Icing For Dark And Sumptuous Chocolate Cake

Asked by hengrumay. Answered on 15th July 2016

Full question

Could you pre-make the Dark And Sumptuous Chocolate Cake icing and store it too? What's the best way to go about it? Thanks so much!

Our answer

Nigella's Dark And Sumptuous Chocolate Cake (from SIMPLY NIGELLA) is iced with a ganache that is made with water rather than with cream. It is possible to make this type of icing ahead of time and store it in the fridge until needed and the icing could be made up to 5 days ahead.

However we do not feel that it is particularly practical to make the icing ahead as you need to melt it again to cover the cake. The icing can be melted in a heatproof bowl over, but not in, a saucepan of hot water or in a microwave in 10-second bursts, stirring between each burst. To ensure a smooth icing on cake, the icing needs to be melted compeletely and then left to cool until it is thick but still pourable. This means that you do not really save much time in comparison with making the icing from scratch when needed.