Melted Chocolate Chips Chocolate Buttercream: Incredible Edible Invention of Necessity

Meh.  It's later than normal getting a post up.  And I wouldn't even bother but it's kind of sort of a happy accident that worked for the good in the kitchen tonight.  Y'all know I'm the Queen of Make Do.  I'm also the Empress of Stack.  Did y'all know that?  Yep.  I challenge anyone to come in my kitchen and wash and stack as many clean dishes as I can in the sink (the key word there is wash).

 

I'm all distracted.  It happens when Harry Connick, Jr is the Pandora station playing and there's still an hour of cakery business to get done before laying a weary head down.  I'll shuffle and sing and make icing and fillings and entertain myself with silly thoughts all while Harry croons to me from the lap top on the kitchen counter.

I was thoroughly distracted this evening coming back from Pine Level.  I'd 'helped' Mama sew her Perlena's Peculiar Critters Feed Sack Totes the whhhhole day long.

Aren't they so stinkin' cute???

I thought I had everything necessary to make cakes, peanut butter cream filling, and chocolate butter cream icing.  That's what I get for trying to think after working with the Tzarina 0f Making-Everyone-Else-Multitask-While-Micromanaging.  Don't let that sweet smile of hers fool you...

I didn't have cocoa powder.  It was eleven o'clock.  Post meridiem.  The Pig is closed.  Yikes!  What to do what to do???

I'll tell y'all what this Queen of Make Do did.  I made do splendidly with chocolate chips instead of cocoa for the chocolate butter cream.  I've read all over the internet of using melted bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate to make icings with.  It never occurred to me, though, that it might taste worth a flip.

Guess what?  It is MayyyyreeeLICIOUS!  It's super smooth and the butter kind of stands out.  I love it!  It can't be used all the time.  The cakery is a primary source of income without WORK work right now and profit margins have to be maintained.  But wow!  If somebody wants something extra special?  I'll definitely do this again.

See the time getting on towards one in the morning?  You're going to have to use your imagination with the photos.  I'd only decided to make it a post after the icing was made.  I really was only going for adequate chocolate butter cream icing, having no clue it was going to be exceptional.  

It's not terribly more troublesome than measuring cocoa powder.

I had a bag of Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips.

You're seeing a full bag.  Really.  You are.

I melted them in the microwave.

That's a full cup of melted chocolate chips.  Seriously.

I licked the spoon, by the way...

I added the melted chocolate (half of it per mixer) to one cup of shortening, one cup of butter, and two teaspoons vanilla that had been whipped 

until it was thoroughly blended.  

**Big imagination necessary to see photo.**

When blended add a two pound bag of sugar and almost one third cup milk.  It will take a little sploosh more milk to get to spreading consistency but not much.

Tadadaaaaaaa!

Kitch in action.

Aid is finished!

In the morning it will go on these.  

**Yawwwwn** Icing is finished, filling is finished, cakes are out of the oven, cardboard is cut.  Nothing left but to get to bed and then up in the morning to put everything together!  You'll have to see the finished products on Facebook.  I'll give you a hint - they're covered in candy...

Y'all have a good one.  I'll be along in a couple of hours to make us some different hot spiced cider and share it.

And do me a favor - don't tell Mama I called her a micromanager.  She'll think it's something ugly and I'll be in trouble!