19.12.11

CAKE is all.

Hair up,
Apron on,
Here we go!


5 days.
64 eggs.
2kg Valrhona 72% chocolate.
2 litres Anchor cream.
2.4kg Elle et Vire butter.
2 liters syrup.
9 cakes.
20 layers.

1 wedding cake.




here's how:

you start with a little drink..

all dressed up and saucy.

make her all gooey inside.

with a little smooth talkin'..

take her higher..

then perhaps another round?

brush up against her.

and play with her hair.

knowing you can complete her.

take her dancing.

a little caressing.

then take her for a spin.

a little romancin'..

with some roses..

then take her to meet your parents :)


Happy Silver Wedding Anniversary, Mum and Dad!

10.12.11

cake tasting


My mum and dad are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this year. They are inviting 350 of their closest friends and family to celebrate this momentous occasion at a classy poolside party next saturday evening. And what do you know, catering for 300+ sounds like just the kind of "biting more than you can chew" scenario I like to put myself into. So I, without hesitation of course, insisted on baking the wedding anniversary cake!

It's going to be stressful, and probably will induce several forms of bodily panic, but what better opportunity to really see how I'd get on under pressure in the food industry! Plus, I'd rather spend the money they would've used paying someone else on getting premium ingredients such as Valrhona chocolates, French butter and New Zealand cream. Oh, and also a KITCHENAID ARTISAN MIXER. In Pistachio.. to be exact. I am indeed, very stoked.

After several weeks of careful brain-action, I have decided on a classy, clean 14"-10"-6" stacked cake. Kind of like this: (except less ribbon, more cake)

(not my cake)

It will compose of generously imbibed vanilla bean and bittersweet chocolate genoise cakes, separated with creamy valrhona ganache, and encased in a layer semi-sweet smooth vanilla buttercream. It all seemed good and perfect in my mind, but I decided to bake a prototype to make sure the happy couple and fussy sister approve. 


I finally found the missing link in my lifelong plight in procuring perfect, light, retro "Magnolia Bakery-esque" buttercream..

The Kitchenaid.

And I should've known.


Each tier will contain twice as much cake as this for some classy height.


But for tasting, this cake is good to go.

I thought the cake was just the right balance of sweetness and bitternes, but it needed some acidity to really give the flavour some depth. So I think I will substitute the middle layer of dark chocoalte ganache with that of the white chocolate-raspberry kind for some added dimension. 


But so far, I think it's a good sign when Tania goes for seconds.




So not many changes..

x

Talita