Hey guys! Whats happening! This is a cake I had requested, he asked if it could be two tone. He didn't mind what colours but just wanted it to be two toned. I like sometimes when the customer request a couple of things because it gives me something to start off with. Instead of brainstorming something from nothing. Although I love this challenge it can get difficult at times.
Well today I have for you a two tone cake. One side being raspberry and the other side being chocolate. One of my favourite flavour combinations of all time. Garnished with homemade chocolate flowers and raspberry jam filling.
The raspberry side is iced with a raspberry swiss meringue buttercream and the chocolate side is iced with chocolate ganache.
The layers of cake are chocolate buttermilk cake with ganache icing and filled with raspberry jam. Yum! Bitter raspberries and sweet chocolate nothing can make me happier then this combo.
I was always intrigued how the professional cake makers made those beautiful fondant cakes. I always looked at them and was so inspired at their beautiful work with fondant. After a couple attempts at fondant, first I began with store brought (was easy to use but I found it tasted so artificial and like it had been sitting in a box for two years) So I began researching how to make your own fondant.
I found a couple of recipes and I began experimenting, one with marshmallows as a base and then one where you make your own base with gelatine. I found these definitely tasted nicer making them yourself. But they were super messy to make and I found like I needed so many tools to make the fondant lay on the cake, perfectly smooth, no cracks and thin enough it wasn't like eating a ball of fondant.
So I decided in the end because when I made fondant cakes people would tend not to eat that much of the cake because they were too busy picking off the fondant. I took this as a hint to make cakes look appealing without using fondant. So I began researching chocolate work, sugar work and how to improve my icings and pipings.
Then i came across modelling chocolate which is the same consistency as fondant but it is made from chocolate so it doesn't have that awful artificial taste. You can easily make your own (recipe below) or you can buy pre packaged candy melts from wilton which you can use for modelling chocolate. In my opinion this is a better way to make tastier decorations.
I still wouldn't use modelling chocolate to cover my whole cake, although it does taste nicer, I feel like people don't want to eat grams and grams of chocolate dough, they want different textures and flavours. It does make the cake look very nice and professional but also a lot of clients don't even like it on their cakes. So I would say stick to icing like in the good old days with a spatula.
Recipe:
Two Tone Raspberry Mud Cake
Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
(Coloured Pink)
Chocolate Ganache:
(For other half of two tone)
Chocolate Buttermilk Cake:
linzxvi.wixsite.com/linz/single-post/2018/05/07/Chocolate-Ombre-Piped-Rosettes-Cake
Raspberry Jam:
(For the filling of the cakes)
White Chocolate Modelling Paste:
100g nestle melts
2 teaspoons corn syrup
Method:
Melt chocolate on a double boiler until all is melted. Stirring constantly to cool the chocolate down. Allow chocolate to cool to 32 degrees.
Add the corn syrup to the chocolate mixture and mix till well combined.
Mix until it becomes a dough.
It might be a bit crumbly, tip it out onto the bench and begin kneading it till a smooth dough.
Seperate the dough in half, reserve one half for white. Colour the other half with pink colouring.
Wrap in glad wrap and put aside.
With a flower shape cutter, cut out flowers in white and pink modelling chocolate.
Draw on the veins with a cake decorating tool and use a brush to brush the flower with lustre powder.
Put a tiny bit of royal icing in the centre of the flower and place a small pearl in the middle of the flower.
Leave the flowers to dry on baking paper.
Use to garnish with your cake and stick the flowers to the cake.
Royal Icing:
1 egg white
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Few drops of water if needed
Method:
In a bowl beat egg white, icing sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer or whisk until smooth. Add water as needed for the right consistency.
Assembly:
Cut the tops off the cooled cakes so they are levelled. Place a bit of buttercream on the cake board to adhere the cake to the cake board.
Pipe a border of pink buttercream halfway around the cake. Pipe a border of ganache around the other half side of the cake. Place raspberry jam in the middle. Cover it with another layer of cake.
Continue this process until you are ready to crumb coat.
Crumb coat your cake by icing the cake half pink, and half brown and place in the fridge to set.
Gather together your garnishes. Remove the cake from the fridge and begin your final frosting layer. Continuing the technique of half the cake being pink buttercream and the other half chocolate ganache. Return to the fridge to set up.
Place your royal icing in a cornet (folded piping bag out of baking paper) Pipe royal icing where you want to stick the flowers.
This icing is perfect because when it sets, it sets extremely hard so perfect for placing flowers on a cake.
That is all done, enjoy your cake!
