Cake of the Day: Miniature Cakes from ‘Cakes in Bloom’
Every day, Yahoo Food features delectable cakes. They taste good, they look good, and they’re made by good people — talented bakers from around the world. Today, award-winning cake designer Peggy Porschen shares with us a the cake recipe from her new book Cakes in Bloom: The Art of Exquisite Sugarcraft Flowers.
Photo: Georgia Glynn-Smith
Rich Dark Chocolate Cake
This chocolate cake recipe is a little more moist than others, but it is also denser and heavier, which makes it an excellent base for tiered and iced celebration cakes. This cake has a shelf life of up to 10 days after icing.
Makes enough to fill three 6 inch-round pans or one 10-inch layer-cake pan 1½-inches deep; a 9 x 12 inch baking pan (for miniature cakes), or 20 to 24 cupcakes.
Baking temperature: 325˚F
Baking time: about 15 minutes for cupcakes; 20 to 45 minutes for large cakes, depending on size
3 ½ ounces / 7 Tablespoons salted butter (or unsalted with a pinch of salt), softened
12 ounces / 1¾ cups brown sugar
3 ½ ounces / 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (53% cocoa solids)
5 fl oz / ½-cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
3 medium eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
½- lb/ ¾ cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour sifted
2 ¼ Tablespoons cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Line the cake pan. For cupcakes, place paper liners in cupcake pans.
Using an electric mixer with a flat beater, beat the butter and half of the sugar until pale and fluffy. Meanwhile, place the chocolate, milk, and remaining sugar in a deep saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Once the butter and sugar mixture is pale and fluffy, slowly add the eggs. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder and add to the mixture while mixing on slow speed.
Pour the hot chocolate mixture into a heatproof pitcher or measuring jug, then slowly pour it into the cake batter while mixing on slow speed. Be careful not to let the hot batter splash you. Once combined, pour the hot cake batter into the prepared pan, or transfer to a heatproof pitcher or measuring jug and pour the batter into cupcake liners, filling them about two-thirds full.
Bake for 20 to 45 minutes for a large cake or 15 minutes for cupcakes. The cake is ready when it springs back to the touch and the sides come away from the edges of the pan. Alternatively, insert the clean blade of a knife into the middle of the cake; if it is ready, the knife will come out clean. Once baked, let the cake rest for about 10 minutes in the pan before transferring it to a wire rack to cool.
Once cool, wrap the cake with plastic wrap and store in a cool, dry place overnight. This allow the crumb to rest and firm up a little, making it ideal for layering the next day. Cupcakes should be used fresh on the day of baking.
Ganache
Makes 14 oz, roughly the amount needed to sandwich three
6-inch layers of chocolate cake.
Ingredients
7 ounces / 1 1/3 cups semisweet Belgian chocolate “callets”/chips (I use 53% cocoa solids)
7-fl. ounces / scant 1 cup light cream
Put the chocolate chips in a deep bowl. Pour the cream into a deep pan and bring to a simmer.
Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and whisk gently until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
Leave to cool until just setting before use. It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Sugar Syrup
Makes 3 ½ fl-ounce/scant ½ cup, roughly the amount needed for a 6 inch-round layered cake tier or 20 to 24 cupcakes
¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon water
1/3 cup superfine sugar
Optional Flavors:
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 orange
Put the water, flavoring if using, and sugar into a pan and bring to a
boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. You can store the syrup
in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Layering Miniature Cakes
For 12 miniature round cakes 2-inch round x 2-inch high
8 x 12-inch rectangular cake layer (if you haven’t got a suitable baking pan, use a 10 inch-square cake pan instead)
About 2 ¼ lb. ganache or buttercream (see below)
3 ½ fl ounce/scant ½ cup sugar syrup, for sponge cake only (see below left)
Equipment
2 inch-round cutter
12 x 2 inch-round cake cards
Trim the top crust off the cake using a long serrated knife or cake leveler (step 1). The height of the cake should be just over 1 in (2.5 cm).
Cut circles out of the cake using the round cutter.
Spread out 12 cake cards on your work surface (one per mini cake). Spread a small dab of ganache or buttercream in the center of each. Place 1 cake circle, crust facing down, on each cake card (step 2). If using, soak the top of each cake with a little sugar syrup.
Spread the cake filling over the top and place the next cake circle on top, crust facing up this time (step 3). Gently press down to push out any air bubbles. If using, brush the tops lightly with sugar syrup.
Place all the cakes on a small tray and wrap with plastic wrap, then chill in the refrigerator until the cakes and fillings are firm.
Once chilled, take a few cakes out at a time (I usually take about 6). Mask the cakes by covering them thinly with buttercream or ganache using a small palette knife (step 4).
Try to keep the tops and sides as even and smooth as possible. Don’t worry if a few gaps show the crumb; miniature cakes are much more forgiving than large cakes.
Once masked, put the cakes back on the tray and chill in the refrigerator until the coating has set and the cakes are firm.
Reprinted with permission from Cakes in Bloom by Peggy Porschen (Quadrille Publishing).
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