Hector's Last Take
Dec 05, 2011 | From the kitchen of Rose
Last Saturday was the 7th anniversary of this blog. It also coincidentally marked the grand finale of Hector's bake through of Rose's Heavenly Cakes.
Hector celebrated his great accomplishment by remaking the Pumpkin Cake with White Chocolate Orange Buttercream for Thanksgiving.
Details of how it was made will appear in a few weeks on Hector's My Yellow Kitchen Facebook Fan Page.
Hats off to Hector! Here's to other takes to come in the future!
(Iron chef here he comes!)
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Hector in reply to comment from Charlie
01/09/2012 05:00 PM
Charlie, thx u!
U don't need to have Facebook for my Facebook fansite. It is viewable by all an the direct link is www.facebook.com/myyellowkitchen
Happy baking H
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Charlie
01/09/2012 04:57 PM
Rose:
I don't have a facebook account.
Does hector have a website.
I would love to see how he does this.
It looks incredible!
Charlie
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Jim in reply to comment from Hector
12/11/2011 09:05 AM
Comfort first while working hard!!!! I think that is a good motto to live by. And the photo just proves presentation is important on ALL levels! :)
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Hector in reply to comment from Susan
12/10/2011 10:37 PM
Thxs Susan! I love pure orange oil because it does provide all the flavor of orange zest and orange extract sans any bitterness. Do you know that most all orange juices have orange oil added to it? Even saying 100% oj can mean added orange oil because orange oil is orange!
I get mines from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002X9K9M/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=myyelkit-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=B0002X9K9M
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Susan in reply to comment from Hector
12/10/2011 09:51 PM
Where would I purchase orange oil? It sounds like a wonderful thing to have around the kitchen.
The cake is so lovely! I really appreciate the way you left different streaks of color in the icing. It looks very sophisticated that way instead of just being an orange ball.
I am definitely signing up for the newsletter, too.
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Jenn
12/09/2011 05:34 PM
Congrats Hector. It is a beautiful cake. The leaves look so real.
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Chocolate Cake
12/07/2011 05:34 AM
nice job i love chocolate cake
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Hector
12/07/2011 12:06 AM
I haven't posted the recipe of my new take, but I can direct you here how it was decorated.
I used a combination of left over buttercreams: mousseline thinned out with triple the amount of lemon curd until it became runny at room temperature but bright yellow. mousseline with strawberry preserves and red food coloring. neoclassic buttercream with pistachio essence (from the Sicilian pistachio cake), white chocolate vanilla bean buttercream (from the golden dream wedding cake), and chocolate egg white buttercream.
all buttercreams where leftovers and kept frozen. All allowed to reach room temperature, then folded together until bright orange but leaving a few large streaks of red and yellow and brown so it will create the multi shades of orange which makes the pumpkin look alive.
first, I applied two crumb coats, setting the cake in the fridge for 2 hours after each coat. then a final coat.
the leaves are fondant. I started with dark red colored fondant and some little pieces of orange and green. I kneaded the fondant till the blended shades appeared. I cut each leaf freehand with a sharp paring knife and traced the veins with the back of the paring knife. The leaf pointed and irregularly thinned edges were done by pressing with my fingertips. I detest using leaf cutters because they don't look as natural, although faster to make. The fondant leaves were left drying a room temp overnight, resting on little bumpy beds made from crumbled plastic wrap.
The steam is chocolate fondant from the holiday pinecone cake.
The tendrils are also fondant.
Note that because of the large amount of lemon curd, the resulting buttercream and frosted cake needed to be kept in a cool room or refrigerated. This pumpkin cake doesn't use butter, so remains soft when refrigerated.
Oh, I also added 20 drops of orange oil to the buttercream. This is the best white chocolate orange buttercream I've ever tasted! The scent of orange oil is very noticeable, and matches the vanilla milk taste of white chocolate. This with the pumpkin cake, was a hit.
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Judy
12/06/2011 11:11 PM
Hector, you always amaze me, and I look forward to seeing and learning about everything you make.
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Jo
12/06/2011 03:04 PM
Not that he doesn't look good but a friend did send it to me and we both thought it looked like underwear and was questionable. Surprised us on Rose's blog... LOL
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Hector in reply to comment from Gene
12/06/2011 11:56 AM
Gene, than you! No one has lost their figure eating the 100 plus cakes I baked, including the wedding cakes and the giant cakes I made at farmers events.
It is very simple, eat real foods, not food substitutes, just eat a portion sized to your figure! Real sugar, real butter, real fats, are much faster to digest that their artificial substitutes. Sure they have more calories and cholesterol and high index glucoses, but the human body (and brain) NEEDS these! It is just a matter of how much.
Simple math, just multiply by 2 or by 4 the serving size of all cookbook recipes! if I want to eat one full serving every day, I will need to paddle every day for 3 hours!
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Hector
12/06/2011 11:32 AM
Dear readers, I apologize for anyone that I may offended because I like to wear white shorts in my kitchen. it was a photo shot campaign to promote the new aprons, head wear, and kitchen towels, I had bought.
The photo was taken in my kitchen where I wear my white shorts always.
Happy baking, I hope u like my cakes, no matter my fashions.
aloha ...
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mitzi
12/05/2011 11:02 PM
We didn't mind, really Hector, you have nothing to hide!
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Hector
12/05/2011 10:29 PM
Omg, I m better now.
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Rose Levy Beranbaum in reply to comment from Marie
12/05/2011 10:13 PM
oh dear--i was assuming he was wearing shorts as it's hawaii and hot in the kitchen but i'll ask him and if not i'll crop the photo!
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Marie
12/05/2011 10:11 PM
Why is he not wearing pants in this photo? It seems pretty odd to me.
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mitzi
12/05/2011 06:15 PM
Is he wearing Boxer briefs only?
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Flour Girl
12/05/2011 10:11 AM
Hector, you never fail to amaze and inspire. Congrats!
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Hector in reply to comment from Aunt JaneyJane
12/04/2011 05:44 PM
I finally had aprons custom made and love yours JaneyJane! Sorry the photo here is without one! Here are the photos prior I went "hats(apron) off"
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.320634814616006.86556.100000084691742&type=1&l=e41b42d111
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Aunt JaneyJane
12/04/2011 02:48 PM
Congrats, Hector! And thanks for being such a great advertisement of my aprons and accessories! You look grrrrrrrrreat!
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Jojo
12/04/2011 01:08 PM
Yum and the cake looks good too.
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Gene
12/04/2011 12:41 AM
All of those cakes. Congratulations on maintaining your figure.
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Julie
12/03/2011 05:40 PM
Congratulation on a job well done, friend! :)
Beautiful pumpkin cake, I look forward to following your projects on FB.
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