The cake in The Godfather, part 3

[dexygus]

<Sigh> A client wants a cake similar to the one shown in The Godfather, part 3, which I haven't seen. All I know is that it's a sheet cake. Can anyone out there describe it to me? I really don't feel like going out and renting it.

Thanks.

[lannie]

I recall that it was a cake in the shape of Cuba and was featured in a scene when one of the crime bosses symbolically cuts up sections of the republic to hand out to Michael Corleone and the other cronies.

Edited November 9, 2004 by lannie (log)

[chefpeon]

We have the whole trilogy on DVD......although it's in my husband's classroom at the moment.

I'll have him bring it home tomorrow and I'll scan through it.

BTW.....whenever clients pull that stuff on me, I tell them to either bring me the "thing" (whether it's a picture, or a movie or whatever it is they want me to copy) or I charge them extra if I have to do the research myself, at $25 an hour. That price usually gets them to comply with my wishes.....

[spaghetttti]

Wasn't the cake in the shape of Italy? While Michael Corleone's son sang the theme song in Italian/Sicilian?

[dexygus]

lannie, thanks for the reply.

anne, that's a great idea, charging clients by the hour for research. i'm very new to doing specialty cakes, and am sort of winging it right now. time is tight (cake is for coming saturday), so hopefully he'll go with one of the designs i sent him.

hehe, i'm laughing at the thought of my client's cake being in the shape of italy. the cake is for a chinese woman. if i remember our conversation correctly, he liked how impressive the cake was, and i think, how it was presented. was it rolled in on a cart with special effects or something?

edited to add last paragraph.

Edited November 9, 2004 by dexygus (log)

[spaghetttti]

I could be mis-remembering, though

[Holly Moore]

  dexygus said:

la if i remember our conversation correctly, he liked how impressive the cake was, and i think, how it was presented.  was it rolled in on a cart with special effects or something?

←

If it's the cake I think it is, it is from Goodfather Part II.

As I recall, it was rolled in on a cart and presented to Hyman Roth whose birthday it was. Then he asked the waiter to present it to each of the guests so they could view it before it was cut.

[spaghetttti]

Oooh thanks Holly, I remember that scene, too! In G3, there was Michael's birthday scene, was there a cake, too?

[BettyK]

If it's G2, then it's the map of Cuba as Lannie mentioned.

Check this link...there's a whole paragraph on the cake

http://www.filmsite.org/godf2B.html

[jackal10]

Is it the cake with the gunman inside?

You need to check the dimenions of the gunman (or girl)...

[lannie]

Oops, the Cuba-shaped cake was indeed from Godfather II.

In Godfather III, the opening scene of the party at Lake Tahoe has a cake done by Enzo the Baker who wheels it into the room to a resounding round of applause. Unfortunately, I have no clue what it looks like! D'oh!

So, Chefpeon will have to do us the kind favour of watching the scene on DVD and letting us know what the cake looks like.

Here's an excerpt from the opening scene:

<The second picture is taken and the band strike up the familiar Godfather’s waltz as Enzo the baker wheels in a cake for Michael.>

SOMEONE

Beautiful!

ENZO

Godfather, this is the cake for you and your family, from Enzo the baker.

MICHAEL

Grazie.

<The cake is cut to applause.>

[dexygus]

thanks for all the responses, everyone. it turns out i won't have to watch the godfather 3, or 2. it's a good thing especially since i'm not sure which one contains the cake my client likes. anyway, he's chosen one of my designs, so yay, that part is over. now on to the baking...

[spaghetttti]

dexygus, I'd love to see your cake when you're done baking it.

[dexygus]

yetty, thanks for your interest. i'm very shy when it comes to showing my stuff, but if the cake turns out well, then it's a definite maybe. i shouldn't even hesitate, though, considering how supportive everyone is on this board.

[Wendy DeBord]

Please don't hesitate Dexygus, we all are at different stages of learning, you'll be helping someone. Everyone has to start somewhere.................and there's no one here that hasn't had failures.

[chefpeon]

Ok. For those who actually want to know, if your curiosity has been piqued, as mine has.

Especially since I have the whole Godfather trilogy on DVD, I was obsessed with seeing what the cake looked like.

I asked my husband, who is a cinematographer and video and photography teacher, if I could possibly do a video capture from my computer and post the still here......but not so easy, and probably against eGullet copyright rules.....so here is my description.....

It's a very short three tier round cake with each tier directly stacked on the other. Each tier is only about two to three inches high. The top surface of the bottom tier is covered with blueberries and the outer rim is fresh raspberries, then there is ivory buttercream piping done with a star tip on the outside of the raspberries. On the side of the bottom tier is gold ribbon done in kind of a scallop pattern. The middle tier has gold ribbon on the side, and star tip piping along the top edge. The top tier also has gold ribbon on the side, star tip piped top edge and the top has some sort of insignia that could be either religious or mafia related.

Here's an example of the shape and in the middle of the insignia was some sort of pope looking guy.

And that's it........it wasn't a sheet cake, that's for darn sure. Oh yeah, and I'd guess the bottom tier was probably an 18 inch round, the middle a 14, and the top a 12 inch......just guessin' though.

So that's probably the end of this thread, huh?

[dexygus]

Annie, not quite the end. oh, and thanks for doing the research. well, as sort-of promised, i'm posting a pic of my cake. i delivered it about 3.5 hours ago, and they might be cutting it as i type this.

i can't tell you how nerve-wracking this experience was. at every step, i kept praying (not really praying; i don't pray, but you know what i mean) that i wouldn't mess up. this was my first fancy cake, and it was for a big, fancy surprise birthday party held at the westin st. francis hotel in san francisco. and it was being catered by michael mina. i almost turned the gig down because i didn't think i'd be able to produce anything good enough for this party. but i faced my insecurities and accepted the challenge. of course, it didn't hurt that my boss let me make the cake at work (i'm an assistant pastry chef at a catering company), and that he also lent me a hand. he's so great.

i'm pretty happy with the results, and i'm relieved that it's all over. i'm also glad that i've got a fancy cake under my belt. maybe i'll be less stressed the next time around.

thanks for everyone's help in my time of need and frenzy. i love this place.

[DiH]

  dexygus said:

i'm pretty happy with the results

You should be proud of the results... gorgeous!!!

Got a question for you (and chefpeon). Do you use a different/special ganache recipe when covering a cake... to get a harder-to-the-touch set.

Di

[chefpeon]

Great work Dexy! I know what you mean about feeling relieved. Whenever I take on something I'm not sure I can pull off.....talk about sweating it out. I can totally relate.

As far as the ganache question......I don't do anything special to make a "harder to the touch set" since no one should touch it anyway.... I just do my regular pouring ganache which I judge this way......barely warm, still fairly liquid. If it fits those criteria, then I'm good to go.

[Swisskaese]

That is beautiful and it has my name already on it, so you can just put it in a box and ship it right over.

[DiH]

  chefpeon said:

As far as the ganache question......I just do my regular pouring ganache

What's your cream/chocolate ratio?

Di

[chefpeon]

  Quote

What's your cream/chocolate ratio?

Um.....errrrr.....this is going to sound, like really unprofessional and non-scientific....but....it's what I do. I used to have a recipe that I went by.....so many pounds of chocolate to cream, blah blah blah. But I've made so much ganache in my life, and have always had to make it in a hurry and on the fly, I developed my own little method. I'm pretty good at just eyeballing stuff. I do it all the time....it's quicker for me.

I put whatever amount of chocolate in a bowl (or whatever container), and heat up some cream. Usually in the micro. I pour the hot cream over the chocolate to the point where the cream just obscures any view of the chocolate. And that's my ratio for pouring. If I'm going to make a ganache that I want to whip as for a filling, then I usually pour in enough cream so that it's two inches above the level of the chocolate. If I want a thick ganache, like for truffles, then I pour in cream so that it's below the level of the chocolate. It always works for me.....no measuring....weighing......sigh....I'm always in a hurry........always wingin' it.....always usin' the shortcuts! Anyway, that's my "ratio" thingy......yipes....I know it's not real clear......

[dexygus]

Di, i use a glaze recipe that i picked up from a previous job i had. it's got chocolate, butter, cream and corn syrup in it. BUT, it doesn't set up firm. if you look closely at my picture, you can see "tracks" on the left hand side from when i set the top cake on the bottom one. the glaze has other problems as well. the flavor isn't as chocolatey as i'd like, but i like the glaze mainly because it has a nice shine, and i can get a thin coating with it. i was recently in search of the perfect chocolate glaze, and i found that there isn't one. you have to sacrifice some characteristics to get the ones you want.

[DiH]

  dexygus said:

chocolate, butter, cream and corn syrup in it.  BUT, it doesn't set up firm... recently in search of the perfect chocolate glaze

Same here. I've been using a medium ganache but thought that both yours' and Anne's appeared to have drier surfaces than mine. Must be the camera magic of lights and mirrors.

Anne - "no measuring....weighing......sigh....I'm always in a hurry........always wingin' it.....always usin' the shortcuts! Anyway, that's my "ratio" thingy". Tooooo funny!

Thanks for both your responses!

Di