Let Them Eat Cake!

Well, we did it.  Today, we decorated three different cakes.  Marda is so great at teaching decorating, and we used the same chocolate cake in three different cakes today.  Then I finally got to bake a pure white cake.  That is something that I have never done.  The cake is lighter than air and is called White Velvet cake, because the crumb is so fluffy and is so fine that it feels like velvet.  It is amazing to bake and use all of these different cake formulas.  Of course, I baked a double batch (14# of cake batter) of the white cake, which baked up in a huge layer in a 18 x 26 " pan.  I then got to practice dividing (or splitting) the cake into layers for making Dobos Torte tomorrow. Even though I am adept at surgical technique, splitting the cake requires a very light touch on the knife and holding your body very still so that you cut an even layer.  It is not easy.  This white cake is often the one used for wedding cakes when a white one is requested and the batter is so thin you would not think that it would bake up so well, but it does.  So this was a day devoted to Marie Antoinette and her favorite snack.  Though I am sure that she never divided a cake layer or had to work on its décor.  Here is a sample of the goods from today, and there are still two kinds of cakes in the freezer that we have not touched yet.

Devil's Food Cake with just buttercream decorations

 

Same cake with a layer of chocolate glaze and cake crumbs on the outside.

Devil's Food Cake with a chocolate wrap around the cake and chocolate curls on top

My version of the chocolate wrap

Black Forest Cherry Cake

Well, I took that last cake home and had some for supper and I thought that I had died and gone to heaven.   The cherries are an Italian preserved sour cherry....the best I have ever tasted.  I had not tasted much of this along the way.  So this cake came home for me and the boys to eat and my roommate also gave it the seal of approval.  I am learning quite a bit about cake decorating and how it is done in the bakery.  It is a very different animal than when at home.  One other thing that is quite tricky is getting the sides of the cake straight up and it requires a square and a very careful hand and eye.  Of course there is art to everything about baking just like any profession, and that is what I am here to learn.  It has been a great month so far, and I am cramming as much as I can in before coming home.  The full moon was beautiful this week and shone right into my bedroom window at times during the night.  It was breathtaking.