CHOCOLATE ICING No. 2
Melt in a dry pan four ounces of Baker’s chocolate, or of cocoa. Boil one and three quarter cupfuls of sugar with a cupful of water till it threads when dropped from the spoon, the same as for boiled icing. Turn it slowly onto the chocolate, stirring all the time. Use this icing for dipping éclairs and small cakes, and for layer cakes. Chocolate icing loses its gloss when at all stale.
CHOCOLATE ICING No. 3
Melt one ounce of chocolate; dilute it with two tablespoonfuls of milk; add two tablespoonfuls of sugar and a quarter teaspoonful of butter; stir till smooth and spread on the cake.
ICING FOR SMALL CAKES
Stir into confectioner’s sugar enough syrup of thirty degrees (see page [513]) to dissolve it; add fruit-juice or liqueur to flavor it. When ready to use, heat it, stirring all the time, and stand it in a pan of hot water while the cakes are dipped into it.
COFFEE ICING FOR ÉCLAIRS
Make the same as the one given above, using very strong coffee or coffee essence to color and flavor it. Use enough sugar to make a soft flowing icing, and dip the cakes into it while it is hot.
FONDANT ICING
This is the best of all icings. It is soft and glossy, and is used especially for small cakes and éclairs. If the fondant is already made, it gives very little trouble. To make fondant see page [514]. It will keep in tight preserve jars any length of time. Fondant does not work so well after it has been melted two or three times, therefore it is better to take only the amount to be used for one flavor or color at a time. Place it in a cup and stand it in a pan of boiling water. Stir the fondant constantly while it is melting, or it will become a clear liquid. It will soften at a low degree of heat; add the flavoring and coloring and dip the cakes into it. If it becomes too hard, add a few drops of syrup at thirty-four degrees (see page [513]). When liqueurs are used for flavoring, add a drop or two at a time only, or they will dilute it too much. Should this occur, add a little more fondant to the cup. Maraschino, curaçao, kirsch, orange-flower water, rose, almond, and coffee essences make good flavorings for fancy-cake icings.