This week we covered cakes in fondant -- judging from the wrinkles I have a lot of work ahead of me. We also practiced different decorating techniques using fondant and gumpaste -- draping, a handkerchief overlay, a ribbon garland and a ribbon border.
Draping and handkerchief overlay
Ribbon border and ribbon garland
My instructor recommended we use a pound cake or a carrot cake for a base, since fondant tends to be too heavy for sponge cakes. To meet our household requirement that all cakes be chocolate, I made
Deep Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake from
The Cake Book by Tish Boyle (I found the recipe on Chubby Hubby's blog
here). The cake was very indulgent (3/4 of a pound of butter and a cup of sour cream will do that to a cake), but moist and scrumptious. It even made the Wilton (Crisco-laden) Class Buttercream seem tasty. At least
I thought so. (L. said it was dry but mushy. Teenagers excel at tact.) I used natural cocoa rather than the Dutch-processed cocoa Boyle calls for. If you're looking for an over-the-top chocolatey cake, I recommend making it with Dutch-processed cocoa as written. I baked the cake in two 8-inch rounds rather than in a loaf pan; if you do this the baking time is approximately 55 minutes. Baked this way, the recipe produces a 3 1/2-inch tall layer cake.
I'm looking forward to next week's class -- no cakes, just flower production!
This week we covered cakes in fondant -- judging from the wrinkles I have a lot of work ahead of me. We also practiced different decorating techniques using fondant and gumpaste -- draping, a handkerchief overlay, a ribbon garland and a ribbon border.
I have no idea what fondant is, but WOW does it look cool!! I have a stomach ache just thinking about that luscious cake!! Mmmmmm, cake!
ReplyDeleteHi Staci! (Rolled) fondant is a confection made out of a mixture of sugar, gelatin, glycerin and other things. It's rolled out and used to cover cakes -- it's that smooth finish you see on a lot of wedding cakes these days. It's not all that tasty in my opinion, but it looks great!
ReplyDeleteAhhh, very cool! Thanks for the info!! =)
ReplyDeleteThey use it a lot on "Ace of Cakes." I bet the people don't eat half the fondant on their cakes. L. would eat all that fondant in a few minutes, though!
ReplyDeleteApparently folks in the U.K. love their fondant (the taste and all!). I guess L.'s love of fondant is just our Scottish heritage coming through. :-)
ReplyDelete