Note: The video from Global Sugar Art on Buttercream Basics: Making a Cake, has some great tips that make a really big difference on the texture and flavor of cakes.
I really enjoyed the chocolate flavor of the last cupcakes I made, so that made me want to try making a chocolate cake. I also love how well the chocolate flavor pairs with the vanilla buttercream frosting.
Thus far I have made a fair amount of cupcakes with the rosettes on top, but none on a cake, and I just love how cool they look on a cake. Additionally, given how pretty they are, I thought they would be a nice decoration on an anniversary cake.
I really like the look of a cake that has different shades of the same color, which I hadn't tried before.
I opted to go with different shades of blue, because it's one of my favorite colors, and I knew it would be a nice complement to the chocolate color of the cake (which you could see when you cut into the cake).
The cake came out very nicely done, with amazing flavor, just like the chocolate cupcakes had. One thing I will say though is that because this was an extremely moist cake, it also wasn't super strong, so I'm not sure how well it would've held up with more than just the two layers or with heavy fondant decorations. I may need to alter the recipe if I ever need to accommodate those situations.
This was the first time I used all shortening in my buttercream frosting. I did add some butter flavored extract to it though, and it tasted fantastic! However, I may have used just a bit too much powdered sugar because the frosting was looking a little dry when I was piping the rosettes.
I won't lie, making the rosettes on a cake was a little harder than on a cupcake, because you have to try to make them all the same size and it's not like you can use the edges of the cake as a guide the way you do for a cupcake. I think it'll get easier the more I do it though.
I had just bought those blue pearl candies that morning at the grocery store when I went to buy more shortening. They're actually Sixlets, and they were in the decorating section at Target (in the baking isle near the shortening, hence why I saw them). They were the perfect color and I thought they would fit in really well with the rosettes.
After I saw how the pearl candies looked on the cake, that's actually what made me decide to make the white buttercream beads to complement that look on the sides of the cake.
The border around the bottom is a simple shell border, which I've don't before, but this time I used a much larger star tip (1M, the same as the one for rosettes). I like the way that turned out, and I didn't think it was too much of a distraction from the rosettes which were the focal point.
My parents (and everyone else who got to try a piece) loved it, they all had multiple slices! Even my mom, who doesn't eat a whole lot of dessert, said it was delicious. I think that's a sign of success! :)
 |
| Anniversary cake, with rosettes and pearls |
No comments:
Post a Comment