Sunday, October 27, 2013

Pretty in Pink Birthday Cake


Be careful what you ask for while standing in our kitchen.
This is how I came to have this cake on my birthday one year.
The cake was so sweet that I was the only one who ate any...
 
I think that the combination of the sweet frosting and the white ganache is why the cake was so sweet.
It was lovely to look at though and my inner 7 year old self could have eaten more, well if she didn't try to never touch the cake and keep it forever because this cake looks like the, cake a princess would have for breakfast.
 
Zok said the cake was easy but then, we are talking about Zok who has no trouble wandering the neighborhood until he found a likely rose bush...
 
This is a kitchenaid book recipe:
Serves 12
Prep: 40 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Chill: 3 hours
 
Ingrediants:
175 g softened butter
175 g sugar
1 tsp cardamom
3 eggs
175 g self-raising flour
25 g ground almonds
2 tbsp rosewater
1 quantity White chocolate ganache*
flavored with the seeds of 1 vanilla pod
 
Rose icing:
2 large egg whites only
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
125 ml rose syrup
125 g sugar
a few drops of red food colouring
50 g edible silver balls (these were my favorite when I was smaller)
50 g coarsely chopped crystallized rose petals
petals from 1-2 pink roses
-you need cooling racks and your cake tins
 
This cake is meant to be eaten the day of- hence being a birthday cake- due to the fresh dairy ingrediants 
 
Preheat oven to 180 c. Lightly grease and line two 18 cm tins with grease proof paper
Cream the butter, sugar and ground cardamom in the mixer bowl with teh flat beater on speed 4 unitl pale and fluffy
Gradually mix in the beaten eggs
adding a tablesppon of flour and beating well after each addition
 
Add the remaining flour and ground almonds and mix briefly
Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to give a soft dropping consistency
Spoon the batter into the prepared tins and smooth the top
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake has risen, is golden brown and springy to the touch
Cool slightly then turn them out onto your wire cooling racks
Sprinkle the rosewater evenly over both cakes and leave to cool, finally peel off the greaseproof paper
 
Make the white chocolate ganache, leave to cool and then chill for 3 hours or until the ganache has a spreadable consistency
 
Spread the ganache on one cake and press the second cake on top of the other
Make your rose icing- 
Whisk your first 3 ingredients in the mixer bowl with the wire whisk attachment on speed 8 until soft peaks form
Gradually add the rose syrup, sugar and red food colouring until the meringue is still and glossy
fold in the rose liqueur and spread the icing all over the cake, creating swirls and peaks to make your cake pretty
Sprinkle the silver balls, and both the fresh and crystallized rose petals over the icing

Note: you can of course use a different mixer 

*Ganache
Zok uses ganache often instead of normal icing
This is for soft speadable ganache- more chocolate makes a more truffle like (or if you are Zok this is his idea of american pudding...)

150g chocolate (70%)
100 ml double cream
 Grate the chocolate with a course grater 
(or use the rotor vegetable slicer/shredder on speed 4 of your mixer)
Place your shredded chocolate in a heatproof bowl 
(We have trouble finding chocolate of the high grade in blocks, so sometimes Zok uses the large chip style, doesn't grate those, and just waits the added time for them to melt down)
Bring the cream to a boil on low heat
Pour onto the chocolate and leave it for long enough for the chocolate to melt
Then leave to cool and you have your ganache to spread out
 

 
 
 
 

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