Add the butter to the warm chocolate mixture, and stir until melted (The butter gives in Visual Studio .NET

Print ANSI/AIM Code 128 in Visual Studio .NET Add the butter to the warm chocolate mixture, and stir until melted (The butter gives

the ganache a glossy sheen)

ganache holds its shape such that it s thick enough that you could frost a cake with it You can test it by spooning out a bit to see how it stands up on a spoon, or tilt the measuring cup back to make sure the ganache doesn t jiggle Stir the ganache again when you re ready to frost the cake

Tip: To pipe ganache, divide it up before you refrigerate it If it gets too stiff in the refrigerator, put it in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot water, and stir it until it warms up enough to pipe

This versatile frosting adds a nice (and decadent) depth to the Cocoa Chocolate Cake ( 6) and White Chocolate Cake ( 17), and it amps up the flavor as a filling for the Delicious Yellow Cake ( 6) and A Most Excellent White Cake ( 6) Whatever cake you decide to pair it with, know that it s always a hit with candy bar connosseurs Tools: Electric mixer, paddle attachment Preparation time: 10 minutes Yield: About 2 cups

1 In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until fluffy 2 Add the cocoa powder and sugar, and beat on medium speed to combine 3 Gradually add in the whipping cream, beating until the frosting is creamy If necessary,

beat in additional cream one drop at a time until the frosting reaches the desired consistency to be perfectly spreadable

Part of the beauty of frostings such as buttercream and cream cheese is their ability to take on strikingly beautiful colors that enhance your decorating adventure To tint frosting, you need to pick up some food coloring paste or gels from your local craft store or a cake decorating supply house The colors widely available on grocery store shelves don t produce the brilliant, deep hues that pastes or gels do In addition, gels and pastes come in an amazing variety of colors, so you may be able to buy a more unusual color like lavender, chartreuse, aqua, or magenta rather than mix it up yourself In tinting frosting, the key is to add just a little coloring at a time If you dump in a whole bunch at once, you have no recourse in correcting the color if it s too deep, too bright, or just plain wrong I ve found that the best tool for coloring is a toothpick Follow these steps for tinting:

1 Insert the toothpick into the gel, and scoop out a bit of coloring 2 Shake a drop or two of coloring into the frosting, and stir it in with a spoon, evenly distributing the shade Evaluate the result and decide whether or not you need to add more coloring 3 Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until you have the color you want 4 Stir your frosting completely so that you don t have white streaks zooming through your perfectly tinted frosting If you re using a squeeze gel container of coloring, you can squeeze a few drops into the frosting However, until you re comfortable with the coloring process, stick with the toothpick method You ll have more control over your color s outcome that way The longer the frosting sits, the deeper the hue becomes, so don t be surprised when your perfect shade of leaf green gets a little dark Instead, compensate for the change during the coloring process by going a little easy on the green gel Don t flavor your frosting and then throw off your cake eaters with a different color For example, a lemon-flavored frosting should be yellow, not pink, just as an orange-flavored one should be orange and not green People expect certain colors to taste a certain way, and mixing up colors and flavors distracts them from taking in the full beauty and impressiveness of your brilliant creation!