Make it mint!

I recently had an order for a chocolate cake with mint frosting. I was dying to try a fudge frosting I'd found in my notes, but it wasn't mint: so I used it to create what I was looking for.

Baking can seem scary because it's an exact science, but if you follow the directions, you absolutely make a beautiful dessert. If you've got the hang of it, try experimenting with flavors. When a recipe calls for vanilla, see what happens when you add a different extract...try to make it natural rather than artificial. In the case of my fudge frosting, I needed to make it mint. There was no vanilla in the recipe, so instead of substituting I just added mint. I added peppermint extract one tablespoon at a time, until I got the right amount of minty goodness. Here's the recipe:


Fudgey Mint Frosting

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces high-quality milk chocolate chips, such as Ghirardelli
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature (softness is key!)
• 1 1/3 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1-2 tablespoons peppermint extract

Directions
1. Place chocolate and butter in a large metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water  (just about 1/4 full, not even) and let melt. Remove bowl from water and whisk until smooth.
2. Whisk in sour cream and corn syrup until completely mixed.
3. Add peppermint, 1 tablespoon at a time, and taste with a spoon to check for flavor.
4. Let frosting stand at room temperature until thick enough to spread, about 20 minutes. It won't hurt to sit longer than that; it thickens very nicely.



(Adapted from Bon Appetit, 2010)