Making a layered cake

In our sixth week of classes, we started in on making layered cakes. Everyone could choose flavorings to their liking and all of the cakes in the class were very different. We all made a chiffon cake, cut it into three layers. Each layer was soaked with cake syrup (made with 3 parts water to 1 part sugar and flavoring), which I flavored with vanilla and rose water. The first and second layers were lightly coated with apricot jam and then spread with rose water Swiss Buttercream. The outside was iced with the same rose water Swiss Buttercream.

This is the final result of the cake. We were required to decorate as shown, and I am not entirely crazy about the design especially since the decorations don't really reflect the flavors in the cake.

This is a slice from the cake. It is always slicing the cake to reveal how well, or how terribly the layering went! Not bad, but the cake and icing layers are not very even. The rose water had been an experiment to use an unconventional flavoring, and because I thought it sounded good in combination with vanilla and apricot. In the end, the taste test proved it was a good combination.

This cake was another exercise in making layer cakes. My cake was a dense buttercake, almost like poundcake with amaretto flavored syrup, orange marmalade and mocha Italian Buttercream. Again, this was a three layer cake. The difference with this cake was that after applying the crumb coat, we melted the buttercream and poured it over the cake to make a buttercream glaze. I loved the look of the glaze on the cake, however I wasn't very excited about the marzipan plaque we were required to put on the cake. I think the chocolate contrasts the cake way too much.

We also made roses from marzipan to decorate the cake. I really enjoyed modeling the roses in order to place them on the cake, but it really does take a lot of time!

The taste tests of this cake proved it to be very good and a combination that I would try again--sending everyone a virtual bite!

O Tanenbaum

So here is my happy little Christmas tree which makes me smile every night when I get home--the smell and those twinkling lights! Terry and I purchased a 6ft Norway Pine, which seems to be the West's answer to a Douglas Fir.

It is amazing that even the varieties of Christmas Trees are different out here! There are not many small varieties of Christmas Trees that grow well in California, even our Norway Pine was grown in Oregon! Next year we are hoping to buy a locally grown variety, either a Redwood or Giant Sequoia.

I have lots more to post, however school + work = no time! I will try and update soon!

More Bakin' Cakes

This week we made two cakes, which were multi-step processes that took all week. The first was a Chocolate Moussecake (pictured above). In the preparation of this cake we learned how to make a proper mousse, how to make that cool chocolate cuff, how to make chocolate decorations and what a raspberry fool is--and it is not someone who really likes raspberries!


We built the cake in a ring mold and started with a thin layer of hazelnut sponge cake and filled the remainder of mousse, adding some frozen raspberries. The cake was then cooled and allowed to set over night, unmolded and frosted with the raspberry fool, which is actually just raspberry flavored whipped cream. We then made the chocolate decorations and cuff, which made it call "eat me, I'm yummy!" And it was!


The second cake of the week was called a Zugerkirschtorte --you guessed it, it's German. This was an introduction to baked meringue, layered cakes and Swiss Buttercream. I found the lesson in Swiss Buttercream very informative! I didn't realize the type of buttercream is determined on the types of meringue used as its base. For a Swiss buttercream, a Swiss meringue is used, a warm meringue in which all ingredients are exposed to heat for a short amount of time, then the mixture is whipped into fluffy white peaks.

We made this cake using one layer of a nut meringue, called Japonaise, a layer of Kirsch (cherry brandy) flavored buttercream, vanilla sponge cake brushed with Kirsch syrup, Kirsch buttercream, Japonaise and more Kirsch buttercream as the frosting on the cake! The cake had a wonderful flavor, but the crunchy-ness of the meringue layers threw Terry off, and could be an unwelcome texture to some. The red on top are candied cherries, which let-on to the flavor.