Ingredients

Makes just over 2 cups (enough to frost an 8- or 9-inch cake)

　　8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped or chips

　　1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) sugar

　　1 tablespoon water

　　1 teaspoon lemon juice

　　1 cup heavy cream

　　2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

　　

Step 1

Put the chocolate into a small heat-resistant bowl and set aside.

　　

Step 2

Put the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat and stir just until the sugar has dissolved. Put down your spoon and let the syrup come to a boil without stirring, occasionally washing down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Cook the syrup until it turns a dark amber color. Swirl the pan to distribute the color and heat.

　　

Step 3

Once the syrup reaches the desired color, take the pan off the heat and pour in 1/3 cup of the cream. Do this carefully, as the caramel is very hot and will bubble up when you add the cream. Once the bubbling subsides stir in the rest of the cream 1/3 cup at a time, then stir in the butter a piece at a time. Place the pan back over medium heat and stir to combine all the ingredients. Once the ingredients are all incorporated into the caramel, pour it over the chocolate. Swirl the bowl so that the chocolate is completely coated with the warm caramel, then cover and let sit for 5 minutes. With a whisk, stir the mixture slowly, starting with small circles in the middle and working your way outward, whisking a bit more briskly as you go, until you have a smooth, glossy frosting. Leave the ganache on your kitchen counter, stirring now and then to help it cool, until it reaches spreading consistency, about 3 hours. If it stiffens up too much, simply put it someplace warmer than your counter.

　　

Step 4

Covered with plastic wrap at room temperature, this frosting keeps for up to 3 days.

　　Note

　　If you are using the ganache as a frosting (rather than a glaze), make it at least 2 or 3 hours before you'll need it, as it takes time to reach a spreading consistency.

　　Reprinted with permission from Vintage Cakes: Timeless Recipes for Cupcakes, Flips, Rolls, Layer, Angel, Bundt, Chiffon, and Icebox Cakes for Today's Sweet Tooth by Julie Richardson. Copyright © 2012 by Julie Richardson; photographs copyright © 2012 by Erin Kunkel. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Julie Richardson is the owner and head baker of Baker & Spice, a small-batch bakery and café in Portland, Oregon. She is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and the coauthor of Rustic Fruit Desserts. Her sweet tooth led her to open her first bakery, Good Earth, in Ketchum, Idaho. Upon moving to Portland, she fell in love with the farms and fruits of the Pacific Northwest and launched Baker & Spice from a stall at the farmers' market in 1999. Julie spends most days baking cakes, croissants, and pies or teaching classes at SweetWares, her retail bakeware shop. When Julie is not baking, she can be found digging in her garden. She lives in Portland with her husband, Matt, and their many four-legged friends.