The Holiday Thread

So...cake. I am sadly not gifted photographer but you get the gist of it.

It's four layers of chocolate Genoise sponge, German chocolate buttercream (whip butter, add stiff custard or pastry creme...ratio is 250 g butter to custard from 500 ml milk, to that I added 50 g of melted dark chocolate), ganache drip.

View attachment 5381732

View attachment 5381733
The cake is absolutely spectacular! German buttercream sounds delicious, too. Your relatives are so lucky to have you baking for them. My relatives get a tasty cake but it's very basic looking. Luckily for me, they have low standards :P
 
So...cake. I am sadly not gifted photographer but you get the gist of it.

It's four layers of chocolate Genoise sponge, German chocolate buttercream (whip butter, add stiff custard or pastry creme...ratio is 250 g butter to custard from 500 ml milk, to that I added 50 g of melted dark chocolate), ganache drip.

View attachment 5381732

View attachment 5381733
Wow! :loveeyes: I’ll hobble right over.
 
  • Love
Reactions: QueenofWrapDress
Looks great! What are you serving it with?

I have four family birthdays coming up, two in August and two in September. Planning the cakes but it is awfully hot...not only is turning on the oven a bad idea, I've had buttercream melt on me before as I can't cool down the kitchen enough. So we'll see how the weather develops.
 
Looks great! What are you serving it with?

I have four family birthdays coming up, two in August and two in September. Planning the cakes but it is awfully hot...not only is turning on the oven a bad idea, I've had buttercream melt on me before as I can't cool down the kitchen enough. So we'll see how the weather develops.
Hi! Since it was my first try I only made the pavlova. Otherwise would probably be great with blueberry curd. I live in a hot and humid climate so baking can be very trying.

The pavlova was tasty - I didn’t keep it in the oven for several hours as suggested. It was firm and crispy.

I am looking forward to seeing your cakes as every dessert you post always look so appetizing and beautiful ❤️
 
  • Love
Reactions: QueenofWrapDress
So first birthday person loves a sheet cake called Donauwelle (Danube Wave) or Schneewittchenkuchen (Snow White Cake) - marbled cake, cherries, German buttercream (custard-based) and dark chocolate. I plan to make it into a semi-naked layer cake.

View attachment 5579900
It looks amazing and I’m sure it tasted excellent. I love every single type of custard — with dark chocolate must be perfection.
 
So...cake. I am sadly not gifted photographer but you get the gist of it.

It's four layers of chocolate Genoise sponge, German chocolate buttercream (whip butter, add stiff custard or pastry creme...ratio is 250 g butter to custard from 500 ml milk, to that I added 50 g of melted dark chocolate), ganache drip.

View attachment 5381732

View attachment 5381733
Hello @QueenofWrapDress , I've only just seen this post even though it's a few months old, and wanted to say your cake looks delectable! I love, love Chocolait Chips too. It has been ages since I got my hands on them since it's not available where I live (the last time I saw it was in Berlin a few years ago!).

Would you happen to have a recommendation for an online recipe of a chocolate cake that is rich and creamy but not too sweet? Oh, and also pretty simple because it has been years since I last baked! Thank you. :smile:
 
Would you happen to have a recommendation for an online recipe of a chocolate cake that is rich and creamy but not too sweet? Oh, and also pretty simple because it has been years since I last baked! Thank you. :smile:

Thank you! I love Ottolenghi's take home chocolate cake (that's how it's called in the book). It is super easy (you mix it with a wooden spoon) and the combination of dark chocolate, coffee and salt makes it not so sweet while still being rich. I usually do the ganache and cover the whole cake with it, sides included, so the layer is not as thick.

NYT recipe:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018930-worlds-best-chocolate-cake

Original recipe:

https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/take-home-chocolate-cake#

ETA: for years I just added some baking powder for that amount of flour (I think 1 heaping tsp, would have to get out the book to find my sticky note). Last year I mixed self-rising flour after a British bakery on Youtube (150 g - a little more than 1 cup - to 2 tsp bp) and found the cake turned out a little crumbly. I have however had great success making said bakery's cupcakes, so it might have been coincidence. Though the ratio is definitely on the higher end (German bp comes with instructions to use the sachet - which holds 2 1/4 tsp - to 500 g of flour).
 
Last edited: