Here’s something to look forward to: January 27 is National Chocolate Cake Day. This is a day to "bake your chocolate cake....and eat it, too!"


On this day, a white or yellow cake will not do. Nor, will part chocolate, part white suffice. It must be chocolate, all chocolate. You can make milk chocolate, dark chocolate, fudge, or any other type of chocolate cake.

There are three objectives of Chocolate Cake Day: To bake a chocolate cake. To decorate a chocolate cake. And, to eat a chocolate cake. Of course, if you are too busy to bake or decorate a cake, then just eating a chocolate cake will certainly do!


With this introduction to my topic, let’s talk about the varieties of chocolate frosting available to us. But first, could you explain the difference between frosting and icing? We hear these terms used interchangeably all the time. I couldn’t, so I looked it up.

Turns out, frosting is usually used to coat the outside of cake. It has a buttercream-like texture and a more buttery taste. The Williams-Sonoma cookbook, Cake, further explains: “Icing is generally thinner and glossier, while its counterpart, frosting, is a thick and fluffy mixture.” (In the photo, the frosting is on the right.)


I prefer frosting over icing. How about you? I say this because I LOVE butter, so naturally a buttercream frosting is right up my alley. And I love the way its substantially balances out the cake base. With icing there’s just too much cake for my taste. So I hope you’ll forgive me if I ignore the icing angle and stick with frosting?

A very common chocolate frosting recipe is made by whipping butter and cocoa together until smooth. (I’ve always liked ¼ cup of soft butter with at least ½- to 2/3 cup cocoa—I like the chocolate flavor to come through loud and clear.) Then vanilla and powdered sugar are stirred in. (Typically ½ teaspoon vanilla and 2 or 3 cups of powdered sugar.) From here you slowly stream in milk, cream, or Half ‘n Half until frosting reaches your desired consistency. The main thing is to whip this mixture really well until it’s light, fluffy and smooth. The whipping takes about 1-2 minutes.


I’ve used this chocolate frosting recipe for over 40 years. And then I discovered an even better approach. Instead of cocoa I use chocolate chips. You combine butter, milk and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring this to a boil over medium high heat and let it boil for 45 seconds. Then you remove the pan from the heat and whisk in vanilla and chocolate chips until the mixture is smooth and shiny.

The flavor of this frosting is deep, and the mouth-feel is wonderful—so smooth. The only hang-up with this recipe is that you need to work quickly. It must be immediately poured over your cake or brownies. If using it to frost a layer cake, then it gets trickier. You need to wait for it to cool so it doesn’t run off the sides of the cake, but you can’t let it cool too long or it won’t spread well. It takes a little practice to use this recipe this way, but the results are really worth the effort.


Then there are variations to chocolate frosting. Maybe you’re one of those savvy bakers that likes to add a titch of instant coffee to the recipe for a mocha flavor. And others prefer the tang you get by substituting cream cheese for the butter. And of course, peppermint extract rather than vanilla extract turns out another yummy chocolate frosting.

Whichever frosting you like, do consider whipping up a batch this week. Make your favorite chocolate cake recipe and put the two together. Then call in the friends and family and celebrate this VERY important day!