OH Discouragement

[LaNiña]

I zap the chocolate and cream together in the microwave....how's that?

[Lesley C]

OK cake is done.

The hardest part of this recipe is grating the chocolate. I used a new rotary microplane grater I had to test out and it was tedious. At least the grating results were good.

I started this recipe by creaming together (with the paddle on a Kitchen Aid) the butter (straight from the fridge) and the almond paste (the supermarket Odense variety, yet had I been in a pastry kitchen “pâte d’amande brut” would be the correct almond paste to use for a cake).

I then followed with the sugar, vanilla (extract, I’d never waste a good vanilla bean on a cake batter) and salt. Then I whisked together the dry ingredients, whipped up the whites with the sugar, folded one third of the whites into the base mixture, stirred vigorously, then proceeded to fold in the rest of the whites in two times. I then folded in the dry ingredients, transferring the mixture to a second bowl to finish folding (I always do this when making chocolate mousse as well; it’s a good way to make sure the bottom of your mix is as smooth as the top). Poured the mixture into a 9’ cake mold (lightly Pammed on the bottom with a parchment round on top), and baked – like Chefette – for 40 minutes. The resulting cake is 1 3/4-inches high. I find the top is slightly overcooked and the surrounding crust is bitter. To resolve this, I’d bake it for 20 minutes at 375º then turn it down to 350º, OR bake the whole thing at 350º.

About the ganache. The food processor method is common, especially in chocolate shops where they make ganache in huge quantities. I’ve even seen chocolate tempered in massive food processors. The microwave method is not recommended because the ganache can split, but if it works for you and you get good results, why change now. When I make ganache, I chop the chocolate by hand (placing the block of chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds makes it easier to chop) and gradually add the chocolate while stirring with a spatula. Some pastry chefs pour the hot cream over a big bowl of chopped chocolate and stir it up later, sometimes finishing with an immersion blender for a super-smooth ganache. There are many different kinds of ganache in the pastry-chef's repertoire besides the common 50-50 recipe. They all kind of have to be treated differently.

[ChocoChris]

I thank all of you for your input and support. I will not blame myself entirely as it's obvious that this recipe (book??) has shortcomings. But I sure learned alot so that is very satisfying. I will be finishing up the recipe now. Thanks again!!!

ChocoChris

[ChocoChris]

P.S. I'm using Callebaut (sp?) for my chocolate -- semi-sweet. I love the stuff as well as Vahlrohna. Also that almond flour idea is good advice!

[chefette]

I have seen people use the food processor method but have never done it myself. I think it might incorporate too much air and make the ganache sort of crumbly. How are your results? You might try chopping the chocolate in the processor and then pouring the hot cream over it in a seperate bowl and stirring with a rubber spatula. I think it depends on what you are using the ganache for and how much you really are interested in it. I have experiments on my own and have had to make ganache per directions of various individuals and have found that different techniques can yield dramatically different results.

The microwaveing cream and chocolate together is something I have not seen before. Again, how are your results? Is the ganache silky and elastic? Does it set up smooth and glossy?

By the way, the Frank Lloyd Wright cake came out pretty nice. The reception was in an art gallery with lots of funky bright modern pieces and the photographer thought the cake was just another of the installations in the show until we told him it was the wedding cake. We should be able to post photos on our site http://www.pastryarts.com tomorrow (praying that they come out OK).

I hope the chocolate torte came out good for you Chocochris.

[ChocoChris]

Hi All,

The cake turned out fairly well. I did enjoy the combination of flavors and used chefette's advice regarding the ganache (altho I did not thin it enough so it was not go on as smooth as in the picture and required some coaxing with a spatula). I required more almond paste to cover the cake than mentioned in the recipe.

I'd like to repeat this one but with the adjustments discussed on this thread. I'll be editing the recipe page in the book quite a lot

The birthday girl and her guests were happy and enjoyed the cake so I can regard it as successful. I made an almond praline and crumbled it for the top (sprinkling it on sparingly) and that was a very nice contrast to the other layers of texture in the cake.

Thank you again for all your wonderful advice. I can't wait to see that wedding cake on the pastryarts site!

ChocoChris

[chefette]

Pictures of our Frank Lloyd Wright Cake can be viewed here at http://www.pastryarts.com/FLWright_cake.html

Unfortunately my 3 megapixel camera was not available so the pictures are not as clear as I would like.

[ChocoChris]

WOW!!! A very beautiful work of art! Thank you for sharing! Was the top made up of the stained glass that Steve mentioned? What type of cake was it? The bride and groom must have been floored. Just exquisite!

ChocoChris

[chefette]

ChocoChris, I was glad to hear that your cake came out well and your friends were happy with it since that is what counts. I was actually thinking that the oven temp on the recipe might be too high and you would be happier with baking at 350 since like you and Lesley C both mentioned, I thought that the cake appeared overly browned on top.

The cake top is made of small 'window' panels made of paper-thin gumpaste in white and parchment. I cut circles and squares out of the panels (with micro cutters) and then colored and cut various circles, squares, and strips in the colors of the glass in the window. I decided to just suggest the basic motion, colors and shapes of the actual window. But yes, these are the panels of which Steve spoke.

The gumpaste dogwoods were chosen because the bride loved dogwoods and used them in her floral sprays at the event.

There were two cake flavors for this cake: the large top tier was a dense chocolate fudge cake with chocolate ganache, chocolate chai cream, and rice crispies tossed in tempered chocolate for a slight crunch. The small two tiers were pound cake with lemon curd - very clean and straightforward.

[nightscotsman]

Coooooooooool! What are the schwags on the middle layer made of?

[Lesley C]

Chefette, that is one WILD cake!

About the ganache. I've seen ganache made in a Robo Coupe with a -- get this-- vacuum feature. You extract the air before processing and no air gets in while the machine is on. It's a very interesting and very expensive piece of equipment.

[Sandra Levine]

The Frank Lloyd Wright cake is amazing! I wonder how you would go about doing a Frank Gehry?

[nightscotsman]

The Frank Lloyd Wright cake is amazing!  I wonder how you would go about doing a Frank Gehry?

Put the Frank Lloyd Wright cake in a warm room for a few hours.

[Steve Klc]

Lesley--Jacques Torres installed a piece of equipment with a vacuum feature in his DUMBO chocolate shop which he says allows his ganaches to last for many weeks past a traditionally-made ganache and lessens or eliminates the need for deep-freezing.

One element Colleen didn't describe is the base--originally, we took the image of the stained glass out of the book and enlarged it, thinking we'd use it for the base somehow and echo the colors/patterns as we moved up the cake, going from dark to light. As we blew it up it lost some focus and became less distinct. Looked cool but not cool for our needs. So she went back to the computer and re-created the window digitally, drawing and coloring it entirely by hand. Then that was enlarged, printed out, cut and affixed to the bottom glass round, a spacer disk set on top, then a second glass round on top of that.

That separation and layering showed up time and time again in the Wright books and buildings, so it seemed the way to go. You can't see it in the picture--but the dogwoods on that top crown set piece--designed so the bride and groom could remove it easily and save it--are also on a Fallingwater-like layered design--which rewarded people for looking a little closer into the piece. Colleen created this entire top piece--and built the little layered central stand--my job was to arrange the dogwoods on it "just so" and I only broke one of her window panels in the process. Par for the course for me, I'm afraid.

The fabric like swags on the middle tier Scot are white modelling chocolate rolled through a pasta machine, texturized, cut into lengths, dusted with edible color, then folded, pinched and applied to the cake surface with a few drops of water. (Really pretty easy to create.) Dogwoods hide the joins or seams between the swags.