Add to: Recipe Box | Grocery List | Meal PlannerRecipe submitted by Sarah,
us4shaws@ix.netcom.comChocolate FrostingIngredients (use vegan versions): 1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons corn starch
4 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:Mix sugars, cornstarch, salt, and cocoa in a medium sauce pan. Whisk in the water. Heat over medium until it gets thick and starts to boil. Boil for 1-2 minutes. (Make sure you don't boil too long, or it will set like taffy.) Remove from heat and stir in oil and vanilla. Cool and spread on cooled cake. Enjoy! =>
Makes: enough frosting for 1 cake
Preparation time: 10 min.
This turned out pretty well. I was so paranoid about not letting it set like taffy that I think I didn't cook it long enough. It started to thicken, but not much, so I ended up putting it back on the heat and stirring constantly for several minutes, even after adding the oil & vanilla. Despite this, it was smooth & creamy. I had never made frosting before, and it was a hit at the office, even after I told people the cake & frosting were both vegan!
Archived comment by: beth
This was really hard to make, I thought. It tatsed very good, but made my cake break apart when I tried to spead it on.
Archived comment by: joy
Wow, this frosting thickened SO FAST. I had to stop it about 30 seconds after it started boiling. Howe'ver, its very tasty! I also used 1 tbl instant coffee (replacing 1 tbl of cocoa) for mocha frosting. Yum!
Archived comment by: kristina
This tastes great if you don't let it thicken too much and sort of dribble it over the cake. mmmmmmmgood.
Archived comment by: gwen
I use this frosting recipe all the time and it rocks! My only suggestions are that you sift the ingredients prior to cooking and I stir constantly, makes the yummiest frosting! Thanks!
Archived comment by: starkl
i think starkl is right about the sifting. my first batch came out a bit lumpy.
Archived comment by: herbiFour
YUM!!!! this is like delicious hot fudge sauce. its delicious on a cake, and probably would be delicious on tofulati for a sundae dessert
Archived comment by: fractal
this is VERYYY good frosting. replaced the oil w/applesauce..made it a little chunky but still very good!!!!!
Archived comment by: veganxpower
This was THE best frosting I've tasted ever! Even including dairy frosting! I will always use this for chocolate cakes and even just as fudge! MMMMMMMM..* Yummy! It thickened JUST right to spread and was great. THank you!!
Archived comment by: faith_in_Him
I thought it was a little too chocolatey but everyone else loved it! It was just the right thickness, really creamy, and easy to make. It was a little difficult to mix in the oil after though, does anyone else have that problem? It kind of splashe'd all over the place and finally mixed in after about five minutes of stirring. Next time I will use a little less chocolate and maybe a little more vanilla.
Archived comment by: glitterMoonGdes
I made this exactly as the recipe specified, and quite frankly, it tasted like crap. I'll stick with icing made with powdered sugar, next time. (Hanes natural foods now has natural, organic powdered sugar. Look it up.) I mean, I heated it on medium for a while, and it never boiled...so I took it off when it thickened to my satisfaction, but it really didn't taste very good. Reading all the positive replies, I'd love to know where I went wrong.
Archived comment by: h8forfree
This came out really gooey, hard to spread. Does that mean I overcooked it?
Archived comment by: sjasmine
...Later I realized I forgot to add the oil at the end.
Archived comment by: sjasmine
i tryed this frosting a few times and it is the best frosting i have ever made! i used turbanado sugar and some peanutbutter carob chips in it also. thank you so much!
Archived comment by: hpbri
i tryed this frosting a few times and it is the best frosting i have ever made! i used turbanado sugar and some peanutbutter carob chips in it also. thank you so much!
Archived comment by: hpbri
I did not enjoy this... I try to make myself a birthday cake but it was a mess. the frosting was difficult to spread and it was more like chocolate pudding. My cake looked horrible, but I decided to eat the frosting like pudding its better that way!
Archived comment by: emmalee
MMMM this was so perfect! Chocolately, smooth and spreadable. I found it very easy to make and everyone in my house really liked it.
Archived comment by: specialK
The first time I made it, it turned out beautifully! The second time, I cut the recipe in half and couldnt get it to thicken. I let it boil for about 2 minutes, then when I took it off, still didn't thicken, I finally just put it on the cake anyway, and it hardened up like a glaze...looked funny, but still tasted good!
Archived comment by: earthmother
It has been in my experience, better to start with the liquid and then to slowly whisk in the dry ingredients; doing it this way will almost guaranty that there will be no lumps. An alternative would be to put the liquid and dry ingredient into a large enough tightly covered jar and then shaking the jar to mix. I use the jar method almost exclusively when mixing my thickening agent to make sauces.
Archived comment by: lorenbp
im a new vegan and i was blown away by the recipes on this site. who new that all this would work out this way? i adapted this recipe because i wanted to use maple syrup. the result is something totally awesome- caramelly and chocolatey at the same time. here's what i did: whisk the cornstarch, salt and cocoa, then add 3/4 maple syrup (in place of the 1 cup of sugar) and then the water. do everything else just like the recipe says. stirring constantly also helps. yummmy!
Archived comment by: sheilalina
I made this frosting and it came out like bathtub caulking. I don't know what happened, but it was a big, BIG disaster. It tasted okay, but the texture was less than desirable... Besides that, it thickened really fast and came out a little bit lumpy. I agree with the person who said they'd stick to powdered sugar frosting next time.
Archived comment by: doryfish007
Just a general cooking note: If you add cornstarch to any hot liquid, it is going to clump on you. To keep this recipe nice and smooth, sift all the dry ingredients (pretty much always a good idea unless the recipe specifies to do otherwise) and mix it with the water VERY thoroughly before you start to heat the mixture. If you can, cook it in a double boiler. This will also help it from thinking to quickly. Also, make sure that you’re beating with the whisk the entire time (also helps work in air which will make it lighter). The mixture will thicken up a lot after it comes off the heat, so really don’t let it cook to long (after making it a few times, you’ll learn to tell when its ready).
Archived comment by: aixelsydgb
This frosting came out great! You just have to watch it and keep on stirring the whole time. Also you can't have the heat on too high, its better to have it on low heat and take longer than for it to burn and heat up too fast. I took Aixelsydgbs advice and sifted the ingrediants toghether really well. I didn't use a double boiler, but I did use a le crueset pan, which is cast iron and let's you cook over low heat while still retaining enough heat to cook the food quickly and thouroughly. Highly reccomend this recipe, and le creuset as well!
Archived comment by: aeonmoonfairy
These are SO SO GOOD! but i reduced the cornstarch to about 4 table spoons since i felt 6 tbsp gave the frosting a kinda flour-y taste. The trick to good frosting is to cook in under a small fire slowly! the frosting will thicken further upon cooling! and i substituted water with soy milk!! yummy!!
Archived comment by: alexiapple
I did not have any problems making this frosting. It turned out perfect and I have made it many times. It is by far the best chocolate frosting I have ever made.
Archived comment by: stefaniw
I ran out of cornstarch unexpectedly while making this, so I only used about 1 or 1 1/2 tbsp. - and it turned out AWESOMELY. It was the perfect consistency, was easy to spread, and stayed moist and delicious until the cake was gone. I think if anyone is having trouble with it getting too thick, just use less cornstarch. Also, I used peppermint extract instead of vanilla - SO GOOD, oh maaan.
Archived comment by: raptorine
Very good!! This cooks very quickly, so be careful! Very smooth and creamy. I added a little bit of maple syrup!!! very tasty.
Archived comment by: kimartin0623
this frosting had great flavor, but I was really worried about having it set like taffy that it turned out to thin, like a glaze, but it still was very good.
Archived comment by: ambertx90
This frosting is great. The first time I made it, I forgot to add the oil and vanilla (and it still turned out pretty good), so I didn't leave a comment. I just made it again and its excellent. I don't hahve a sifter, so I put all of my dry ingredients into a plastic container, close the lid, and shake it all together.
Archived comment by: zombietrash
This frosting was really good! I took it off the heat as soon as the mix got really shiny and thick. I used soymilk instead of water and added 4 tbsp of melted vegan margerine at the end instead od oil. This way it was super fudgey and gooey like. I hecka burned my hand while making this and I don't care because I am eating a big piece of chocolatey cake with big globs of decadent fudge frosting (while holding an icepack to my blistered fingers) and dude life just doesn't get any better than this! hehee
Archived comment by: ticTac038
I used half the cornstarch, half the cocoa, and subbed maple syrup for the oil. I'm not sure how it will set, but for now, I am dipping strawberries into it. It tastes just like a good chocolate fondue. Mmm.
Archived comment by: kinnie84
This is the BEST chocolate frosting EVER! I used it on my daughters birthday cake and it was brilliant, everyone loves it
Really quick and easy to make, too (which being a busy mom of 7 I really like!)
Archived comment by: windwolf
Wow! Delicious! I used apple sauce instead of oil, and added a scooch of bourbon... heh heh. It was super good and perfectly textured! It was hard to stop eating it while my cakes were baking, but I had plenty to generously frost two round cakes from this recipe. Thanks so much!!
Archived comment by: hpilling
I really enjoyed this frosting and used it on the Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake that is posted on this site. It reminded me more of a very thick stovetop pudding than a frosting, but it was good nonetheless. I made sure to sift the dry ingredients and stir it constantly and had no trouble making it.
Archived comment by: veggievulture
Easy recipe; I was impressed that a decently spreadable frosting could be created just with regular sugar as opposed to icing sugar. It had a good taste, and decent texture. I haven't tried any other vegan frostings so I've no clue how this measures up to other recipes but it did add that extra something special to my chocolate cakes, and it successfully passed the nonvegan-pal taste test. I made it about 3 times before I realized that the vanilla and oil were to be added after the cooking process, but this didn't make any difference.
Archived comment by: jaali
This was decadently good. I followed the recipe excatly and added some chopped walnuts to my cake after pouring this. yum yum yum!
Archived comment by: gayathrib
the best ever. the aroma filled the whole house, and all the non-vegans were floored. the cake didn't last very long. and there was a fight to lick the dish. i didn't have to improve on it at all.
Archived comment by: lax
