Fabulous Chocolate Frosting

I realize that multiple cooking posts in the span of a few days makes clear my obsession with food, but a recipe this easy must be shared with my fellow mamas.

For our gathering yesterday with some of Laurel’s BFFs, we made vanilla cupcakes but subbed the vanilla frosting with this incredibly easy chocolate frosting recipe from our trusty Baking Illustrated. Bring 1 cup of heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Place 8 ounces of chopped semisweet chocolate (chips work great and lessen cleanup) in a bowl and pour the hot cream over it. Cover the bowl with foil and let it stand 5-10 minutes. Whisk mixture until smooth and velvety brown. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool and slightly firm, about 1 hour.
If you want a light, mousse-like frosting, whip the frosting at medium speed about 2 minutes until peaks form. But it works just as well to skip this step and use the frosting right out of the refrigerator. (The frosting in the center of the bowl was a little looser than that at the edges, but the frosting continued to firm up after the cupcakes were frosted.) This recipe generously frosts 12 cupcakes, plus plenty left over for “quality assurance testing.” Shown, the last cupcake left standing.