Simple Chocolate Icing

Here is the icing I used with Lucille Williams' Never Fail Cake:

Simple Chocolate Icing
(Ghirardelli's card No. 13, no date)

3/4 cup ground chocolate (I only had cocoa powder, so this is what I used)
3 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp butter
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients except vanilla. Cook in double boiler until it thickens, stirring constantly. Cool a bit and add flavoring.

This makes a fluid icing that forms a smooth, fudgy shell over the cake, dripping attractively down the sides until it hardens. It turned out to be just the amount of sweetness that the cake needed. I don't recommend whisking before spreading, as this caused bubbles in the icing that later popped and made my cake's surface a bit moon-like. I think it would be ok to pour this on when the cake is still a little bit warm. I encouraged drips down the side by pulling a little bit of icing away from the center with a spatula. If the icing cools too much before it's time to ice, try putting it back on the double boiler to warm, and stirring gently with a silicone spatula.

PS- While I was visiting this week, I asked Grandpa if he knew who Lucille Williams was. No clue. So while she has gone on to bigger and better things, her cake will live on via the internet.