Chocolate Bars Are The Secret Hack For Quick Cake Frosting

Cake is a confection that's hard to get wrong. Yet, one part of the process that can sometimes come out disappointing is the frosting. Store-bought frosting is hit or miss and is often loaded with artificial ingredients, while making homemade can be a time-consuming process that's not guaranteed to work. Fortunately for your palate, one hack can give you rich, delicious frosting without a lot of effort. All it takes is another treat you already likely love and may even have in your pantry: a chocolate bar.

Using chocolate bars in place of cake frosting couldn't be simpler. All you have to do is bake your cake, and then soon after you've taken it out of the oven, place a chocolate bar broken into pieces on top. In just a few minutes, the chocolate will soften to the point where you can use a butter knife or offset spatula to spread it like ordinary cake frosting. Then, all you have to do is dig in and marvel at the difference it makes, with its rich character similar to a ganache (though with way less effort). The next time you're celebrating your birthday with a cake, try this hack to save yourself some time and make your special day even more delicious.

Meanwhile, brownies aren't always known for frosting, but with just a chocolate bar or two, you can make a pan of delicious frosted brownies that will show you a new way. You can use this hack with almost any dessert, including cupcakes topped with individual chocolate squares.

Don't think you're limited to just the classic milk chocolate bar here. Practically any type of chocolate can be used as delicious cake frosting, so long as it's not overly thick or loaded with extras. This is a great occasion to treat yourself to a high-end chocolate bar. There are few better ways to celebrate a special occasion than with a gourmet treat, after all.

While different types of chocolate are used for a variety of things in baking, most work wonderfully as frosting on your baked goods. A more intense, bitter dark chocolate or a milder white chocolate can completely change the flavor profile of your dessert, while more obscure varieties like a fruity ruby chocolate or a more caramel-forward blonde chocolate can massively enhance your treats with new and unexpected tastes.

Of course, there's always the option to go one step further and enhance your chocolate-covered baked goods with extra ingredients. Strawberries and oranges are both classic complements for chocolate, so slice some up and top your cake with them to make this hack even better (or use candied oranges to really up the dessert factor). For a summery treat, try employing marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs to make yourself a s'mores cake. In short, many ingredients you'd add to your cake mix would also make great toppings with your chocolate bar frosting.