I chopped my chocolate and added it to a bowl with my butter and espresso powder. Then I heated my heavy cream and mixed everything together before adding the Kahlúa and vanilla. I covered the bowl with plastic wrap and left it in the fridge for 30 minutes, per Garten’s instructions.
After the frosting has chilled, Garten says you should mix it on high speed for about 15 to 20 seconds, until it forms soft peaks. She also warns that it will curdle if you overbeat it.
This step was, unfortunately, a bit of a struggle for me. The consistency didn’t look thick enough when I took it out of the fridge, so I had to let the frosting chill for another 10 minutes. And after mixing the frosting with my electric mixer, it still didn’t appear as whipped as it had looked in the “Barefoot Contessa” episode.
I was still able to spread the mocha frosting on the cake easily, but it didn’t look as good as I had hoped.
