Chocolate Glaze

4 ounces semi sweet chocolate

3 Tbls. Butter

1 1/2 C. Powdered sugar

3-5 Tbls. Hot water

Melt butter and chocolate in microwave for 45 seconds. Be in powdered sugar and hot water until smooth and of drizzling consistency.

Melanies Buttercream

1 lb 6 oz unsalted butter, softened
1 lb 11 1/2 oz. confectioners sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

• Allow the abutter to come to room temperature
• using a paddle attachment, mix the butter on low speed for one minute
• With the mixer running on low speed, begin adding the sugar
• Once 2/3 of the sugar is in add the milk and vanilla
• promptly add the remaining sugar
• stop mixing when the ingredients are roughly blended. The frosting may be very lumpy and broken looking at this stage.
• using a rubber spatula, transfer half of the frosting into a food processor fitted with a standard chopping blade, process the buttercream for 3 minutes, or until perfectly smooth
• scrape the sides of the bowl down and process for 30 sec. more.
• Store buttercream in a sealed container or a  bowl covered in plastic wrap. Best held at room temperature in a cool place. Can last for 10 days or more at room temp.

Brownie Frosting

1/3 Cup milk
1/3 Cup butter
1 1/4 Cup white sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 Cup chocolate chips

Boil milk butter and sugar for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add vanilla and chocolate. Whisk, dump onto cooled brownies. Let rest for about 3 hours.

Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

1 12-ounce package chocolate chips
1/2 C. butter
1 8-ounce carton Sour Cream
4 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar

In microwave safe bowl melt chocolate chips and butter.  Cool for a few minutes.  Add in sour cream.  Add powdered sugar beating til smooth.  Store in refrigerator.

(I have always loved this recipe for the frosting on my birthday cakes, yum!

Icing -hard drying

Image taken from Web
1 cup. confectioners sugar
2 tsp. milk
2 tsp. light corn syrup
Your choice of extract:
1/2 tsp. almond
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp. peppermint
1/4 tsp orange or
1/4 tsp. lemon
assorted food colorings

Mix all ingredients and than add your food coloring. You may need to add more milk 1/2 tsp at a time to get desired consistency. You don' want it too runny. While icing is wet you'll want to add your sprinkles. You can wait about 1/2 hour and than add additional colored icings to decorate without them sinking into previous icing. It takes a few hours of drying for them to be stackable. The icing will set up shiny and and beautiful, and the colors will remain bright and glossy.

Marshmallow Fondant

A couple of my cakes using Marshmallow Fondant

16 ounces mini Marshmallows
2 Tbls. Water
1/2 Cup Crisco
2 lbs. Powdered Sugar
1-2 tsp. Almond or Vanilla Extract

In a large microwave bowl, melt marshmallows and water, stirring every 30 seconds. Takes about 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and add in Crisco and Artificial flavorings. If I am only doing one color this is when I would add the coloring in as well. Stir til melted. In the same bowl I add about 2/3 of the powdered sugar and blend using hands. Dump out onto clean surface and kneed in the rest of the powdered sugar. At this point you may need to add another tablespoon or two of Crisco to get the desired consistency. You want the texture to be soft and workable, not sticky and not crumbly. To store keep in airtight Ziploc bags in the refrigerator for a few weeks, if you working with it out of the fridge you can microwave it fo 10 seconds at a time to soften it up. Be careful not to over heat in microwave. I like to roll it immediately. Roll out on counter top sprinkled with cornstarch to prevent sticking to desired thickness.
Place on top of frosted cakes and tuck underneath. Use extras for making shapes. Get creative, add food colorings, and have Fun!

There is a sight that explains this in great detail, for further instruction you can visit: http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm

My friend Erica posted this on her food blog, and I tried it a couple years ago, and ever since I don't know what I'd do without my Fondant, I make it for all my cakes, I love it! Well, I love working with it, I roll it really thin, and use it that way cause I think the texture of fondant on cake is a little weird. However, it makes everything come out beautiful looking.