Chocolate Pudding Glaze

An alternative to a ganache, this glaze is very easy to make and quite tasty as well. You could make a quick glaze for any cake, cupcakes, or loaves using any flavor pudding mix.

Empty one box/packet of pudding mix (the instant, no-cook, 4-serving size) into a bowl.
Pour in one cup of milk (I used fat-free).
Beat with a whisk until smooth.
Whisk in one cup sifted icing sugar.
Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract if desired.
Ready to use immediately. May be stored in the fridge for later use.

Chocolate Cake Roll

Voila! Here it is, the Chocolate Cake Roll I promised. You saw the chocolate cake roll yesterday, which I filled with my signature buttercream icing. Then I glazed it with a very simple chocolate glaze, and decorated with some more buttercream icing. I wanted to keep the flavours in this cake clean and simple, just classic chocolate and vanilla. It turned out very nice, delicious and chocolately, but not too rich and not too sweet. I will include the recipe for the chocolate glaze, because it is very easy and could come in handy for everything from cookies to brownies to cakes to cream puffs.

Simple Chocolate Glaze
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chocolate milk

Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the milk until boiling, pour over the chocolate and butter and stir until smooth.

Cake and Glaze

Tomorrow I will be assembling a Fudge Marble Swirl Cake from a little Robin Hood Flour booklet. It is in the oven baking now, and it is starting to smell really good! I had to wait until the evening when it finally cooled down a degree or two to make it, since it was such a lovely warm day today! It is in the oven now. I'll allow it to cool completely overnight, and early tomorrow I will drizzle it with a simple vanilla glaze. I'm hoping it will be good! Here is a picture of it right before it went into the oven.

I'll share my vanilla glaze recipe that I plan to use with you, but it is nothing special. Short, sweet, and simple. Foolproof.

Vanilla Glaze
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients together until smooth. Add more icing sugar or milk, depending on the consistency, to suit your needs. Drizzle or pour over cake.

This glaze is also great for cookies, cinnamon rolls, muffins, bars, and almost any other baked good. It's flavour can be changed by substituting another flavour extract for the vanilla and/or using juice or liquor in place of the milk. Chocolate glaze can be obtained by adding a touch of cocoa.

“Fudge Marble Swirl Cake.” http://www.simplyhomemade.ca/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?rid=4493. Simply Homemade, n.d. Friday, August 19, 2011.