Triple Chocolate Cigar Bonfire Cake, what a mouthful. But yeah that is what this cake is.
This is a chocolate buttermilk cake, sandwiched with raspberry coulis, iced with swiss meringue buttercream. Drizzled with chocolate ganache, decorated with fresh raspberries around the bottom. And white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate cigars decorated around the top of the cake, arranged in a bonfire style.
I absolutely love this cake and thought it turned out amazing. I was so happy with it. Although those chocolate cigars are very time-consuming. I probably spent a good 4 hours doing these cigars. I have four 15x15 cm marble tiles, so if I had a big slab of marble, the process would speed up a bit.
I honestly love how this photoshoot turned out, I don't know what made me think of using a blue background. But I think because I really wanted the main chocolate cigars to stand out like I didn't want them to get lost with the cake. I think I achieved this.
I love the birds eye view of the cake. I think it is very effective and makes the cake look so technical.
I am so happy because I have finally brought some cake tins. After days and day of researching. finding, locating, searching, reviewing I found a site that had what I wanted. I am so proud of myself to have started a cake business with just my mums ordinary tins she used to bake in. And a couple I picked up oddly at op-shops. I look at this and realise that your tools can help you but can't be creative for you. I bought 8 cake tins from the Uk. And honestly, when the delivery man handed me two bright pink boxes. I was so excited I could have hugged him.
I am so happy with my cake tins, I honestly wanted to cuddle them in my bed and go to sleep. Hah, I love getting baking purchases because I think of all the use it is going to get and all the magcial things it is going to make. It does get kinda exciting!
Holding my cake, not wanting to give this baby away!
Recipe:
Chocolate Ganache Drizzle
Yields: 2 cups
For a 15cm cake drizzle, you need approx 1/4 cup. I always make a batch and keep it in the freezer, then pull it out of the freezer and melt down for the next cake that needs some chocolate drizzle. Saves me time.
Ingredients:
250g dark chocolate
1 cup of cream
Method:
-Place chopped chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan heat 1 cup of cream slowly. Heat until you can see small bubbles appear around the side of the pan.
-Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate.
-Allow the mixture to sit for at least 2 minutes. The longer you leave it the easier it is to finish.
-Using a rubber spatula, slowly combine the two and they should emulsify into a lovely silky chocolate soup.
-Allow to cool at room temperature. It will solidify slightly because the cocoa solids in the chocolate are solidifying.
If there are lumps in your ganache just heat a small pot of water till simmering, make sure that it will fit the bowl over the top of the pot.
-Place the ganache on top of the simmering water and allow it to gradually melt your chocolate mixture and the remaining chocolate bits.
-Heat the ganache to a thin consistency, not too thin. Place into a squeezy bottle.
-With your fully iced cake on a turntable, gradually pour the ganache down the sides of the cake, altering the pressure you squeeze the ganache will alter the length of the drips.
Well, I hope you guys learnt heaps and are enjoying my post. Message me for any ideas or recipes you would like!
LINZ x x
