When it comes to wedding cakes, we often hear about chocolate ganache. It is used for frosting and filling. Ganache is French for a mixture of cream and chocolate. The usual method of making it is pouring hot cream into chopped chocolate and stirring until the mixture is velvety smooth.
Basic chocolate ganache is used to enhance a number of recipes, from truffles to frosting. It is truly a versatile baker’s help. Here’s a basic ganache from Joy of Baking:
8 ounces (227 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon cognac or brandy (optional)
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. If desired, add the liqueur.
Makes enough ganache to cover a 9 inch (23 cm) cake or torte.
Note:This groom’s cake was made by Chef Mendy of CakesbythePound.com.
This cake was done by Chef Mendy for an Atari video game fanatic. Anybody following Atari will immediately identify it as the classic Atari 2600 game console that was released in 1977. It was packed with 1 cartridge game, usually the PacMan, thus the familiar happy chomper decorates the board.
The console is made of chocolate blackout cake with milk chocolate coffee mousse, Espresso VanGogh ganache and Valrhona chocolate crunchy pearls.
Note: the featured groom’s cake was made by Chef Mendy of CakesbythePound.com.
For rock n’ roll fanatics, it’s easy to spot what this groom’s cake is about. Chef Mendy created it for a Rolling Stone’s fan. She says it’s their Chocolate Blackout Cake, made with Starbucks coffee and Valhrona chocolate (the chocolate company is in a wine-making town in France) and iced with Godiva white chocolate, french butter cream, and chocolate ganache.
The cake was then covered in chocolate fondant and decorated with the Rolling Stone’s trademark lips and tongue.
Gabriel, Chef Mendy’s partner, left a comment clarifying that the Rolling Stones’ iconic lips and tongue is the cake itself. It is set on a fondant-covered board.
Our apologies for mistaking the base as the cake, but, looking at the picture, it does look delicious too.
Learn how to make your own wedding cake at home with this DIY YouTube video. It doesn’t look easy to us but we bet somebody who’s motivated and has the necessary equipment can pull it off.
Note:The featured cake is by Sharaof CakesByShara.net.
Men traditionally breaks out cigars in celebration. This amazing groom’s cake by Shara in the shape of a humidor (yes, it’s a cake) is right on the dot (we hope it was ordered by the groom himself). All that chocolate on the cake makes it tempting even for non-smoking guests.
Chef Mendy and Gabriel Vidauri of CakesByThePound.com sent over a picture of a croquembouche. Don’t twist your tounge on that yet. We have to do a bit of digging to know what it is and how it’s pronounced too.
Wikipedia says a croquembouche or croquenbouche [kroh-kuhm-BOOSH] is “a French dessert, a kind of pièce montée often served at weddings. It is a high cone of profiteroles (choux filled with pastry cream) bound with caramel, and usually decorated with threads of caramel, sugared almonds, chocolate, flowers, or ribbons.” Crunch-in-the-mouth in plain English.
Chef Mendy’s take on a classic croquembouche dessert recipe is place the sweet and crunchy tower atop a cake pedestal for a unique wedding cake. Described in her own words…
“This is a French Wedding cake, croquembouche, sitting on top of a chocolate buttermilk cake with Van Gogh espresso ganache, and Godiva white chocolate French buttercream. Decorations are chocolate roses and orchids.”
Ahhh, Godiva white chocolate, I can already feel my blood pressure rising. With tendrils of spun sugar draped around it and white bells and doves for decorations, it will fit perfectly among chirstmas wedding themed cakes too.
Gabriel Vidauri, operations manager of cakesbythepound.com, has sent us photo of one of the latest creations by Chef Mendy K. Pound. He described it as, ” a chiffon cake with vanilla pastry cream as a filling and berries. The outside is has sugar roses.”
We assume the pretty lady posing with the cake is the bride. The laptop in front of her is NOT real. It is the groom’s cake. Gabriel described it as “chocolate buttermilk covered in fondant.“
The people behind CakesByThePound are real nice and they serve the Los Angeles area.
“A wedding and a funeral” was comedy and it can only happen in movies. Weddings are supposedly happy occasions, with laughter wafting through the air and bright smiles flashing around.
What could better picture a fun couple than a humorous wedding cake topper? The figurines presented below can bring a twinkle to the eyes of even the grumpiest guest.
Note:The featured cake is by Shara of CakesByShara.net.
The dainty look of this white groom’s cake is offset by a topping of nuts. Shara decorated the side of the round cake with tiny dots, reminiscent of an ostrich-skin handbag. However, the crushed pecan topping growls “eat!” and what can be more manly than that?
Note: These cakes are by Shara of CakesByShara.net.
Shara has a special note about this wedding cake,”This wedding was finished by the bride. She did the custom stand and arranged the cupcakes and final cake.” Almost a DIY wedding cake. We like the simplicity of the ensemble and the notion of convenience by using cupcakes.
