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A Pumpkin Cake to Share
I had to share with you...
From: Cathy Waller Subject: Happy Halloween! To: RoseI just wanted to share with you a little of what I've been up to. I brought this to a Halloween party last night, and it was a hit! It was 4 layers of Perfect All-American Chocolate Cake with Orange flavored Mousseline Buttercream filling and icing. One of the best compliments, besides its spectacular taste, was that most people thought it was a centerpiece, not a cake.
Next is a 3-tiered anniversary cake and another sculpted cake to feed 100. Thanks, friends, for all your encouragement, help and support!
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This is the most beautiful pumpkin I have ever seen.How many days/hours does it take to complete everything? I am new so just curious. Thanks.
Reply to this Posted by: Sangeeta | December 6, 2007 11:43 AM #
Thanks Rozanne! I think the sculpting & decorating took me about 3 hours in all. This includes the leaves made (ahead of time). I let the leaves dry/harden for an afternoon out in the open, then placed them in single layer in a ziplock bag. This made it possible to mold and shape them against the pumpkin when I was ready to put them in place since they were still pliable.
I had made the cakes and buttercream/filling ahead, so that 3 hours doesn't include that.
Reply to this Posted by: Cathy | November 8, 2007 11:33 PM #
Great job Cathy. Very creative. How long did it take you to complete the whole cake?
Reply to this Posted by: Rozanne | November 8, 2007 4:09 PM #
Sandra & Cathy,
It was baked in layers--4 (2 8" & 2 9"--the 9"ers in the middle) and it was pretty easy to cut. Cutting horizontally through the middle and then down gave us two pieces at once.
I find sculpting to be a lot of fun. I carve the cake frozen as it is just beginning to thaw or very cold. This keeps it from chunking off.
Reply to this Posted by: Cathy | November 8, 2007 10:28 AM #
This is a WORK OF ART--and having made the PA-ACC recipe many times, I also know that it is exquisite to consume...thus avoiding one of my pet hates, the "gorgeous" but utterly inedible cake. (I have a particular loathing for elaborate constructions that are only "technically edible" but not meant to be eaten; what's the idea, that they won't poison the dog if he gets to them? But I digress...)
...anyway, I'm thinking of making tiny cupcake-pumpkins now...we've been mainlining Downy Yellow Buttercake cupcakes around here and it's time to take it to the next level!
Rose is a goddess, bakers rule, etc....
Reply to this Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush | November 8, 2007 9:27 AM #
A beautiful display! I have been leary about carving cake, but I think even I could carve a pumpkin. I think I'll try this for Thanksgiving! I do think I would use a "tier" technique for easy serving. Thank you so much for the idea!
Reply to this Posted by: Cathy Wernli | November 8, 2007 9:08 AM #
Beautiful pumpkin cake. Was this baked in a special pan or in layers? God Bless, Sandy
Reply to this Posted by: Sandra Bell | November 8, 2007 7:27 AM #
Cathy, The cake is beautiful!!
Reply to this Posted by: Cathy | November 8, 2007 6:38 AM #
Cathy, the answer to your question is YES! and got all in photos!
Reply to this Posted by: Hector | November 7, 2007 2:18 PM #
Thank you, Hector. Are you discovering any great finds in Italy?
Reply to this Posted by: Cathy | November 7, 2007 2:12 PM #
the most delicious pumpkin I've seen!
Reply to this Posted by: Hector | November 7, 2007 3:03 AM #
Neat - I learn something everyday! I always love the challenging of figuring out something clever for composing a cake - especially if it can easily be hidden from public eyes.
Reply to this Posted by: Zach Townsend | November 6, 2007 4:00 PM #
That is an interesting idea, Zach. I might have to think about that. This was not covered in fondant, however. It was in Mouselline buttercream. But I'm sure it could still work. Just have to keep it smooth over the two tiers.
Reply to this Posted by: Cathy | November 6, 2007 4:00 PM #
Zach - yes, that is how a very tall wedding tier is constructed, only foam core is used for the divider instead of cardboard.
Reply to this Posted by: Patrincia | November 6, 2007 3:58 PM #
Whoops, I tried posting a link for the definition, and it may not have gone through.
Thank you guys!
I believe sugar dough and gum paste terms are basically interchangeable. It is defined as a more pliable gumpaste by baking911.com.
Sylvia Weinstock uses it interchangeably. I get an excellent quality sugar dough from Kereks. The consistency is perfect, and they sell it in a 5 lb container.
Reply to this Posted by: Cathy | November 6, 2007 3:58 PM #
Interesting thought about the slicing. With a cake like this, seems it would be possible to create a "stacked" cake similar to a wedding cake where the top and bottom sections can be pulled apart and sliced as two cakes. The top section would, I supposed, be resting on a cake board. The break in the cake could be covered by the fondant. It would require a little deconstruction to remove the two cake layers but I'm sure something creative can be accomplished to make that part easy...fun to figure out.
Reply to this Posted by: Zach Townsend | November 6, 2007 3:52 PM #
If someone were to say "sugar dough" to me I'd automatically think pâte sucrée.
Reply to this Posted by: Zach Townsend | November 6, 2007 3:20 PM #
Cathy - Excellent, excellent cake!!!
Rose - Yes, some people do call fondant sugar dough.
Reply to this Posted by: Patrincia | November 6, 2007 3:16 PM #
Cathy...this cake is spectacular...just beautiful!
Reply to this Posted by: Bill | November 6, 2007 2:11 PM #
is sugar dough fondant by another name?
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | November 6, 2007 1:18 PM #
Thank you. The leaves were made of sugar dough, colored with paste, veined, and brushed with petal dust and luster. Pistachio marzipan is a great idea. I have worked with sugar dough mostly in the past and prefer its consistency, so I used that.
The cake was about 8 3/4" to 9" tall (4- 2" layers + filling). So the pieces were very tall! They looked beautiful, but even thinly sliced it was a bit more than THE PORTION TELLER would recommend. :) Therefore, later, I began to slice horizontally around the middle to do just what you said, Zach. That worked well. But I'd suggest cutting a tall piece first, then cutting horizontally so you can see where you're cutting and don't cut right into the filling.
It was a lot of fun.
Reply to this Posted by: Cathy | November 6, 2007 1:08 PM #
So impressive and definitely more like a center piece! How tall is the cake? I'm curious when you slice it, how tall does that make one piece? do you slice the cake around the middle to divide the height?
Zach
Reply to this Posted by: Zach Townsend | November 6, 2007 10:17 AM #
Beautiful cake and beautiful picture Cathy! Did you use pistachio marzipan for the leaves?
Reply to this Posted by: Matthew | November 6, 2007 8:53 AM #