Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Wedding Cake 2011: Prototype #1

Wedding cake 2011 is underway. My friends Jessica and Christopher have asked me to make them a wedding cake, and their wedding is quite soon, and it's time to get going, especially as this cake will not only have to be made, but be transported to and assembled in Washington, D.C. in the height of summer. Flavor profiles are not quite nailed down, but the general themes of chocolate, caramel, and more chocolate have been established.

To get in the mood, I tried a version of Rose's Deep Chocolate Passion wedding cake from Rose's Heavenly Cakes. The cake is Rose's German Chocolate Cake base, soaked in a milk chocolate syrup, then filled with a buttercream or ganache, and finished with a lacquer glaze. For the filling and undercoat, I used leftover buttercreams that were waiting in the freezer--Chocolate Egg White buttercream for the filling, White Chocolate Lemon Buttercream for the undercoat. I made the lacquer glaze fresh.

I thought the cake was very successful, and the tasters at work agreed, although there was general consensus that the lemon/chocolate combo wasn't quite it. I am ambivalent about the lacquer glaze--it seems very delicate (can't put plastic wrap over it, etc...) although it does firm up out in the open air. I may need to come up with another strategy, as I can't glaze at the last minute. More to come soon, any ideas appreciated, as the countdown to Wedding Cake 2011 continues.

6 comments:

Lois B said...

I think it would be so much fun to do a wedding cake. I'm sure a good deal of stress is involved too. Keep us posted!

Hanaâ said...

I made a wedding cake for my friends for the first time about 2years ago and can totally understand your stress. Check out my blog (I've noted a couple of book resources I used). Regarding the lacquer glaze... will the cake be adorned by anything after the glaze is put? Buttercream dots/pearls/anything? If it is, you could use toothpicks on the cake and loosely cover it with plastic wrap w/o touching the cake. The "holes" left behind by the toothpicks could be hidden by the pearls or BC dots. Otherwise, you might need to save up your Michaels coupons and each week buy those round cake carriers (or hunt for them at garage sales).

Katya said...

Thanks for the ideas, ladies. Hanaa, the cake will be adorned by some ribbon and flowers, and maybe some gum paste roses, so I can probably hide any obvious flaws, but I want something that can REALLY stand the transport, as it will have to make the long NYC-DC journey and then some. However, the glaze was sturdier and easier to touch up than I feared, so I still might make it happen. Next try I think will be caramel buttercream filling with the same cake and syrup. Any ideas for caramel fillings that aren't buttercream? Dulce de leche, maybe?

Hanaâ said...

I'm afraid Dulce de Leche might become too runny (keep in mind that it will inevitably mix with some of the syrup in/on the cake). Two ideas on the caramel BC: 1) I have a recipe where you cook butter/cream/brown sugar together and then beat in powdered sugar (nice caramel flavor, but a touch gritty from the addition of the powdered sugar in the end). 2) I'm totally winging this one: remember the caramel we had to make for the Midnight Ganache (**before** adding the cocoa and chocolate to it)? That by itself has GREAT caramel flavor and is spreadable upon cooling, however, it's super sweet. How about making a plain BC and adding this caramel mixture to it?

Oops, I just remembered option #3 (which would require cranking the A/C in your when you're driving but you might have to do that anyway): caramel whipped cream. I love that stuff. Great consistency (even pipe-able), and wonderful caramel flavor. I used it as a frosting on the Torta de las Tres Leches here: http://hanaaskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/01/hcb-torta-de-las-tres-leches.html

Hanaâ said...

Btw, if you wish to continue this discussion outside your blog, feel free to email me at HanaasKitchen [at] live [dot] com.

evil cake lady said...

are you still off on the lacquer glaze? i really would have loved to have glazed my friend's wedding cake as it would look so dramatic, but they are set on a white frosting. when is your wedding? i hope you do keep us posted!