Anyone remember the Thalhimer's department stores (in the States)?
They had a bakery that sold a very popular six layer cake --yellow batter, iced with a chocolate icing that had a hard finish, almost like fudge & kind of dark but not dark chocolate. Well, the recipe is now online & the cake turned out great, but the frosting just didn't work. It was just WAY too runny & just poured off of the spoon!!!

Here's the web site with the recipe I used http://www.recipegoldmine.com/ccT/t62.html

In case anyone is interested in this recipe, it does make two 8 x 4-1/2 in. cakes. I'm really not sure if the icing recipe is enough for both cakes or just 1, because by the time we finished adding enough extra sugar to make it spread, well...

BTW, I think the cake batter itself would work for other cake sizes/pans. Anyone disagree (based on your expertise, since I'm just a home/family baker & not professional )???

Thanks for any help with this!
(Sorry for the long post. )

Now, I'm no professional either, but to me this frosting sounds a lot like a ganache. And as it cools it becomes thicker and more workable. I did a cake with ganache frosting for Christmas and I too put it on the cake too soon when it was too warm.

Next time, try letting it sit a while and let the chocolate firm up some. It just sounds like it was too warm.

Actually it had cooled & was still too thin & runny (without the 1-1/8 tsp. hot water added at the end) .

We ended up adding around 2 cups more sugar, then added the 1-1/8 teaspoon HOT water at the end (to take off the raw sugar taste, I guess?) It's supposed to be a darker chocolate, but not really dark chocolate--does that make sense? --and have a hard finish, not like a crusting icing or anything, just a hard finish with a bit of sheen.

Anyone have any ideas? Should I just start with less than 3/4 cup hot water and see if I can get the right consistency? What is the right consistency anyway???

Yeah, there's no way that would set up as you describe with the liquid:chocolate ratio. Go for regular ganache!

Tough not a baking pro, this recipe sound like a recipe I use to make chocolate sauce (below). I would either try again, by adding your ingredients to a double boiler or I would do as Cakepro suggested, ganache yummmmmmmm..........Good luck, let me know if this cake turns out, sounds like something a woman could really appreciate on a rainy day.

2 ounces Semisweet baking chocolate
2 tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Boiling water
1 1/2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 dash salt
Directions:

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Stir in butter, then boiling water, then sugar and salt. Cook stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Either serve immediately or reheat in double boiler for 10 minutes or microwave for 1 minute.

To store pour into strilized glass jars. Allow sauce to cool before refrigerating. It will keep for 6 months in the refrigerator.

Variations: Add any of the following flavorings in place of or in additon to the vanilla: -1 ts orange extract or 1/3 c orange juice -1 ts mint extract -1/8 c crushed strawberries or rasberries, chopped raisins or nuts -1 tb Creme de Menthe, Coffe liqueur, Spice orange Cordial or other flavored liquer. -1 ts instant coffee

Okay, made the second cake icing today. Used 3/4 cup hot water (total) to the powdered sugar (4-1/2 cups). Slowly mixed in about 1/2 cup hot water a little at a time into sugar, mixing well by hand. Added 4 oz. melted unsweetened chocolate. Mixed well. The icing was VERY thick at this point. Added 1/4 cup hot water & mixed very well. Let cool a little, but icing will set if not stirred often. Iced cake with this very runny icing, letting each layer sit a bit to keep them from sliding off. Actually, the icing firms quite a bit as it sits, but when finished, we stuck it in the fridge (just in case ). Just ate a slice & it's delicious.

Next time, might use more of the hot water at the beginning, but 3/4 cup at the beginning, just made it too thin the other day.

I'm still not sure why this icing was so much more runny the other day. And, yes, I know I measured the sugar & hot water exactly right!!!

Thanks for all the help.