Backyard Neighbor...

We have neighbors that live behind us. Even though their backyard and ours are separated by only a shared fence, they actually live two streets away. The first time we met was when our shared fence blew down, so my hubby Bruce and Steve, our neighbor worked together to repair it. As they visited, Steve learned that Bruce was a home inspector and I was a cake decorator. Since then, Bruce has done inspections for Steve's son, and I have created some interesting birthday cakes for Steve's wife, Becky. Each year I look forward to designing something fun for Becky's July birthday. Here are some cakes that I have designed for her...

The year she turned 60.

This year she traveled allot with her work.

The year she turned 64...designed around the Beatles tune.

This year is Becky's year to complete things on her "bucket list."

Looking forward to next year's cake.

Making a "Chocolate Lovers Cake"

Today I made an anniversary cake for a customer whose wedding cake I also made a year ago. The wedding cake was actually a small 2 tier chocolate lovers cake with pink roses. The anniversary cake I did today was an 8 inch round chocolate lovers with pink roses. 

As I was decorating the cake today, I decided to take some pictures, so you could see how I put one of my chocolate lovers cakes together, so this blog post will be a tutorial...

My chocolate lovers cake consists of

• moist chocolate cake
• fudge filling
• chocolate buttercream frosting
• dark chocolate ganache

Bake the cake the night before so it is not too fresh to decorate. Remember, I never freeze my cakes because I believe it makes a difference in the way they taste.

Make the fudge filling and chocolate buttercream...

Fudge filling

Chocolate buttercream frosting

Remove parchment paper liner from one layer of cake and place on cake board the same size as the cake. Level off the cake and slice layer in half with a cake saw or large knife. Remove top half of layer and set aside.

Pipe an "icing dam" around bottom part of layer with chocolate buttercream. Do this using only a coupler in the decorating bag without attaching a tip. This will keep the filling intact. Also, it helps to keep your cake level. 

Fill inside the icing dam with fudge filling.

Position top half of layer, add icing dam, and fill with chocolate buttercream.

Level next layer, and position upside down on top of first layer. Remove parchment liner, and split layer in half.

Repeat same as for bottom layer, adding icing dam and fudge filling.

Replace top of layer over filling, which is actually the flat bottom of the cake. You should now have a nice flat cake, ready to be iced with chocolate buttercream.

Ice cake with chocolate buttercream and let set while making the ganache.

Position wire cooling rack over turntable, and place the cake on the rack. I like to use a turntable, so that you can turn the cake while applying the ganache to make sure all the sides are being covered. I like the Oxo turntable because it has sides on it that allows the ganache to settle under the cake without flowing over the edge. 

Chocolate ganache consists of heavy whipping cream and dark cocoa candy melts. Heat the cream until hot but not boiling. Add the candy melts and stir until smooth.

Pour ganache over cake and allow to drip through cooling rack. Carefully turn turntable to make sure all sides are being covered. Allow ganache to set up before moving to covered cake board.

After ganache has set, move to cake board and decorate as desired.

Whip up remaining ganache slightly as it cools, allowing it to firm up enough to put in a decorating bag with tip to pipe borders, flowers, etc. I usually do all of the decorations in the chocolate ganache.

Finished cake...serve with tall glass of ice cold milk...yum!

Never on Sunday...

Last Saturday, after I returned home from AZ, I baked and decorated a small 2-tier chocolate ganache wedding cake. I delivered it to the customer's apartment on Saturday evening for her wedding the following day. I normally don't stack tiers together until I get to the delivery site; however, on this small cake, I needed it to be complete when it arrived, and she needed to be able to transport it to the site the following day. The cake had a very stable filling (fudge), and was covered in chocolate ganache, with only ribbon, small buttercream roses and a little scrollwork for decorations. To keep the tiers intact, I used a long wooden dowel, sharpened with a pencil sharpener, and pushed down the center of both tiers.

Thank you Fred and Noel!!

So, remember my June 21 post about the nice fireman that helped me with my cake delivery problem last Saturday? Well, today I thanked them by taking a cake and a thank you card to them. Noel was there, but Fred wasn't coming in until later. It was fun doing something for them, and they appreciated it. If you ever get lost, go to your nearby fire station. They will get you going in the right direction.

Chocolate Ganache at Craftwood Inn

This is a first...an entire wedding cake done in dark chocolate ganache...yummm! The flavor of the cake was yellow with delicious, freshly made, Bavarian creme filling...a great combination. Very simple decorations, yet very elegant. I felt the cake topper was a bit too large for this size of cake, but it still worked. I read somewhere to use double sided tape to give a cake top ornament more stability on top of the mirror or whatever other "platform" you may use. Why had I not thought of that before? It worked great. 

A couple of hints about working with ganache...use the lowest temperature you can to melt your chocolate with the cream. It will turn out smoother. Remember, if you get the cream too hot, the ganache will separate, not go on your cake smoothly, and give you a dull finish. Also, make sure you make enough to cover your larger cakes because the ganache will set up very quickly due to the low melting temperature. I always ice the cake in a thin layer of chocolate buttercream prior to covering with the ganache. Let it set up just a bit and then pour on the ganache. This will also help to give a smoother finish.

For an added bonus...the venue for the cake delivery was at the picturesque Craftwood Inn in Manitou...close to Garden of the Gods. I shot these pictures after the delivery and on the way home. This is why we live here...

Tips on working with chocolate ganache

1. Make sure your ganache is the proper consistency. Do not add too much cream.
2. Your buttercream icing underneath should also be the proper consistency. The trick is to make the icing spread smoothly, but don't make it too soft, or it will melt.
3. Do not let the cream boil before adding your chocolate...it should be steamy, but not boiling. After adding your chocolate, keep stirring until smooth.
4. If your ganache is too warm, let it cool slightly before pouring it onto your cake.
5. Position your buttercream iced cake (that you have placed on a cake board that is the same size as the cake) on a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet or bun pan, and then pour on the ganache and let it drip down to cover the sides. When it has set up slightly, move the cake to your platter or dish or cake board that you will be serving it on. The excess ganache should remain under the cooling rack on the cookie sheet, and should be starting to setting up. You can scrape it up and add it to any leftover ganache and use it for decorating. 
6. Now you can add a bottom border and whatever other decorations that you choose. Remember, you can let the ganache set up a bit longer and then use it to make perfect chocolate roses. 

Icing Under Ganache

Tuesday was my daughter, Paula's 26th birthday, and so she invited a few friends over for cake and ice cream. The cake she requested was vanilla with chocolate mousse filling, covered with a dark chocolate ganache. I filled the cake with two layers of the chocolate mousse and put a layer of rich chocolate buttercream in the middle. I also iced the cake with the chocolate buttercream, which made the chocolate ganache go on much smoother. The cake was just what Paula ordered, and was a hit with her friends. Happy Birthday, Paula!

Chocolate ganache

This morning I whipped up a cake at the last minute for Bruce to take to work for his birthday. When I say last minute, that was about what happened. First of all, last night I had planned to bake the cake after it cooled down in the house and I could open up the windows. So, at 10:15, I got the cake mix out and realized that I didn't have enough eggs. So I went to the store at 10:30 pm to buy eggs, came home and baked the cake. I got up this morning a little after 5 am, so I could put the cake together and have it ready by no later than 6:30. I decided to make it a Boston creme flavor, since I knew Bruce would like that, so I torted the layers, and put bavarian creme filling between two of the layers and put a rich chocolate buttercream between the other. Then I covered the entire cake with a chocolate ganache. I had lots of strawberries that I had purchased a couple of days ago and plenty of chocolate, so decided to dip strawberries to add to the top of the cake. As you can see, it wasn't perfect (lettering, for example), but Bruce said it tasted great! I guess it wasn't bad for about an hour or less of work.

Last minute birthday cake covered in ganache and decorated with dipped strawberries

Chocolate ganache is a combination of whipping cream and melted chocolate that is poured over the cake and sets up as it cools into a rich chocolate coating. I usually do a crumb coating of chocolate buttercream on the cake first. You put the cake on a rack over a drip pan, and pour the ganache over the cake and then let it set up. Any ganache that's left over you can let set up to a stiffer consistency and then use it to decorate the cake. I experimented this morning to see if I could use some leftover ganache from the last cake I did. So I melted it in the microwave. When I did that, the cream and chocolate separated, so I could not use it to pour on the cake. However, what I did do was pour it into my KitchenAid and beat it until the cream and chocolate combined again and then whipped it with the flat beater attachment until it resembled the consistency of a chocolate buttercream. It became a little lighter in color than the original ganache, but you could use it for decorating, borders, or for making chocolate truffle candies. It was good to know that at least it didn't go to waste.

Chocolate Ganache Recipe:

(2) 12 oz. packages chocolate candy melts (I like Guittard, but you can use any good quality chocolate candy melts or good chocolate cut in small pieces.)
About 3/4 cup cream

Heat the cream in a medium saucepan until hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and add the chocolate and stir until smooth. Add more cream, but only a little at a time, if necessary. Pour over cake and let set. Add decorations if desired.

Chocolate Lover's cake covered in ganache

Whipped ganache

Chocolate buttercream