Ganached

I've been a bit obsessed lately with this simply-designed cake style. I first noticed it through cakes done by one of my favorite cake designers, Three Little Blackbirds cakes, which is based in Colorado. You can see her stunning creations on her website, here. You will want to hang out on her site awhile, I think. I always have a hard time looking away from her wonderful cakes!

If you click onto her blog, you will see a tutorial on covering cakes with ganache for a style she calls "simply ganache." It looks simple, but it actually takes a lot of time and practice to get the ganache that smooth and perfect. I encourage you to take a look at her tutorial, though, because she gives some really good tips and shows a great technique for covering cakes this way.

Here is my version. I was really pleased with how it turned out!

It's not perfect. You can see some little bumps and non-smooth spots on the top. Like I said, this takes practice! I do love how "simple" it is in that it's not over-decorated or fussy. I also really love the discipline of learning a technique like this. When you can learn to do something like this really well, it becomes the foundation for many, many other things in cake decorating. This is the literal foundation for smooth fondant, for example.

A few tiny gumpaste flowers and a butterfly adorn the top.

This next one is my favorite example. A couple of weeks ago, my sister had a milestone birthday and I made this cake for her. I used the simple ganache technique and I love, love, love the final result! She loves cake and decorating, too, so I was very happy to be able to give this one to her. (And to help her eat it!)

Notice the cake plate, too. It is my favorite of all that I own (and I own a lot now!). I tell you, a cake stand is the perfect compliment to a cake!

Here are a couple more pics of that cake. Try to ignore the messy kitchen background!

Did you notice the bow, too? I'm getting better! Thanks to Rebecca and a magazine tutorial!

On the top are a few fondant flowers. Simple. Beautiful. The perfect surround for the one candle.

For those of you who want to try this, here are some tips and instruction. First, make sure your cake is level and trimmed so that it is also even on the sides. This will make it much easier to cover evenly. You want the sides of the cake itself to be 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch smaller than the edge of the cardboard round underneath the cake.

After you stack the cake, fill in any gaps between the layers with ganache by piping it into the space and smoothing it out with an offset spatula. Then do a quick crumbcoat over the entire cake. This will keep the crumbs from destroying the final coat. Don't worry about getting this entirely smooth, but don't just glop it on either.

Once the crumb coat has set (this doesn't take long at all), apply your final coat, first to the top and then to the sides, using an offset spatula. Smooth it first with your offset spatula, then with a straight-edged bench scraper. Fill in any gaps or holes with a little ganache, then smooth it all down again. Keep repeating until it is mostly smooth.

For the top, you can use the upside-down method as demonstrated by the Three Little Blackbirds tutorial. Or you can smooth it with an offset spatula. I used the upside-down method for my sister's cake and the spatula method with the other cake, shown at the beginning of this blog post. I'm trying to practice the spatula method because it is a skill I really want to learn. It's a little more challenging, but if I can master it, I think it will make the overall process quicker and easier.

Refrigerate for about half an hour to let the ganache completely set. Then use heated metal tools (the bench scraper and the offset spatula) to completely smooth the ganache. Again, the Three Little Blackbirds tutorial will show you exactly how to do this using hot water to warm the tools. Make sure you wipe your tools often on a paper towel.

There is definitely a lot of back and forth and repetition with this technique, but the result is well worth it and the more you do it, the faster it will get.

One of these days, I will put a tutorial of my own together for you all!

Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Birthday

Last week was my birthday.

I turned 39.

I'm okay with that.

Of course I made myself a birthday cake! Yellow cake with caramel filling and dark chocolate ganache. I just made a quick striped design by dragging my small offset spatula up the sides of the cake. A quick drop of sprinkles around the top and one candle completed the design. Oh, and a matching ribbon around the bottom.

I still need to work on my bow-tying!

Have a very happy Thanksgiving everyone! I, for one, am thankful for more things than I could possibly list, including each one of you! May God truly bless you and your family time this week!

Doughnuts!

Is there anything better than a good doughnut? You are all probably imagining your favorite right now. One of my absolute favorite doughnuts is what is often called the Boston Cream Doughnut. It is a yeast doughnut with cream filling - the custard, pastry cream and not the white stuff - and a chocolate glaze on the top.



My mouth is watering just thinking about these!

I recently came across a doughnut recipe from a famous bakery, Flour. I couldn't resist making them!

Here is the recipe, which I found online and also have in the cookbook. I checked this cookbook out from my local library, but I think I might purchase it. It is fantastic!

I didn't make mine exactly like the recipe, since I wanted my Boston Creams. So, I did not put the sugar on the outside of mine. Instead, I made a thin dark chocolate ganache and dipped the tops of the doughnuts in after filling them. Then let them set before enjoying. See below to learn how to make the ganache.

Also, I baked my doughnuts instead of frying them. This was an experiment of sorts for me. I wanted to see if it would work. I am not opposed to frying in general, but I do try to avoid it for the most part. If done properly, I don't think that frying really adds that much fat and calories to your food. But it does make your kitchen very messy and smelly!

I followed the recipe exactly up until the end. After cutting my doughnuts, I placed them about 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I covered them with plastic wrap and let them rise as directed in the recipe. When the cut doughnuts were nearly done rising, I heated my oven to 425 degrees F. Then instead of frying, I just slid the baking sheet into the oven and baked for 8 minutes.

They baked well but didn't brown as completely and evenly as if I had fried them.



They also didn't have the same slightly crispy exterior. But I kind of liked that. They were soft and tasty.



But... Yes there is a but, which means more experimenting for me! But these doughnuts weren't as light an airy as the fried variety. I suspect that when the doughnuts hit the hot oil, they get a little extra rise that they didn't get in my 425 degree oven. I also suspect that I can play around with my technique a bit to get the same light and airy result without frying.

The other problem posed by the lack of airiness is that there wasn't as much space in the interior of the doughnut to hold the filling. Less air = fewer holes inside the doughnut = less delicious cream inside the doughnut. I like my doughnuts with a lot of this cream inside, so I need to figure out how to fix this little problem.

I will definitely be playing around with these and will keep track of the changes. I'll be sure to post updates!

Don't they look good?



Now despite these minor glitches, these doughnuts are still very tasty and not at all hard to make. Try some and let me know how it turns out!

Here is my super simple recipe for the chocolate ganache glaze:

5 ounces good-quality dark chocolate
5 ounces heavy cream

Heat the cream in a small saucepan over low heat until it begins to steam. Do not boil. While the cream is heating, chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a large bowl. When the cream is ready, pour it over the chopped chocolate and let it set for a few minutes. Then whisk it together until all the chocolate pieces are melted and the ganache is smooth. Allow to cool a little before dipping your doughnuts. If it starts to firm up too much, microwave it for 10-15 seconds to warm it again and loosen it up.

This is also really good drizzled over cupcakes or ice cream, so make extra and store it covered in the refrigerator. Yum!

Little Flowers

A sweet little flower cake for a very sweet friend, Jen, whose birthday was Monday. I did this little 6-inch cake yesterday. It is my midnight chocolate cake with peanut butter ganache. I actually had a different plan at first. That plan involved cut-outs and a panel surrounding the cake. It was really cool. In concept anyway. But it didn't work out and I had to take it off. So, the flowers were "born." I actually like how it turned out! And I hope you like it too Jen! Happy Birthday!

This was the first time I made peanut butter ganache and it is fantastic! You should all try it. And, so that you can, here is a recipe! Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Ganache
12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped (NOT chocolate chips)
4 ounces (1/2 cup) heavy cream
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Heat the heavy cream in a medium saucepan until is is steamy. Stir often to prevent scorching. When the cream is steaming, turn off the head and add the chocolate. Stir or whisk until the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth. Add the peanut butter and stir until smooth. If you like a stronger peanut butter flavor, just add more creamy peanut butter. I won't tell. And your ganache won't mind either. Allow to cool until it is a good spreading consistency. Enjoy!

If you stop before adding the peanut butter, you will have a nice milk chocolate ganache to frost a cake with or use as a filling. If you prefer to use dark chocolate, increase the amount of cream to 8 ounces (1 cup). This is because dark chocolate is not as soft as milk chocolate, so to get the proper consistency, you need a 2:1 ratio (by weight) of chocolate to cream. For milk chocolate, use a 3:1 ratio. Same for white chocolate.

For another twist, try using less chocolate or more cream in the above recipe for a pourable version that can be drizzled over a cake. Or cookies. Or ice cream. Or straight into your mouth. I vote for that last option!

You can store your ganache in the refrigerator for a week or so. If you need to store leftovers longer than that, stick it in an airtight freezer container and keep it there for up to three months.

Enjoy!!