to do them with powdered sugar and water. They also dried hard, but the frosting was harder to work with. Of course neither of these are soft underneath and hard on top. I do a glaze for a kind of nut bar with powdered sugar and lemon juice and that, also, dries glassy hard on the surface, often softer underneath, if it's thick. So is it the milk or the liquid, and what would it be in the milk that does it? like a casein glue? the protein?


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## chefross

siduri said:


> Not being picky, just curious. Is it the milk that did it, or would another liquid have done it as well, like water? I mean, did you try other liquids and did they not make a skin? I make a decorating frosting i use in a small tube to do fine-line decorations on spice snaps to hang on the xmas tree. They get hard, and i make them with powdered sugar and egg white. I used to do them with powdered sugar and water. They also dried hard, but the frosting was harder to work with. Of course neither of these are soft underneath and hard on top. I do a glaze for a kind of nut bar with powdered sugar and lemon juice and that, also, dries glassy hard on the surface, often softer underneath, if it's thick. So is it the milk or the liquid, and what would it be in the milk that does it? like a casein glue? the protein?


I have tried different liquids and found milk to work the best....probably a protein in there that does it, but not sure why...just that it does. Also the ratio of liquid to powdered sugar.


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## panini

Very popular icing down here. It's is used to make what we call Mexican Chocolate Cake. Just omit the nuts. I hardens enough to get a crack or crackle and tastes like thin

fudge or a very thin soft praline.


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## rena1

I am looking for the same recipe. My husbands grandmother make this icing. She gave me a recipe, but I think something was left out. I can never get it to turn out right. If you find it please give it to me. My husband is always making me retry this recipe but it never comes out right.


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## margcata

Chocolate Icing Cooked verses Uncooked ... These icings were given to me by my Swiss elderly mom. Hope that one of them works out for u ... Unfortunately, I am not a baker ... Very time consuming for a working person ... However, I am a great appreciater of a good baker  and their treasures ... One of her comments were, never frost or ice a cake hot nor should the icing be hot ... always allow cooling time ... Could this be your problem ...

1. Cooked Icing ...

1 square Unsweetened chocolate

1 lump butter

1 heaping tblsp of confectioners sugar

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Remove from heat. Add cocoa and enough sugar and boiling water to make the mixture for frosting.

2. Uncooked Icing ...

2 heaping tblsps cocoa

three fourths box confectioners sugar

boiling water

Mix thoroughly with electric mixer.

3. Chocolate Glaze ...

1 cup melted semi sweet chocolate

one fourth cup tap water

Combine melted chocolate with water and mix until smooth. Then, let cool and glaze cake.

4. Chocolate Icing ...

2 cups melted and cooled chocolate chips

3 eggs divided

three fourths cup butter

one tsp. vanilla

a. in bowl, cream butter and add vanilla and 1 egg with one third of chocolate. Beat until well blended.

b. alternatively beat in remaining eggs and chocolate until frosting is smooth and changes color to a light coffee with milk mocha color.


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## southern gal

in reply to "looking for old fashion chocolate frosting that hardens"This is how to make the frosting: you just use the recipe for making hersey's cocoa fudge: 2/3 cup of cocoa, 3 cups sugar, 1/8 tsp. vanilla,  1 and 1/2 cups milk, 1/4 cup butter. Combine cocoa, sugar, salt in large pot, add milk gradually, mixing throughly until mixed up good. Then bring to a bubbly boil over med. heat stirring constantly, reduce heat to low and cook until mixture forms a soft ball in cold water. Remove from heat add butter and vanilla, beat with electric mixter until fudge begains to thicken, pour over cake layers. If you want to make fudge instead  just beat a little more and pour into pan and let cool and cut into squares. Hope this is what you are lookin for. It has been a while since I have made this since it is time consuming, but very worth it! From , Southern Gal


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## sblinds

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
6 tablespoons butter (I prefer *salted* butter for this recipe)
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix first four ingredients in a pan over medium heat and bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil for EXACTLY two minutes and remove from heat. Beat with a wooden spoon for one minute and add vanilla. Continue stirring for about four more minutes until it is thickened, but still shiny (it should coat a fork without dripping through the tines). Pour over a WARM cake, and spread quickly because it will harden within twenty seconds of coming out of the pan. Let the cake cool before cutting.

***Double this recipe for a layer cake with two 8 inch layers.

I hope this helps!! It is WAY easier if you try this for the first time on a 9x13 sheet cake that is still in the pan. I usually start the frosting as soon as I take the cake out of the oven, so the cake is still really warm when I pour the frosting on it.

I hope this helps! In my house we call this "Nanny Frosting" because it's the kind of frosting that my Mama's grandmother (Nanny) used to make for a yellow layer cake...the best EVER!!! We could never quite get the recipe out of her before she passed away, it was one of those "Oh, hunny, just a lil' bitta cocoa and a big lumpa buhtah and a scoopa shugah"...yeah one of those recipes that comes with EXACT measurements. So after YEARS of tweaking, and trying and some good, and some (most) not so good...this one is the SO SOOOO good one, that fits all of the requested criteria...hardens like fudge (check), the cake will not absorb it (unless you poke some holes in the top of it, also a good idea), and it cracks when cut into, but will not fall apart or fall off the cake...it's like magical frosting.


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## petalsandcoco

chefedb said:


> When I worked in the better hotels(according to the pastry chefs) iceing was in most cases pourable and thinner where frosting was not and was applied with a spatula.


I make it with melted chocolate and cream.....thin it out to a consistancy I like, pour. The same techinique when making petits fours.

Petals.


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## gen2026

I am looking for a similar recipe only it does not have chocolate in it...... just some type of sugar frosting that hardens, cracks when cut, but is not rock hard when you bite into it.  It is not brown in color.... just slightly darker than granulated sugar.  Anyone familiar with it?  I don't even know what it is called.

These chocolate versions sound great and I was wondering if I could just leave out the cocoa?

thanks!


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## mare18

Love the name,Nanny Frosting, as this was how our nannies boiled frosting . I can picture my Nanny at her coal stove, but have not been able to recreate her frosting. With your detailed instructions, i may be successfull. Thanks!


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## rozannrh

I know you probably already have what you are looking for, but try this! My mom used to make the kind of frosting you are describing, and I can make it - but it is a pain. I stumbled across 2 different recipes last year that are easy to do, and mimic the recipe perfectly (I even fooled my oldest brother - who had a passion for mom's version). I'm not sure if I can put them in here because of copy write protection, but here is how to find them:

Pillsbury.com - search for Chocolate Cherry Bars - the frosting is divine! (I double it for a 9x13)

in Google type in "grandma pearl's flaky chocolate icing southern plate" and you will find the recipe ( this is the one that fooled my brother, but the Pillsbury one is easier to make). The Southern Plate Cookbook is definitely worth buying - she has many recipes that are reminiscent of old recipes (try the Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Icing - version of the Flaky Chocolate Icing - yum!)

Happy cooking!


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## sandralou

Please help; I've also been trying to find such a chocolate icing; when I google   "grandma pearl's flaky chocolate icing southern plate" it does not come up. I sure would like to have this recipe!! Thanks!!


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## rozannrh

I don't know why it didn't work, but here is a link that takes you to a cake recipe that has the icing.http://www.wizardrecipes.com/southern-chocolate-pound-cake/


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## sandralou

Thanks, appreciate it!


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## rnewberry8831

I think this may be the one you are talking about. My grandmother also use t make it. It had about 14 thin layers and just like you were talking about, it hardens but is not hard when you bite it. It is still my favorite desert. 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cocoa. Mix & bring to a boil for 1 minute, (I usually do just a little longer to make sure the sugar is dissolved well). Set aside or in a double boiler with cool water in bottom, to cool some. You may add 2 cups of nuts if desired, but I never do. When it just starts to thicken, start icing your layers. I usualy have to use toothpick to hold the all the layers on straight while icing. Hope you enjoy it as much as we all still do! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/thumb.gif


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## oc s cake

*I had a childhood friend who's dad use to make that same frosting and we would never watch him make the frosting just the cake then dart outdoors. He passed a way at a young age and so did my friend (age 16) and i never asked his wife if she had the recipe.That's the best tasting frosting i have ever had, i loved the way the *

*frosting would crack as i bit into each pc.i will try some of the recipes. thanks for sharing. : )*


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## tracy brown

Hi, 

For the crackling effect you'll need cocoa butter.

This is the recipe i use: Mix one tbsp of melted cocoa butter with 100g of bitter sweet chocolate of good quality. Pour on the cake and set aside to cool.


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## lmeetze

I also remember the frosting this way.  I really knew it was the right one when you add the vanilla last. Thank you so much, I too have been looking for this recipe and knew it at one time was on the Hershey's can but isn't any longer. My mom used to make this for my daddy all the time (his favorite) and she put pecans on top (pressing into the icing before it cooled). Chocolate and pecans my favorite.

Thanks


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## obelia

Southerngal has the correct recipe.  This is the one my mother always made for her favorite "thin" layer chocolate cake..She always stipulated that one should never make it on a very humid day...always on a fair sunshiny day...It literally does pour over the layers...I put chopped nuts between my layers also...I drizzle slightly over the edges of each layer in a scalloped pattern,  On each scollop, I put one whole half of a pecan.on each layer. Then, Completely cover the top layer continuing with the scollops in an alternating pattern. Cover the top with an attractive pattern with the whole half pecans, and sprinkly in between them fairly fine chopped pecans...Totally delicious!  One I am getting ready to go to the kitchen and make for my family for Thanksgiving tomorrow at my brother's request.  I use just enough cake batter in my pans to cover the bottom of the pans approximately 1/2 inch thick..This ends up being a little over a cup of batter.  .I end up with about 7 layers...


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## obelia

Check out the recipe that Southerngal posted.  That is the recipe...I am on my way into the kitchen to make exactly that cake.  Good luck.  It was also my mother's recipe...


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## obelia

This is my mother's cooked chocolate cake icing that is syrup like when initially poured over your layers and sets up to be slightly softer than hard stage candy...It will hold its shape....Chocolate Cake Icing:  1 cup of carnation evaporated milk.  2 cups of sugar...1 cup of chocolate chips, 1/4 cup of cocoa...1/4 cup of butter....

Wipe heavy pan with butter around the sides.  Pour ingredients into buttered pan..Boil to soft formed stage. until a drop forms a ball in a sm. amount of cold water. ..Stir frequently intil it becomes thick enough to spread.  Put on layers while still warm...as it cools it will set....and become hard...I make 7 thin ( 1/2 inch thick) layers.  I spread icing between each layer forming a scallop pattern around each layer. alternating the placement of my scallops with each layer..  I then sprinkle each layer with fairly fine chopped pecans.  I then place 1 whole half of a pecan on each scallop center with the curved end resting on the edge of the layer.  I  repeat until the top layer is placed.. and then.spread tthe top layer in as attractive a pattern as I can with swirls, etc.  Sprinkle with chopped pecans, and whole half pieces to make an attractive pattern...This is our traditional holiday chocolate cake.  Enjoy!  It is delicious!


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## trudy kuruc

I'm Looking to find out how to make this harden Icing and what candy were used for the lights on the antlers- Can anyone suggest a recipe that looks like this and tastes delicious. I found this on photo on allrecipes.com butterscotch was used to make the ginger bread cookies- don't know if the icing is butterscotch or chocolate. It was made by a cookie expert . I would love to make it taste like chocolate fudge I thought this was so creative- Rudolph made from ginger bread cookies- but how do I make the decorating icing? Does anyone's recipe come out looking like this. I think this is Harden icing .


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## kispuppy

Best luck so far.... Sugar, coco powder, milk and corn starch for thickening in double boiler. 3 or 4 cups sugar 2/3 cup coco  1 1/2 milk let it boil to melt the sugar unless you like grainy frosting, add corn starch little at a time. Let it cool a little. Ice the cake when you like the thickness of the frosting. Very close to my Mamaw's Frosting.


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## cindy2356

This Icing recipe was on the back of Hersheys cocoa label. I can't find it any where on the web.


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## cindy2356

This is it.

100- Year old Chocolate Cake

cake recipe

5 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 sticks margarine

3 cups self rising flour

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

1 cup milk

Cream eggs, sugar, and margarine, Add flour and milk alternately. Stir in vanilla. This is enough batter for 6 to 8 layers. Layers may also be cooked on a griddle. If baked in a pan in the oven be sure to put wax paper in bottom ov pans. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes. While the first layers are baking start cooking the chocolate icing.

Chocolate Icing

1/2 cup cocoa

2/3 cup hot water

Add cocoa to hot water ( in a 3-quart saucepot or a double boiler) Mix and let come to a boil; add1/2 stick of margarine; melt and add

2 cups sugar

1 big can carnation milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Let boil. (icing will not be thick so don't over cook) Put a glass of cold tap water beside stove top. When icing comes to a boil stir with a spoon, and let icing drip off of spoon into glass of water. If icing disolves it is not ready. The icing must form into a ball and drop to the bottom of the glass of water; and remain in a ball. Spoon icing between layers and on top of cake and let run down the sides of cake.


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## siduri

Did they have margarine 100 years ago?  i thought it was from WWII, and that it came in tubs. I doubt even butter came in sticks 100 years ago.  and carnation milk?  maybe.  Where'd you get the recipe, Cindy?


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## theresaloviette

I had the same problem. I used a recipe of my mother's, old fashioned fudge recipe, and I would cook it to long or not long enough, and it would turn out to hard or to soft, I could not adjust the cooking time for a frosting. I found this recipe on line with the temp of the chocolate and what stage it should be to be able to pour over a cake. Try this and you may be able to get what you are looking for.

*Boiled Chocolate Icing*

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)

In a large heavy saucepan, melt the butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla over low heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Bring to a boil and cook, without stirring, for 1 minute. Brush down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in warm water to remove sugar crystals, then turn off heat. Stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth.

Return heat to medium. Brush down the sides of the pan again one more time with water. Cook the chocolate mixture, WITHOUT STIRRING, until it reaches 238°F, the soft-ball stage, approximately 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare an ice water bath in a large bowl. When icing reaches soft-ball temperature, place saucepan in water to stop the cooking. DO NOT STIR. Let the frosting cool to 120°F, approximately 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the water. Using an electric mixer, beat the icing on high speed for about 3-5 minutes. It should reach a pourable consistency. If it is too thick to pour, beat in heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until it is the right consistency.

Working quickly, frost the cake. Pour 1/3 of icing over the center of first layer and push out with a spatula. Add second cake layer and pour remaining icing over the top. Push out frosting so it runs over the sides of the cake. Smooth as much as possible. Let cake stand until icing sets and loses its sheen. Good luck!
[h3]Notes:[/h3]
• *To Make a 3-Layer Cake:* Prepare an extra-large batch of the recipe, increasing all the ingredients by half (to make 1 1/2 batches). To frost the cake, pour 1/4 of the icing over the first layer, 1/4 of the icing over the second layer, and the remaining icing over top.


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## theresaloviette

They say that is a royal icing that gets hard enough to decorate a cookie. I also included the website address with the recipe.

*Royal Chocolate Icing*

Ingredients

8 cups {one bag} confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder {I like Hershey's Special Dark}
1/2 cup meringue powder
1 Tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup+2 Tbsp warm water
Instructions

Add dry ingredients to the bowl and mix lightly before adding the liquid. Mix half the water with the flavoring and add to the dry ingredients and mix on low adding the remaining liquid little by little until the mixture reaches the consistency of molasses. At this point, turn the mixer to high and whip for approximately two minutes until the icing is light and fluffy like meringue.


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## janab

I have been looking for a choc. icing like my granny's and I do believe this is what I am looking for as well.  She never told us what was in it but I remember being in the kitchen with her and helping put the layers on the cake plate while she poured and spread..  I was an awesome choc. icing.


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## lmccrelles

Thank you so much  !  This is exactly what I'm looking for.


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## maureen m

[h5]HERSEY'S FUDGE FROSTING
This is the recipe that was on the back of the can as long as I can remember. My daddy wanted a chocolate cake every week, and I've made this recipe so many times that I remember the recipe without looking. This frosting will get hard and crack sometimes. This is the one that, also makes fudge.

3 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
dash of salt (1/8 tsp.)
¼ cup of butter, melted
1 - ½ cups of milk (Whole milk is best choice)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly in a heavy-bottomed pan such as a cast iron skillet.
Add milk and bring pan to a simmer, add butter. Bring to a rolling boil (a boil that can't be stirred down). Reduce heat to medium low, maintaining a boil and stirring constantly. Boil at this rate for one minute. (This should produce a hard-ball candy stage where a drop of the liquid dropped in cold water forms a ball as it falls to the bottom.)

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Set aside to cool and stir often, finishing by beating with a hand mixer until spreading consistancy is reached. This takes a bit of time, but worth it. *If you're in a hurry, set the pan in a larger pan with ice cubes to speed the cooling. Quickly assemble the cake. If the frosting becomes too hard, place the pan in a container with a couple of inches of hot water in it to make the frosting soft again.[/h5]


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## lareine gretzky

Fast fudge frosting from better homes & gardens 1971

1 lb confectioner's sugar sifted ~ 4-3/4 cups
1/2 cup cocoa
1/3 cup boiling water (I sometimes need a 1/2 cup depending on humidity)
1/3 cup butter or margarine softened 
1 tsp vanilla

Combine everything but the water and butter with a fork. Add the softened butter or margarine, using the fork break it up so it will melt easier. Slowly add boiling water. The water must be boiling. The consistency of the frosting should be smooth and pourable. But not runny. Think a little thinner than peanut butter. When you lift a fork out of the frosting you should have frosting on the fork which you can watch ooze back into the bowl. The beauty of this frosting is if it's a little too thick ad a little more water a tablespoon at a time, if it's too thin at a little conf. Sugar. Do not use a mixer!! When you're ready pour 1/2 the frosting on the top of your cake and gently nudge it over the sides adding more frosting where you need it,


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## stephaniee

I am trying to get a hard icing or frosting.  I made this old fashion yellow cake and i wanted the chocolate frosting like my grannie made.  I got the cake down and boy is it moist.  But the frosting/icing...

I'm doing something wrong and I'm trying to remember what grannie used.  I melt a stick of butter with 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup cocoa.  I know it's milk next but the amount I must be getting wrong.  I boil the mixture up to 9 min. while stirring but it's not forming a ball when put a drop in water to test it. 

After 10 min. of boiling this I go ahead and add vanilla then stir it some more before pouring it over my cake.  It never gets hard.

If someone could explain what I've done wrong, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!


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## krhcbh

This is the recipe I use
3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
1 stick butter (not margarine and I use salted some say unsalted)
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

I put all ingredients in except vanilla and start stirring. As soon as the chocolate begins to boil put a timer on one minute. Pull it off heat add vanilla and stir then start pouring. Make sure not to overcook it. Hope this helps and if you ever want it a little thicker quickly stir in a cup or two of confectioners sugar right off the stove with the vanilla and will give it more of a Thicker consistency


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## soesje

what about making a classic ganache?  (for instance  8 oz choc with a cocoa percent over 50% minimum, to one cup heavy cream) pour it over the cake when the chocolate has melted and the mix cooled a bit in a thick sauce.

should be thick enough to stay put. 

it will set hard.

if you want a fluffier chocolate frosting, you could whip this mix until cool and spread it like a butterfrosting, or pipe it, on the cake.


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## stephaniee

Thanks for the help!  I'm going to try these recipes today after I make two cakes for Thanksgiving.



God Bless


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## mickel corrodus

Chefross said:


> Milk is the ingredient that makes for a hardened frosting.





siduri said:


> I think i've got it! I got this from an old betty crocker cookbook from the 50s.
> 
> Creamy Chocolate Icing
> 
> Mix 3/4 cups sugar with 3/4 cups cream. Cook over low heat till it just boils (i always let it boil longer which gives it a little more thickness, at least so i felt). add 4 oz germans sweet cooking chocolate and 3 squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped finely or grated. Mix till melted and smooth. (If there isn';t enough residual heat to melt it, heat it very very slightly.) If too thick to pour add some cream.
> 
> This was in the book as a frosting for a chocolate roll, to be poured over the slice of cake, but i used to use it as a glossy frosting, and it used to sort of harden up like fudge just as you describe.





barbara6711 said:


> I am looking for a frosting/icing made to pour on the cake and harden like fudge when it cools. My husband's grandmother made it with hersheys cocoa powder but that is all I remember. Her cake layers were less than an inch thick (there were several). She poured the chocolate over each layer and over the entire cake allowing it to drain down the sides. The cake was moist but did not absorb the chocolate. The frosting cracked when cut but did not fall apart.  HELP PLEASE!!





chefedb said:


> You asked for frosting and or iceing. Both different . Re the icing are you looking for something like the commercial magic shell type?





siduri said:


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *chefedb*
> 
> You asked for frosting and or iceing. Both different . Re the icing are you looking for something like the commercial magic shell type?
> 
> Chefedb, I always understood frosting and icing to be the same thing, just different regional terms (like soda, pop, or tonic). Some books I have use frosting, some use icing, i never saw one that used both in different ways.





siduri said:


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Chefross*
> 
> I have tried several different ways to create a frosting and an icing that makes a hardened "crust". I have a glaze that I make from brown sugar, skim milk and powdered sugar. After heating the milk, I add th sugars and mix well. After spreading on whatever I am making, I find it creates a hard, dry "skin."
> 
> I have tried this with cake frosting using 1/2 shortening....1/2 unsalted butter, vanilla, powdered sugar and milk. I find...again....that the milk create a butter cream frosting that "hardens" when allowed to rest in the fridge.
> 
> Not being picky, just curious. Is it the milk that did it, or would another liquid have done it as well, like water? I mean, did you try other liquids and did they not make a skin? I make a decorating frosting i use in a small tube to do fine-line decorations on spice snaps to hang on the xmas tree. They get hard, and i make them with powdered sugar and egg white. I used to do them with powdered sugar and water. They also dried hard, but the frosting was harder to work with. Of course neither of these are soft underneath and hard on top. I do a glaze for a kind of nut bar with powdered sugar and lemon juice and that, also, dries glassy hard on the surface, often softer underneath, if it's thick. So is it the milk or the liquid, and what would it be in the milk that does it? like a casein glue? the protein?


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## gail egs

How much salt do I use?


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## tr8gram

Dear SouthernGal, thanks soooo much for sharing this recipe!  I am 64 years old and my "Grannie" who passed away 25 years ago at the age of 95.  By the time I got really old enough to want to learn to cook some of her recipes, she had gotten too old to cook.  So thanks for sharing this recipe.


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## ccsummers

This is probably a stupid question but here it goes... How long should I cook the sugar and chocolate etc? The recipe if the one I been looking for but that is the only problem I have with it. So I will greatly appreciate it if someone can answer this for me. Thanks


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## h2035

Thank you for providing a good, useable(home made)recipe.  It is perfect.  The combination of these ingredients, using the cream as the thinner, make the perfect frosting described as firm, but not brittle.


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## crystalwernicke

There was a post on the first page saying that you'd need cocoa butter for the "crackle" experience. That actually leads me to believe that it was just actual chocolate, as cocoa powder contains no cocoa butter. Back then,  chocolate actually contained cocoa butter rather than now, which has palm oil or other alternatives, so please make sure to actually get couverture chocolate. I look forward to seeing everyones future experiences.


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## cakeladyohio

Stupid, yes margarine was invented in 1869 well over 100 years


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## lovestocook1

I don't know who you are but this sounds exactly like my grandmothers cake. Layers were one inch thick, stayed moist but did not absorb the chocolate. She worked fast so it wouldn't harden before she finished. She would quickly top the cake with pecan halves. Sometimes she would make 14 layers. It was the best ever and always looked like it came from a bakery. She never wrote down the recipe. Now the grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren want to make it. I am going to use the recipe given in response to your question. As many people (including bakeries) as I have asked, no one can imagine 14 one inch layers with hard chocolate on the outside. Here goes!!!!!


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## diane f

I am looking for the same frosting I think you are. for a 7 layer cake that the old ladies at  church and my grandma made. the frosting is thin and layers are thin. It cracks when you cut. But what I remember from my grandma was just Hersey choc. unsweet., water little saltand grandulated sugar. she would say it is in the timing. But it was so long ago and I want so bad to watch someone make it. She would have layers and layers of what she called a yellow daisy cake made. she would do several cakes at a time for holidays, always more than 6 layers, using old cast iron skillet. like others she did not measure or use recipe. But I am so aggravated now that I am going to try again this weekend to make my cake and if I succeed I will let you know. What I remember her doing was about 2 cups choc. and 2 cups sugar mix those two well first in skillet she would have a glass of water near by, oh and vanilla too. and salt.she heated the choc and sugar mix and salt she would start heating then slowly add water and bring to boil stirring madly , I beleive the key was when it got shiny she would allow a few more bubbles and then off heat pour vanilla and then stir stir stir. then pour on cakes , thin layers when it set it was always perfect.I don't know if that helps you, but I'm going to try it again this weekend. A friend showed me one sim. but she added sm. can evaap. milk and 3 tsp butter. but to me it was to thick, sweet and more like pudding. good luck.


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## chef lenny

I have this cook book and I _think_ (I could be wrong) that a recipe similar to what you are looking for may be in here, I could check for you if you'd like. Did you find it or would you like me to look?

The cook book I have:





  








s-l1600.jpg




__
chef lenny


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Jan 16, 2016


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## hislander

People in our area make a thin layer (usually 8) yellow cake iced with cooked fudge icing. It is inexpensive and very easy to fix.

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

9 tsp dry cocoa

1 15 oz. can evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 stick butter

In medium saucepan blend sugar and cocoa, making sure there are no lumps. Stir in milk. Over medium heat, cook for 7 minutes after the mixture begins to boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and butter. If mixture is too thin let cool for 5 minutes. Pour a small portion over each layer of cake. The icing hardens as it cools. Enjoy!


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## valsue

This is the exact reason that I came here to search! My mother has never forgotten the cake that her aunt would prepare in the country when she would prepare for company. My mother reports that my great aunt's cake was like nothing she has had since. From the replies that I am reading, I do not think that others understand either! It was a chocolate cake, and when it was cut to be served, the icing would literally CRACK. It sounds like it is heavenly! It is FAR from a thick creamy or even fudgy icing. I am still searching, too and prayerfully we will find that icing! This cake was prepared in the 1940's or 50's if that is of any help. Best Wishes to us as we search for this icing. I could begin to compare it to the thin icing that is poured over petis fours at the bakery...maybe helpful, and thank you to all who try to help!


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## kelvin

Wow! sounds pretty tasty!


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## kelvin

thanks diane


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## ian douglas

Hi, here is a recipe copied from a no longer working link a few years ago..apologies if it is a repost. 

Grandma pearls flaky chocolate icing
Instructions:
This is what the old folks refer to as a “boiled icing.” This means they make it in a pot on top of the oven and it is brought to a boil until it thickens. It is very much like making fudge, but we use a timer instead of a thermometer to trust it gets to the right temperature. Have you ever had your granny make one of those cakes that when she cuts into it, the icing cracks and breaks off in huge fudgy chunks? This is that icing. This icing hardens very quickly, so it’s easiest to use on a sheet cake, where you simply pour it over the cake while it’s still in the pan and allow it to cool. If you’d like the peanut butter version of this icing, it can be found in “yellow cake with peanut butter icing”.
1½ cups sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
7 tablespoons milk (see Note)
2 tablespoons shortening
2 tablespoons margarine
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Combine the sugar, cocoa powder, milk, shortening, margarine, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly.
Once it reaches a boil, allow to boil without stirring for 2 minutes, or until it reaches the soft-ball stage. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Stir until just slightly cooled. Pour over the cooled cake.
Note: I know you’re going to be tempted not to measure out the milk, but you’re going to have to. Eyeballing it will mess up this icing every time. I know from experience!
enough to frost two 9-inch layers or one 9 x 13-inch sheet cake


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## Moonflower

I was looking for 'stiff' icing to put on cake I was mailing to my son for his birthday and found this site. I thought I should comment for all those who had problems with recipe or it sounded too complicated. It is not, it just takes a little more time than powdered sugar icing, but is SO worth it. Here's what I did that made it easy peasy sure thing first time.

First, I added about 3 T less cocoa, all other ingredients same(I doubled).
Brought first 4 ingredients to boil over med heat. I used a WHISK instead of a spoon(helps the sugar blend) to mix constantly until it was a rolling boil. Then I let it boil without stirring for about a minute and a half(don't worry if it is still syrupy). then I took pan off heat, added vanilla, stirred just enough to mix, poured into another bowl and mixed with electric mixer for 4 1/2 minutes(it was still runny, but don't worry). I began to pour on WARM cake and spread it as I went. by the time I got to the sides, it was already setting up, but not enough to be a problem, just spread gently. Doesn't have to be perfect because it is going to taste so good. 
It came out without a hitch, tastes like fudge and is primo for that old time icing(or if you want to mail!) The leftovers in the bowl were finger-licking good fudge!


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## josephinerock324

barbara6711 said:


> I am looking for a frosting/icing made to pour on the cake and harden like fudge when it cools. My husband's grandmother made it with hersheys cocoa powder but that is all I remember. Her cake layers were less than an inch thick (there were several). She poured the chocolate over each layer and over the entire cake allowing it to drain down the sides. The cake was moist but did not absorb the chocolate. The frosting cracked when cut but did not fall apart. HELP PLEASE!!


 Chocolate Frosting with Cocoa Powder and Powdered Sugar > (callmepmc.com)


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## AlamocityPopcorn

siduri said:


> I think i've got it! I got this from an old betty crocker cookbook from the 50s.
> 
> Creamy Chocolate Icing
> 
> Mix 3/4 cups sugar with 3/4 cups cream. Cook over low heat till it just boils (i always let it boil longer which gives it a little more thickness, at least so i felt). add 4 oz germans sweet cooking chocolate and 3 squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped finely or grated. Mix till melted and smooth. (If there isn';t enough residual heat to melt it, heat it very very slightly.) If too thick to pour add some cream.
> 
> This was in the book as a frosting for a chocolate roll, to be poured over the slice of cake, but i used to use it as a glossy frosting, and it used to sort of harden up like fudge just as you describe.


thanks for sharing the recipe.


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