About the Recipe
You can change the flavor of this icing by substituting the coffee liqueur with another liqueur of your choice. If you just want a plain chocolate icing, you can leave the liqueur and tahini out altogether and just add a bit of extra margarine or butter. There are no steadfast rules and there are many options.
Ingredients
½ cup of icing sugar
2 tablespoons of cocoa
2 tablespoons of margarine, or butter
2 teaspoons of coffee liqueur (or other)
1 tablespoon of tahini or peanut butter (optional)
➡️ Prepare all of your ingredients in advance (Mise en Place).
Preparation
➡️ Please read the entire recipe before proceeding.
This recipe makes a small amount of icing so you will have to multiply the recipe by 3 or 4 (or more) to make enough for a 9”x 13” cake. It all depends how thick of a layer of frosting you want. Off-the-shelf containers of pre-made icing are typically about 453 grams (1 pound), which is a bit less than 2 cups. Given the simplicity of the recipe, making extra is a breeze.
In a mixing bowl, combine:
½ cup of icing sugar
2 tablespoons of cocoa
Mix until icing sugar and cocoa are well blended.
Add:
2 tablespoons of margarine, or butter.
Using a fork, work the margarine, or butter, into the mix.
Add:
2 teaspoons of coffee liqueur
Mix well.
Add (optional):
1 tablespoon of tahini (or peanut butter)
Mix well.
Frost your cake or pastries immediately or refrigerate the icing until you are ready to use it.
Food Lab Findings
This type of icing begins with just 2 ingredients; icing sugar and some type of fat. Butter makes a great tasting icing but it will harden in the refrigerator. Icing made with margarine will not harden after refrigeration. Keep that in mind when deciding whether to use butter or margarine. You can still use butter if you prefer.; simply remove the icing from the refrigerator and let it reach room temperature before attempting to spread it. You can also ice your dessert as soon as you have made the frosting.