Whatever happened to liquid baking chocolate?

[gloomcookie]

I'm going to bake a chocolate cake for New Year's day dinner and my mother and I were discussing the dilemma I run into in getting my icings/frostings too sweet. In order to thicken a frosting I get bogged down in adding confectioner's sugar and it ends up too sweet. Then I add more cocoa and it seems to wreck the proportions to the point that the frosting just doesn't taste right.

In the course of the conversation she mentioned my grandma used to use baker's chocolate...and I remembered using Chocobake, a liquid baking chocolate in packets, made by Nestle. There was a recipe for frosted brownies on the box and as I recall the frosting was a perfect balance of sweet and chocolate. After a little research, I think Nestle ceased making Chocobake in 1998. Drat!

Does anyone know of an equivalent product? I've religiously avoided buying the squares and doing the whole melting bit and would still like to avoid this if possible.

If no one has an equivalent to suggest, would anyone have a recipe for chocolate frosting that isn't too sweet?

Thanks!

Gloomcookie

[Food Network Fan]

Have you tried using a chocolate ganache?

Edit : I guess that would require the melting though huh? Is there a reason you are so put off by melting chocolate? If you put some hot water in a crock pot and rest a bowl in the top that fits so water can't get into the bowl you can just leave it to melt easily without burning.

[bakerman]

Do you add salt to your icing recipes? I always do and I am always getting compliments on how good my icing is and it isn't too sweet. The salt will also enhance the flavor. The icings I usually make for decorating are the basic shortening or butter, and powdered sugar type. I would say to start with a 1/4 tsp.

I don't think that the melted chocolate or the chocobake would make it much less sweet.

Good Luck

[bluejeanz]

Gloomcookie, they still sell the Nestle pre-melted chocolate here where I live. Here's the recipe for the brownies that's on the back of the box:



FUDGY CHOCOLATE BROWNIES


1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 packets (1 oz. each) Nestle Toll House Choko Bake Unsweetened Chocolate
2 large eggs
2 Tbl. water
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Stir in sugar, butter, chocolate, eggs, water and vanilla vigorously in large bowl. Stir in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread into prepared baking pan.

Bake for 18-22 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.


(These are the exact [but poorly described] directions on the back of the box. What they mean is the flour, soda and salt go in one bowl and then you mix the other ingredients in a larger bowl.)



If you're looking for a foolproof recipe for a fudgy chocolate frosting, I have one that I've been using for the past 40+ years and always get compliments on it. It's my go-to frosting for brownies. It calls for unsweetened cocoa powder so you don't have to melt any chocolate. It's also a fudge recipe if you change the amounts on some of the ingredients:



MIRACLE FUDGE FROSTING

1 lb. confectioner's sugar (4-4 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
6 Tbl. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract



Melt the butter in a large saucepan then stir in the rest of the ingredients, mixing thoroughly. (I usually put the sugar through a sieve to make sure there's no lumps.) Keep the pan over a very low flame only until all is incorporated and mixture is smooth then remove from heat. Let it sit, stirring occasionally until of spreading consistency.


*To make fudge, reduce the butter to 6 Tbl., reduce the milk to 1/4 cup and increase the vanilla to 1 Tbl. You can also add chopped nuts. Press into a buttered 9 x 3 loaf pan and cool.

[bluejeanz]

P.S. I forgot to say there was no frosting recipe on the back of the box.




(I tried editing my original post but it wasn't working properly.)