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Why is my frosting runny?
Newbie here. I made fudge frosting for my brownies and it's runny.
I believe it's a standard type of frosting recipe, made from sugar, cocoa, milk, butter, and corn syrup. After cooling it said to mix between 1/2 and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in, along with some vanilla. I mixed the maximum amount of powdered sugar in but it was runny. I put it in the refrigerator to thicken it, but it still ended up runny. What did I do wrong? I'm fairly strict with the amounts, so I think I was close on that, and it said to boil the first ingredients for 3 minutes and I set the timer and boiled them for exactly that. Short of buying frosting, are there any recipes for chocolate icing that might be more foolproof than the recipe I used? I also made Grasshopper brownies with a green mint layer that doesn't look like it is going to set up. Expensive mistakes. Thanks, Michael |
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In article >,
(Zspider) wrote: > Newbie here. I made fudge frosting for my brownies and it's runny. > I believe it's a standard type of frosting recipe, made from sugar, > cocoa, milk, butter, and corn syrup. After cooling it said to mix > between 1/2 and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in, along with some > vanilla. I mixed the maximum amount of powdered sugar in but it > was runny. I put it in the refrigerator to thicken it, but it > still ended up runny. What did I do wrong? I'm fairly strict with > the amounts, so I think I was close on that, and it said to boil > the first ingredients for 3 minutes and I set the timer and boiled > them for exactly that. > > Short of buying frosting, are there any recipes for chocolate icing > that might be more foolproof than the recipe I used? > > I also made Grasshopper brownies with a green mint layer that > doesn't look like it is going to set up. Expensive mistakes. > > Thanks, Michael Timing cooking fudge or candy does not work. :-) Find a recipe that uses temps instead of times, then get a good candy thermometer. Mom taught me to cook fudge to the "soft ball" stage. Keep a glass of cold water next to the stove and when the fudge starts to boil, drop a single drop of the fudge mix into the cold water once per minute. You can tell when it is ready to set up when it reaches the "soft ball" stage. If it is not ready, it flattens out when it hits the water. When it is ready, it forms a ball. As soon as that happens, take the pan off of the stove and have another shallow pan of ice water ready. Carefully insert your hot pan into the container of ice water and continue beating the fudge until it cools and begins to set up, then QUICKLY frost the cake or whatever before it totally cools off. Hope this helps? K. -- Sprout the Mung Bean to reply... >,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,< http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra |
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"Zspider" > wrote in message om... > Newbie here. I made fudge frosting for my brownies and it's runny. > I believe it's a standard type of frosting recipe, made from sugar, > cocoa, milk, butter, and corn syrup. After cooling it said to mix > between 1/2 and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in, along with some > vanilla. I mixed the maximum amount of powdered sugar in but it > was runny. I put it in the refrigerator to thicken it, but it > still ended up runny. What did I do wrong? I'm fairly strict with > the amounts, so I think I was close on that, and it said to boil > the first ingredients for 3 minutes and I set the timer and boiled > them for exactly that. > > Short of buying frosting, are there any recipes for chocolate icing > that might be more foolproof than the recipe I used? > > I also made Grasshopper brownies with a green mint layer that > doesn't look like it is going to set up. Expensive mistakes. > > Thanks, Michael It would be easier to tell what went wrong if you posted the whole recipe. 3/4 cup of powdered sugar isn't going to take much liquid. An easy frosting if you like the fudge kind is to take 1/2 stick of butter and melt it with 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Add to 2 cups powdered sugar, adding a little coffee or hot water if it's too thick. For grasshopper brownies, I made Barb's brownies, then made a cream cheese frosting that I added peppermint (you can use spearmint) oil to, and a bit of crème de menthe. Then I made a firm ganache and added that over the mint. What did you use? HTH, kimberly |
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"Zspider" > wrote in message om... > Newbie here. I made fudge frosting for my brownies and it's runny. > I believe it's a standard type of frosting recipe, made from sugar, > cocoa, milk, butter, and corn syrup. After cooling it said to mix > between 1/2 and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in, along with some > vanilla. I mixed the maximum amount of powdered sugar in but it > was runny. I put it in the refrigerator to thicken it, but it > still ended up runny. What did I do wrong? I'm fairly strict with > the amounts, so I think I was close on that, and it said to boil > the first ingredients for 3 minutes and I set the timer and boiled > them for exactly that. > > Short of buying frosting, are there any recipes for chocolate icing > that might be more foolproof than the recipe I used? > > I also made Grasshopper brownies with a green mint layer that > doesn't look like it is going to set up. Expensive mistakes. > > Thanks, Michael It would be easier to tell what went wrong if you posted the whole recipe. 3/4 cup of powdered sugar isn't going to take much liquid. An easy frosting if you like the fudge kind is to take 1/2 stick of butter and melt it with 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Add to 2 cups powdered sugar, adding a little coffee or hot water if it's too thick. For grasshopper brownies, I made Barb's brownies, then made a cream cheese frosting that I added peppermint (you can use spearmint) oil to, and a bit of crème de menthe. Then I made a firm ganache and added that over the mint. What did you use? HTH, kimberly |
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Claudia wrote:
> It might just be that you have a bum recipe. I've not made any frostings > that have corn syrup in them - not saying they aren't standard or > commonplace but I've never made one. Here's a good brownie frosting that I > use: > > > 3*tablespoons*butter, softened > 3*tablespoons*unsweetened cocoa powder > 1*tablespoon*honey > 1 1/2*teaspoons*vanilla extract > 1*cup*confectioners sugar > > Mix together! I use the stand mixer to get it very smooth. You can thin > it with a drop or two of milk or water. I don't recall that it really > needs that, though. Frost while brownies are warm. *************** Thank you for the recipe, Claudia! I will use it next time. The recipe came frome my usually trustworthy Betty Crocker Cookbook, but I'd rather not play with that recipe again. Again, thank you for the recipe. I will be using it very soon. I am in the process of experimenting to see what I can do for the holidays. I want to be able to prepare a decent variety of cookies, candies, and snacks by then. Michael |
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Claudia wrote:
> It might just be that you have a bum recipe. I've not made any frostings > that have corn syrup in them - not saying they aren't standard or > commonplace but I've never made one. Here's a good brownie frosting that I > use: > > > 3*tablespoons*butter, softened > 3*tablespoons*unsweetened cocoa powder > 1*tablespoon*honey > 1 1/2*teaspoons*vanilla extract > 1*cup*confectioners sugar > > Mix together! I use the stand mixer to get it very smooth. You can thin > it with a drop or two of milk or water. I don't recall that it really > needs that, though. Frost while brownies are warm. *************** Thank you for the recipe, Claudia! I will use it next time. The recipe came frome my usually trustworthy Betty Crocker Cookbook, but I'd rather not play with that recipe again. Again, thank you for the recipe. I will be using it very soon. I am in the process of experimenting to see what I can do for the holidays. I want to be able to prepare a decent variety of cookies, candies, and snacks by then. Michael |
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Katra wrote
> Timing cooking fudge or candy does not work. :-) > Find a recipe that uses temps instead of times, then get a good candy > thermometer. > > Mom taught me to cook fudge to the "soft ball" stage. > Keep a glass of cold water next to the stove and when the fudge starts > to boil, drop a single drop of the fudge mix into the cold water once > per minute. You can tell when it is ready to set up when it reaches the > "soft ball" stage. > > If it is not ready, it flattens out when it hits the water. When it is > ready, it forms a ball. > > As soon as that happens, take the pan off of the stove and have another > shallow pan of ice water ready. Carefully insert your hot pan into the > container of ice water and continue beating the fudge until it cools and > begins to set up, then QUICKLY frost the cake or whatever before it > totally cools off. > > Hope this helps? ************* Thank you for all the good feedback, Katra. Although I knew the frosting was called a fudge frosting, I didn't think that it might need to be prepared by the same rules as fudge itself. I have never had much luck with real fudge, either, and have always had to resort to making the no-brainer fudge from semisweet chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. I told my wife I need to get away from that because it is so much more expensive than making it the old-fashioned way from cocoa. I remember my mother making it years ago and her dropping drops of it into water and looking for it not to dissolve. That always mystified me as a child and I haven't come much further, it seems. Haha! Again, thank you for your comments. Michael |
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Katra wrote
> Timing cooking fudge or candy does not work. :-) > Find a recipe that uses temps instead of times, then get a good candy > thermometer. > > Mom taught me to cook fudge to the "soft ball" stage. > Keep a glass of cold water next to the stove and when the fudge starts > to boil, drop a single drop of the fudge mix into the cold water once > per minute. You can tell when it is ready to set up when it reaches the > "soft ball" stage. > > If it is not ready, it flattens out when it hits the water. When it is > ready, it forms a ball. > > As soon as that happens, take the pan off of the stove and have another > shallow pan of ice water ready. Carefully insert your hot pan into the > container of ice water and continue beating the fudge until it cools and > begins to set up, then QUICKLY frost the cake or whatever before it > totally cools off. > > Hope this helps? ************* Thank you for all the good feedback, Katra. Although I knew the frosting was called a fudge frosting, I didn't think that it might need to be prepared by the same rules as fudge itself. I have never had much luck with real fudge, either, and have always had to resort to making the no-brainer fudge from semisweet chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. I told my wife I need to get away from that because it is so much more expensive than making it the old-fashioned way from cocoa. I remember my mother making it years ago and her dropping drops of it into water and looking for it not to dissolve. That always mystified me as a child and I haven't come much further, it seems. Haha! Again, thank you for your comments. Michael |
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Kimberly wrote:
> It would be easier to tell what went wrong if you posted the whole recipe. > 3/4 cup of powdered sugar isn't going to take much liquid. > An easy frosting if you like the fudge kind is to take 1/2 stick of butter > and melt it with 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. > Add to 2 cups powdered sugar, adding a little coffee or hot water if it's > too thick. > For grasshopper brownies, I made Barb's brownies, then made a cream cheese > frosting that I added peppermint (you can use spearmint) oil to, and a bit > of crème de menthe. Then I made a firm ganache and added that over the mint. > What did you use? ************* Thank you for your frosting suggestion, Kimberly. Your method of starting out with the frosting a little too thick and thinning it to taste with coffee or hot water sounds reassuring after my "too thin to begin with and no fixing it" experience. The grasshopper bars started out with a base of cooked brownies. The green stuff consisted of 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/3 cup butter, 1/4 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of peppermint, and food coloring. Directions were to pour it over the brownies and refrigerate for 15 minutes before pouring a thin thin coating of melted bittersweet chocolate on top. The green stuff never hardened. I also had trouble getting the melted bittersweet chocolate to spread. Once it hit the cooled green stuff, it hardened into a brittle layer. How did you make your green cream cheese frosting? What is a ganache? Again, thank you for taking the time to write. Michael |
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Kimberly wrote:
> It would be easier to tell what went wrong if you posted the whole recipe. > 3/4 cup of powdered sugar isn't going to take much liquid. > An easy frosting if you like the fudge kind is to take 1/2 stick of butter > and melt it with 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. > Add to 2 cups powdered sugar, adding a little coffee or hot water if it's > too thick. > For grasshopper brownies, I made Barb's brownies, then made a cream cheese > frosting that I added peppermint (you can use spearmint) oil to, and a bit > of crème de menthe. Then I made a firm ganache and added that over the mint. > What did you use? ************* Thank you for your frosting suggestion, Kimberly. Your method of starting out with the frosting a little too thick and thinning it to taste with coffee or hot water sounds reassuring after my "too thin to begin with and no fixing it" experience. The grasshopper bars started out with a base of cooked brownies. The green stuff consisted of 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/3 cup butter, 1/4 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of peppermint, and food coloring. Directions were to pour it over the brownies and refrigerate for 15 minutes before pouring a thin thin coating of melted bittersweet chocolate on top. The green stuff never hardened. I also had trouble getting the melted bittersweet chocolate to spread. Once it hit the cooled green stuff, it hardened into a brittle layer. How did you make your green cream cheese frosting? What is a ganache? Again, thank you for taking the time to write. Michael |
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"Zspider" > wrote in message m... > Kimberly wrote: > > It would be easier to tell what went wrong if you posted the whole recipe. > > 3/4 cup of powdered sugar isn't going to take much liquid. > > An easy frosting if you like the fudge kind is to take 1/2 stick of butter > > and melt it with 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. > > Add to 2 cups powdered sugar, adding a little coffee or hot water if it's > > too thick. > > For grasshopper brownies, I made Barb's brownies, then made a cream cheese > > frosting that I added peppermint (you can use spearmint) oil to, and a bit > > of crème de menthe. Then I made a firm ganache and added that over the mint. > > What did you use? > > ************* > Thank you for your frosting suggestion, Kimberly. Your method of > starting out with the frosting a little too thick and thinning it > to taste with coffee or hot water sounds reassuring after my "too > thin to begin with and no fixing it" experience. > > The grasshopper bars started out with a base of cooked brownies. > The green stuff consisted of 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/3 cup butter, > 1/4 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of peppermint, and food coloring. > Directions were to pour it over the brownies and refrigerate for > 15 minutes before pouring a thin thin coating of melted bittersweet > chocolate on top. The green stuff never hardened. I also had > trouble getting the melted bittersweet chocolate to spread. Once > it hit the cooled green stuff, it hardened into a brittle layer. > > How did you make your green cream cheese frosting? What is a > ganache? > > Again, thank you for taking the time to write. > > Michael For the cream cheese frosting layer: 6 oz cream cheese, softened 2 tbsp butter, softened 1/2 tsp peppermint oil (or spearmint if you prefer) 1 tbsp crème de menthe small amount of milk, if needed 3 cups powdered sugar (this recipe is for a 9x13" baking pan of brownies) Combine the butter and cream cheese with the flavoring oil and crème de menthe. Add powdered sugar and mix with the paddle attachment of your mixer or a wooden spoon until smooth, adding milk a little at a time (no more than a couple teaspoons) until the desired consistency is reached. Spread on completely cooled brownies. Make the ganache and pour it over the top before you refrigerate. This will help with the spreading problem you had with the chocolate, as will using a ganache rather than just the chocolate. For the ganache: 12 ounces of good quality chocolate 6 ounces heavy cream (3/4 cup) 1 tbsp butter Chop chocolate, using a serrated bread knife. Put into a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat cream to boiling. Pour over the chocolate, and add butter. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and smooth and the mixture is homogenous. Cool until just slightly warm, and pour over the brownies, working quickly to spread smooth. Refrigerate until set. The butter will ensure a shiny finish, even after refrigeration. You'll want to remove them from the fridge for about 15 min or so before serving for the maximum flavor. Hope this helps! kimberly |
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"Zspider" > wrote in message m... > Kimberly wrote: > > It would be easier to tell what went wrong if you posted the whole recipe. > > 3/4 cup of powdered sugar isn't going to take much liquid. > > An easy frosting if you like the fudge kind is to take 1/2 stick of butter > > and melt it with 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate and 1/4 cup cocoa powder. > > Add to 2 cups powdered sugar, adding a little coffee or hot water if it's > > too thick. > > For grasshopper brownies, I made Barb's brownies, then made a cream cheese > > frosting that I added peppermint (you can use spearmint) oil to, and a bit > > of crème de menthe. Then I made a firm ganache and added that over the mint. > > What did you use? > > ************* > Thank you for your frosting suggestion, Kimberly. Your method of > starting out with the frosting a little too thick and thinning it > to taste with coffee or hot water sounds reassuring after my "too > thin to begin with and no fixing it" experience. > > The grasshopper bars started out with a base of cooked brownies. > The green stuff consisted of 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/3 cup butter, > 1/4 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of peppermint, and food coloring. > Directions were to pour it over the brownies and refrigerate for > 15 minutes before pouring a thin thin coating of melted bittersweet > chocolate on top. The green stuff never hardened. I also had > trouble getting the melted bittersweet chocolate to spread. Once > it hit the cooled green stuff, it hardened into a brittle layer. > > How did you make your green cream cheese frosting? What is a > ganache? > > Again, thank you for taking the time to write. > > Michael For the cream cheese frosting layer: 6 oz cream cheese, softened 2 tbsp butter, softened 1/2 tsp peppermint oil (or spearmint if you prefer) 1 tbsp crème de menthe small amount of milk, if needed 3 cups powdered sugar (this recipe is for a 9x13" baking pan of brownies) Combine the butter and cream cheese with the flavoring oil and crème de menthe. Add powdered sugar and mix with the paddle attachment of your mixer or a wooden spoon until smooth, adding milk a little at a time (no more than a couple teaspoons) until the desired consistency is reached. Spread on completely cooled brownies. Make the ganache and pour it over the top before you refrigerate. This will help with the spreading problem you had with the chocolate, as will using a ganache rather than just the chocolate. For the ganache: 12 ounces of good quality chocolate 6 ounces heavy cream (3/4 cup) 1 tbsp butter Chop chocolate, using a serrated bread knife. Put into a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat cream to boiling. Pour over the chocolate, and add butter. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and smooth and the mixture is homogenous. Cool until just slightly warm, and pour over the brownies, working quickly to spread smooth. Refrigerate until set. The butter will ensure a shiny finish, even after refrigeration. You'll want to remove them from the fridge for about 15 min or so before serving for the maximum flavor. Hope this helps! kimberly |
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