Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

Thank you Patricia, Annie, Matthew, Jeannette and Cathy. You're right the cake did taste wonderful and as an added bonus our entire house smelled of chocolate. I also had chocolate covered countertops from making the chocolate curls.

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | May 27, 2008 3:57 PM #

I've found that if you wrap your ganache the same way as you do for royal icing that works very well for refrigerating/freezing for future use! You just have to use a couple layers of cling wrap and make sure that you wipe the outside of the bowl to make sure it sticks real well and then push the plastic wrap into the ganache all around the perimeter so no air ie condensation can get through. Sometimes I encase the entire bowl in a glad freezer bag too and seal it again for an added barrier. If you use a bowl/container that the cling wrap doesn't stick to use a tight fitting rubber band if you can find one. This seems to work for me! Hope it helps the rest of you too!

Reply to this      Posted by: Tawnie | May 27, 2008 2:39 PM #

I love it Rozanne! Gorgeous!!

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | May 27, 2008 2:36 PM #

Beautiful, such clever people on this site!

Reply to this      Posted by: Jeannette | May 27, 2008 2:15 PM #

Rozanne, what a beautiful cake! It is stunning!

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | May 27, 2008 1:44 PM #

It's fabulous, Rozanne and I'm sure it tasted yummy. I really enjoyed looking at your other cakes too. Thanks for the tip about the cones, Rose. I often have trouble judging where to cut them but this makes it almost foolproof.

Reply to this      Posted by: Annie | May 27, 2008 1:12 PM #

Great photo Rozanne - the cake looks absolutely wonderful. I bet it tasted amazing!

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | May 27, 2008 12:47 PM #

Thank you for the compliment Rose. It means the world to me.

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | May 27, 2008 12:43 PM #

Here's what I ended up doing for my cousin's b'day cake.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gianduja/2527860783/

I tried to do the chocolate lattice band but accidentally cut the tip of the parchment cone too big. Oh well.......everyone still loved the cake, specially the taste.

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | May 27, 2008 12:30 PM #

Thanks Annie. I ended up making the Milk Choc. Buttercream. The taste and texture is awesome. As Rose mentions in the book, it is like eating your favourite milk choc. bar melted. I used Lindt.

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | May 24, 2008 8:48 AM #

Rozanne, in that case I would definitely make Rose's Milk Chocolate Buttercream. It's just chocolate (mostly milk choc) and butter and is the creamiest chocolate filling you would wish for. I frequently make the Chocolate Spike Cake (TCB pp198) and this frosting is always a winner.

A good milk chocolate that should be available from Whole Foods is from Callebaut. They break the big 5kg blocks up for retail sale - or at least they used to when I lived in the States three years ago. Green and Blacks is another good milk chocolate or even Cadbury's if you can find it. I don't use Hershey's as I find it very grainy. If you want to spend extra go for Valrhona.

Reply to this      Posted by: Annie | May 23, 2008 6:19 PM #

Annie, I need it for the filling and the outside. I usually use Rose's dark choc. ganache or the choc. mousseline. I'm making the cake for my cousin and he likes only milk chocolate so I thought I would do a milk choc. ganache for him.
Barbara, thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | May 23, 2008 5:20 PM #

I think I recall seeing a milk chocolate ganache somewhere in the recipes on Nick Malgieri's Web site -- www.nickmalgieri.com/recipes -- have to run off to eat dinner now so no time to verify if my (increasingly unreliable) memory is correct. I'm sure you'll enjoy looking at his recipes in any case!

Reply to this      Posted by: Barbara A. | May 23, 2008 5:11 PM #

Rozanne, do you want the ganache for coating or as filling/truffles? I have a few recipes for milk chocolate truffles but I use Rose's Milk Choc Buttercream (TCB pp250) for filling and coating cakes and it's simply divine.

Reply to this      Posted by: Annie | May 23, 2008 2:00 PM #

Does anyone have a good recipe for milk chocolate ganache? There isn't one in the Cake Bible except for the Burnt Almond one and since Hershey's doesn't make it anymore I'm not sure what other brand of milk chocolate to use considering every brand differs in terms of sugar and cocoa butter content. Thanks.

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | May 22, 2008 10:44 PM #

I thought of that too, Patricia, and was very careful about not overmixing this last time. I will keep trying when I get the time and this time will try the whisk attachment. Maybe that's the ticket!

Thank you!

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | September 15, 2007 12:24 AM #

I don't have my cake bible in front of me at the moment, but isn't there a warning about how overmixing can cause curdling in buttercream or ganache? (I think that's right, but I can't remember which)

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | September 11, 2007 9:46 PM #

Cathy, I use the Lindt white chocolate for my ganache and have never had a problem. So I don't think it is the chocolate that is causing the problem. I think the whisk attachment will definitely make a difference although I cannot think of why it is grainy. Maybe Rose will be able to help you out.

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | September 11, 2007 8:29 PM #

I've made the traditional chocolate version of the mousseline, but I haven't done the white chocolate version, but I'm sure it's similar.

I haven't made the Creme Ivoire Deluxe either, but Rose's description of it makes me wonder why I haven't. Will have to put that one on my baking to do list.

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | September 11, 2007 4:45 PM #

Thanks Patricia, I think I might. Is the consistency of the Creme Ivoire the same as mousseline?

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | September 11, 2007 4:40 PM #

Cathy - there is also a white chocolate mousseline variation.

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | September 11, 2007 2:51 PM #

Cathy - why don't you try the "Creme Ivoire Deluxe" buttercream recipe instead? (page 246)

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | September 11, 2007 10:54 AM #

Thank you, Patricia. It is so fantastic to have it! Yes, making Mousseline Buttercream is not 1/2 the production it used to be.

And now I would love to be able to make the white ganache in the same way. Just wonder if using the whisk attachment for the ganache will make a difference....?

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | September 11, 2007 10:41 AM #

Cathy - Congratulations on your new toy - I know you'll love it for years and years. In the past when we've moved, the movers always ask if there are any special items that shouldn't be packed... I always say, "Don't touch the KitchenAid" :).

Wow, I can't believe you were making the buttercream with a hand mixer, and I can't believe your hand mixer didn't go on strike! I don't know if that was the cause of your buttercream problems, but it's definitely possible. I think you'll notice a huge difference in how much easier the new KitchenAid will be for you. My baking changed dramatically when I bought a KitchenAid (it's so helpful to have the right equipment).

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | September 11, 2007 9:03 AM #

I'm using Manufacturing Cream from Smart & Final.

I just got my new Kitchen Aid Professional 600, and can't believe how wonderful it is! I just realized that b/c I didn't have a whip attachment for my hand mixer, I just used the regular beaters when I did the white choc ganaches. Do you think it may be a matter of the whip attachment vs. the regular beaters?

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | September 11, 2007 1:12 AM #

Cathy - when I'm mixing the heavy cream, I do so until the whip attachment leaves a defined trail in the cream. What kind of cream are you using?

Any advice here Rose?

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | September 10, 2007 1:43 PM #

Okay, I know something is wrong then. It is either something I'm doing or my white choc (Lindt)is still not good enough.

Maybe you can help me, Patricia? When Rose says to mix until "traces of beater marks just begin to show distinctly," does she mean while the beaters are beating? Does she mean when stopped, there are marks around the beaters?...I hate being so persnickety, but I would love to figure out what I may be doing wrong. I may be putting the cooled, melted white chocolate in too early or too late.

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | September 10, 2007 12:29 PM #

Smooth, silky, and oh soooo delicious!

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | September 8, 2007 11:34 AM #

That's a good tip about the paper towel. What should that white ganache look like when first made? Should it be smooth and silky at first?

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | September 7, 2007 8:56 PM #

Oh Cathy - the batch that I reheated didn't smooth our perfectly, but it was better than being totally grainy. When I reheated it, I smoothed it with an immersion blender because the food processor bowl was already in the sink and I didn't have time to wash/dry. Anyway, hope it works out for you.

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | September 7, 2007 5:10 PM #

Hi Cathy - What I do now is place the cold bowl of cold ganache on the counter and immediately place a paper towel or two on the surface of the cold ganache. The paper towel absorbs the condensation and peels right off once the ganache is room temp.

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | September 7, 2007 4:10 PM #

I think you're right, Patricia. How best do you bring it to room temp then?

I will try to reheat and see what happens. Hopefully I can save it!

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | September 7, 2007 12:57 PM #

Cathy - I experienced a similar problem with dark chocolate ganache that I had stored in the refrigerator. When placed the bowl of cold ganache on the counter to come to room temp, condensation formed on the ganache's surface. When that moisture was stirred into the batch of ganache, the whole bowl seized (became grainy). I was able to reheat it all and start again, but I'm quite sure the condensation was the reason why my ganache seized.

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | September 7, 2007 12:29 AM #

Okay. I made the white ganache once again using Lindt white choc. It started to look a tad grainy and I stopped mixing. It seemed okay in texture but not smooth and satiny like the Sour Cream Ganache had been.

Then I froze it for a few days until i was ready to work with it. When I thawed it today and stirred, the grainy texture seemed to get worse. So much so now that I'm not sure I can even use it.

My question is this....what is the texture suppose to look/be like for the white ganache?

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | September 6, 2007 11:38 PM #

Worth a road trip indeed!

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | August 21, 2007 11:32 AM #

I didn't know they had white choc too. Great! Yes, what I saw was the huge chunks and blocks. I love that place--worth any road trip!

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | August 21, 2007 11:18 AM #

Thanks Cathy - I've only purchased their dark chocolate in the tin (for your purse), it was fabulous, but you'd go broke if you baked a cake using a gazillion little tins of chocolate. They also sell huge blocks (11 lbs I think), and smaller chunks of the huge blocks for a more affordable price (they have white, milk, and dark to choose from). I haven't purchased any yet because I have quite a chocolate supply already, but I may just have to get some anyway - my curiosity is killing me. Our closest Trader Joe's is over an hour away, so I don't get there very often - I guess it's time for a road trip!

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | August 21, 2007 11:02 AM #

Great! Sour Cream Ganache can march on in a pinch! Thanks Rose.

Patricia, actually I have not. I just saw it in the store a few days ago but didn't buy it yet. I will now, though and get back to you. I'm not a big chocolate person, but I have heard from good sources (friends who are!) that their chocolate is extremely good. The amount you get for the money is very good too.

I'll let you know!

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | August 21, 2007 10:52 AM #

Oh Cathy - I've been waiting for someone to post about Trader Joe's chocolate. Have you eaten any by itself? How does the flavor/texture compare to higher quality national brands?

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | August 21, 2007 9:08 AM #

Thanks Rose & Rozanne. I will look for Lindt.

Rose, are you saying that aside from the Sour Cream Ganache, when you use 60 % to 62% chocolate, you add that amount of sugar?

I found a 54% Bittersweet at Trader Joes the other day--would this be satisfactory? Would that one percent still mess up my Sour Cream Ganache? (cracking and bitter)

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | August 21, 2007 1:46 AM #

Cathy, I use Lindt white chocolate. I also use Lindt Excellence Madagascar 65% cocoa chocolate or the Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips. I have not tried the Green and Black's chocolate as yet. I have tried the Green and Black's cocoa powder though b/c Rose recommended it and it is absolutely wonderful.
Rozanne

Reply to this      Posted by: Rozanne | August 17, 2007 9:03 PM #

Thank you Rose and Rozanne. Yes, it looks like from Ghirdelli's site, their dark chocolate has 60% cacao. Can I ask what brand of bittersweet choc you use?

I'm wondering if it is the white choc itself. The temp was completely cool when I added it. I know you suggest Green & Black or Valrhona ivoire, Rose, but I didn't have time to have it shipped. What kind do you use, Rozanne?
I would love to find some locally (So Cal) so I could get some in a pinch.

I appreciate all your help. I feel like I have 50 questions every minute...I have found myself (happily) in the middle of an evolving home cake design business, and am trying to stay ahead of my next order.

Reply to this      Posted by: Cathy | August 16, 2007 6:51 PM #