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Dessert

Plain Chocolate Icing

A chocolate icing made by melting chocolate with milk or cream and water, then adding sugar and boiling before spreading over cakes.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Chocolate and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,404 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Plain Chocolate Icing

Ingredients

Directions

Make the icing

  1. Put four tablespoonfuls of scraped chocolate into a shallow pan and place it where it will melt gradually, but not scorch.

  2. When melted, stir in three tablespoonfuls of milk or cream and one tablespoonful of water.

  3. Mix all well together, and add one scant teacupful of sugar. Boil about five minutes.

Assemble and set

  1. While hot, and when the cakes are nearly cold, spread some evenly over the surface of one of the cakes.

  2. Put a second layer on top, alternating the mixture and cakes.

  3. Cover top and sides, and set in a warm oven to harden.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

353Calories
9 gProtein
17 gFat
42 gCarbs

Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Cakenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Chocolate + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  2. Chocolate + milktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,128 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  3. Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together77,875 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chocolate
Provides the main flavour and, as it cools, sets into a firm, glossy coating.
Sugar
Sweetens the icing and helps it thicken as it boils and cools.
Milk
Adds moisture and softness, loosening the chocolate into a spreadable mixture.

The step that matters

Melt the chocolate gently. Chocolate scorches easily under direct, high heat, which makes it grainy and bitter. Slow, gentle melting keeps it smooth so the icing sets evenly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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