vintagecakes – Siriously Siri

October 16, 2022

Today’s Bake – Front Facing Choc Ganache and Choc Cake – 10-16-22

I have been wanting to try a front facing cake ever since I saw one on Facebook, and today was the day! I used a recipe I was familiar with (makes two 8″ layers, a dense but moist and firm cake – Black and White Cake from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson). I’ve made this recipe before and on a whim I added in 1 tsp of baking powder as my previous notes state it didn’t rise that much. I thought the baking powder made it a little on the dryer side around the edges (did not overbake), so this was my first time using a cake syrup to soften the cake just a tad. (Equal parts sugar and water boiled and then cooled and then brushed on the cake). I had leftover cream cheese frosting (this really is my favorite frosting, despite the fact I keep trying so hard to like the different buttercreams) so that went in the middle. My ganache was 8 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate to one cup of heavy cream; I chose semisweet choc as the cream cheese has the tang to it. The trick was lots of fridge time – cool the cakes and fill with cream cheese frosting. Chill. Cover with ganache. Chill. Cover with another layer of ganache. Chill.

Next was to slice off a section to make for a flat side, and to tilt the cake on it’s side. Chill. And then the stencilling (using some of the leftover cream cheese frosting). And chill.

I’m super pleased! I think this would be much tougher with a buttercream frosting that slid around – the ganache, when chilled, served as a solid chocolate coating to hold the cake in place.

This is delicious!

https://www.thesweetsensations.com/2013/06/vintage-cakes-black-white-cake/

April 12, 2022

Lemon Queen Cakes – OH MY

Lemon Queen Cakes with Meringue Frosting, Vintage Cakes, pg 50. First of all, this is an amazing dessert if you like lemon curd, lemon cake, and marshmallowy meringue. And it’s a marvel of baking that the water bath allows for a curd to form on the bottom and the cake to appear at the top and it’s all from the same batter. It would be an amazing dinner party dessert and tasted even better on day 2 and day 3. But there are some things to note: I used 6 oz ramekins, filled 4oz up and needed 8 of them. Speaking of 8, note that you need a total of 8 eggs for this – so take them out early to get them to room temp (not mentioned in book, both sets of whites will need to be whipped). When you are ready to distribute the batter into the cups you are using, it’s best to have the batter in a bowl with a spout or a large measuring cup as it’s a little messy otherwise. Note to self to make sure the roasting pan fits in the oven without removal of a shelf; removing the shelf while the oven is hot is always trickier and you lose your oven heat. My bake time was 38 minutes till I saw golden and cracks on top (it is possible my oven temp was closer to 335 than 350). Once you remove the pan from the oven, it’s a little tricky to get the cups out of the hot water without burning yourself or dropping a cup; I needed to use tongs and even then I was worried. For the topping, my whip time was 4-5 minutes (high speed, not medium high speed). Distribute all the topping so you make sure you have enough before shaping it, I found it easiest to distribute with a spatula vs a spoon. The topping was the one thing I might change. It is super sweet and while yummy, I felt it detracted from the amazement of the curd plus the cake. I think next time I would choose a lighter, less heavy and less sweet meringue topping. Still an amazing dessert. YUM!!!! Vintage Cakes’ Lemon Queen Cakes with Meringue Frosting-Famous Fridays — Unwritten Recipes

February 6, 2022

Coffee Crunch Spiral

This has to be one of the best things I’ve made, but then I adore whipped cream filled roll cakes. This is a sponge cake (6 egg whites) filled with an espresso/kahlua flavored whipped cream and then topped with a crunch topping which is an espresso toffee that you make on top of the stove, let harden, and then smash into tiny bits. The only caveat is you can’t put the crunch topping on until you are ready to eat it, as if left one for longer than an hour or so it becomes chewy like taffy (and hence a teeth breaker). But OH the taste on this. An excellent dinner party dessert. From Julie Richardson’s Vintage Cakes, a highly recommended cookbook. (Since I shared the dessert with neighbors, I couldn’t put the crunch topping on for the picture).