Simply Pretty

My aesthetic tends to see-saw between the super ornate and the super minimalist, which I suppose spans a very large spectrum of tastes.  Our latest wedding cake over the weekend really tugged at my strings.  The couple asked for a simple chocolate cake with buttercream frosting.  Their only request for decoration was that we mimic the abstract, painted flower on their invitations.

So I gave them just that.  Our signature chocolate cake for events is cakey and fudgy, almost like a brownie.  It's delicious served warm with ice cream, or at room temperature with a dusting of powdered sugar.  It's even great straight from the fridge.  To slice and layer it in the traditional American style with filling or buttercream would make the whole thing far too rich, but a simple slick of vanilla buttercream on top is the perfect match to the dark chocolatey-ness happening below.

I love the clean rustic style of the exposed crumb and (imperfectly) slathered buttercream, matching the same edge of the cake.  My only regret is that the couple didn't need one that served more people, because a ten-tiered number in this style would have looked so so striking (and would have made a lovely portfolio addition too). 

Wide gerthed wedding cakes aren't really a thing, but they should be.  99% of the wedding cakes on show are the typical tall, statuesque specimens, which of course befit the grand, celebretory occasion.  It will definitely take a bride with guts to order a short, fat cake to stand as their sweet centerpiece.  Maybe one day I'll find one, or in any case convince her!

Blackout!

Anyone who knows me will contest that I'm not a huge chocolate fan.  Buy me a box of chocolate, and I will invariably pass it on to my husband.  I won't however, pass on a chocolate layer cake.  Something about the soft sponge and semi-sweet filling makes it irresistible and more-ish.  Nevermind chocolate to die for; this is a cake I'd kill for!!  Although, now I don't have to worry about choco-homocide, I can just make this myself.  Opera-thin layers of devil's food stay forever moist with a rum syrup soak.  Each layer of sponge is spread with tempered chocolate, so there's a hint of crunch with each bite.  Three layers of chocolate pudding go between, then the whole thing is coated with a fudgy ganache.  A pouring of chocolate glaze allows the chocolate crumbs to stick, like a million ants to a plank.  A thin slice of this makes for an elegant plated dessert; the whole cake can sit proudly in a bakery showcase.