Bittersweet Chocolate Frosting

It's been a tough week. Mom showed up for a visit from Florence, Italy with a stiff neck that got progressively worse as the days went on. We went to pick Amaya up from school only to discover that she was sleeping and promptly developed a fever of 103.4 a few hours later. Apparently this is not that high a fever in the medicine world but when it lingers on for days it gives Mom (aka me) quite a bit of angst to deal with. Alex came home from DC on Sunday, sick as a dog and Mom headed back to Florence via NYC slightly better but still not completely mobile. I had to cancel our trip to Vegas for the Saveur Food Awards because 2/3 of us were completely unfit for travel. That totally sucked on many levels. But now everyone is on the mend and the world is a better place. As you may have noticed by yesterday's post in moments of angst and anxiety I tend to reach for chocolate. Truthfully Alex and Amaya love it more than I do, though at certain times nothing else will do. Some days I just can't get recipes written. It's all I can do to get the cake on the table. Today I give you the recipe for the frosting. Notable because it's not butter cream, it's shareable because it's as close as I've ever come to elusive chocolate frosting that I imagine on a perfectly frosted cake. It's good enough to eat with a spoon but thankfully I'm not quite there yet. Close, but no cigar. Thank goodness Alex and Amaya are both on the mend otherwise one day you might actually find me crouched over a bowl of frosting with a large spoon in hand. Here's hoping things never reach that point...

Chocolate Frosting Enough for 1 2-layer cake though if you really love frosting I would double this. 240 grams/ 1 cup heavy cream 4 ounces/ 113 grams unsalted butter, sliced 66.6 grams / 1/3 cup sugar 56.25 grams / 1/4 cup water 40 grams / 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1.5 grams / 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 455 grams / 16 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped or callets Combine the cream, butter, sugar, water, corn syrup and salt in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a bare simmer, stirring and remove from heat. Once the butter has melted whisk in the chocolate. Continue to whisk until the chocolate is completely melted and the frosting is glossy and smooth. Transfer it to a metal or glass bowl and refrigerate for 1 1/2-2 hours, stirring occasionally until the frosting is a spreadable consistency. Use (or eat) immediately.