My favourite Chocolate Fudge Icing

I'm not sure why this has the "fudge" part in the title, as it does not contain any actual fudge, but this chocolate icing is an absolute dream to work with. It sets very well on chilled cakes and makes for lovely sharp corners and edges.

240g of 70% cocoa dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
300g unsalted butter, room temperature
320g of icing sugar, sifted
3 tsp vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water (don't let the water touch the bottom of the bowl, alternatively you can microwave it). Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature (around 5-10 minutes).
In a large bowl, beat the butter until it's smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and beat util it's is light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the chocolate and beat on a low speed until it's incorporated. Turn to a medium speed and beat until it is smooth and glossy (around 3 minutes).

I personally find the most effective way to clean the bowl that held the melted chocolate is to chop up from strawberries, rub them around the bowl to mop up the leftovers and stuff into your mouth before the children spot what you are doing, then properly clean the bowl with hot water and washing-up liquid.

You're a fakey cake maker

I'll just take a second to explain the name of this blog....

Gumpaste Embellishments

Right now I am getting myself into a right tizzy working on two separate cakes. One is a wine bottle in a crate cake (due tomorrow, currently going horribly wrong) and the other is an Alice In Wonderland cake (due in two weeks). I say these are gumpaste embellishments, but that is not strictly true. They are actually a mixture of fondant (shop bought, Tesco to be precise) and a tylose powder. I'm working on a ratio of 1 tsp of tylose powder per pound of fondant, but when it comes to working with the itty bitty pieces of fondant for these models, it's a much less precise "bit of fondant, pinch of tylose" recipe. This is my first time attempting this and it's working pretty well so far, you do have to be quick though or the "gumpaste" will quickly dry and crack. It can be rescued with a smidge of shortening (I use crisco), but it's better to be fast.

Alice is currently waiting for her feet to be attached and I think my Cheshire Cat looks like an evil Gruffalo.
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