Hi Hector, I used biscuit de savoie for the top 2 layers with caramel bc as the filling between them and as the frosting over all. It’s only the third layer, the cake’s base, that I cut from biscuit roulade (almond version) and topped with peach cloud cream. It doesn’t show up that well in the picture, but the contrast was very nice having a thin, darker layer at the bottom of the cake echoing both the flavour and colour of the nuts on the side.

The caramel pieces did look pretty much like the picture, and I agree that they’re too dark, too thick and have too many nuts. I saw the picture of Rose’s Copper Topper cake on our website with its lovely thin, translucent shards and can’t wait to try again. Thanks for the tips!

Your world cake project is awesome btw. I read about it with great interest and have been silently cheering you on! Look forward to an update. But with it due next week — March 22nd, right? — you’re probably too busy doing it to stop and write about the project! Being so busy, you’ve been a doll to stop and give me advice on the Copper Topper!

Carol, you are becoming my favorite friend!  On the recipe, it says to lay a single layer of unblanched sliced almonds (sliced almonds that still have the brown ski).  Single layer, about 1 or 2 apart.  That should help.

I am wanting to eat almond biscuit roulade NOW!

Katie is all over me.  I’ve just computed the square inches of cake, and I think I have sufficient ‘Hector’s Cupcakes’ to fill her world!  These cupcakes are made from 1” sheets of Savoiardi, round cake cutouts in 3 sizes (1-inch, 2-inch, and 3-inch).  Half are chocolate.  3 sizes of roses.  It should resemble this:

http://www.hectorwong.com/roselevy/RoseCupcakeRingGenoise.html

posted on:

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2007/03/hectors_4layer_moist_chocolate.html#comment-63911

I am a bit concerned because the roses are all blue, which is the color that people try to avoid eating since it isn’t naturally present in any food!  But we felt, making an ocean of chocolate, pineapple caramel, espresso, raspberry, cherry, and kumquat roses will be a bit hard to explain… ocean trash?

BTW, I am almost done with prepping all the continents, except North America is missing, I’ve noticed since the stencil I drew is still unused and clean.  I shared this with Katie and she said “I know now who discovered America!”

Katie’s friends, Wendy and Kim, are coming over this weekend to help me build this 4 feet box and box cover for the cake.  The cake board is done, and we worked it out to make this giant cake board out of many layers of cardboard with a thin wood insert; initially I was planning to cut my mothers wood mattress board!

Reynolds should be proud because I have been using rolls and rolls of foil.

Now, I am up for piping the tiny 1/2 inch roses.  That should take much wrist action.

I am really overshooting the amount of roses and ‘cupcakes’ so expect many sidekick cakes in the near months.  Mousseline keeps frozen for 1 year, and Savoiardi for a few months.

I have to repeat myself, Hector. That world cake project is awesome, and so are you! I hope you will post photos and a recap of your design and production process in the Show and Tell part of the forum. No one will want to miss the details of how you pulled off another huge, creative project!

Sorry for the delay in responding to your last post. I got caught up in the home stretch of doing my cake, which I’m calling “Peach Cloud Copper Topper.” I’ll attach a photo. It was a big hit at Saturday’s luncheon party. My friends smiled indulgently as I went on about what fun it was to make and what I learned from this aspect and that aspect. I keep forgetting that non-cake buddies mostly like the eating part! Thank goodness, I can come here and enthuse about the details.

For example, you would have laughed about the caramel pieces. Saturday a.m. at the last minute, I decided to try one last time to get a thinner, more translucent effect. But oops, I only had 3/4 cup of sugar left in the house—including what was in the sugar bowl! How did that happen? Went ahead, and it was magic. At least, it was a big improvement. Hooray!! My mistake btw, was following sugar melting instructions from a book other than Rose’s. Your tip about using the oven to help fill in the gaps was also a big help!

Hello Carol, THANKS for sharing.  Your cake looks wonderful, and more than that it looks DELICIOUS.  Your caramel pieces look so wonderful thin and translucent, and how did you cut them so evenly?  I guess you had a mold for it! (I would, out of aluminum foil).  I love the height, too.  I see your creativity all over from the original Copper Topper.

Your star looks beautiful.

For Katie’s World Cake, I have finished 90% of the components.  Saturday morning will be a big day, where I need to put together this 4-feet world map out of tiny Hector’s Cupcakes, I am going to feel like a mosaic or collage sculptor more than a baker.  Last night I placed the cake board on my work table, and I will try to photograph as it gets filled.  I think the cake’s highlight (thing to remember) will be all the hand labor onto it; I hope everyone will agree there will be no other cake in the WORLD with these many buttercream roses!  This cake can be named World of Rose.

I need to spend the upcoming days on scheduling how to refrigerate and thaw the cake components.  I don’t want any condensation to happen as it can turn the tiny Savoiardi cakes or the wonderful Sweet Coconut Tart Crust into mush!

Ooh, Carol, beautiful cake! I can see the improvement in your caramel pieces—good work!

Bravo Carol - lovely cake!!!

Carol, I’ve place a picture of Katie’s World Cake, the blank canvas at

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2007/04/mousseline_buttercream_in_a_to.html#comment-89772

Wow! Thanks everyone. Wasn’t able to visit the blog the last couple of days. What a treat to come back and find your lovely comments.

Hector, I’ve been thinking of you all week and sending good cake-building vibes! You don’t really need any magic though, to turn what you call your “pile of cardboard and foil” into cake. You have a ton of talent and all the skills you’ve developed in working on some amazing pastry projects! But I know what you mean. Sometimes we ask ourselves, “What have I got myself into?!!!”

In answer to your question about the caramel pieces, I didn’t use a mold or pattern to get similar-sized shards. After taking the baking pan out of the oven, briefly tipped it this way and that to fill in a few remaining blank spots. Set it down on top of an upended baking pan on my counter with the long side facing me. Then took a sharp knife and eyeballed horizontal cuts about 2 1/2” apart. With 3/4 cup sugar, that gave me two rows. Then made vertical diagonal cuts, again eyeballing it to get triangles all roughly the same size. The caramel was sticky, especially at first. Kept a chunk of butter handy to slide my knife through, and that helped. Hope that’s clear.

Great tip on the butter!!!

Carol, actually, I prefer the look of the random and rough caramel pieces!  per la original Copper Topper from Rose’s Celebrations!

Katie’s World Cake is coming along, and you describe my state exactly!  I need to make miracles happen.  Last night I baked the tart shells, and not all came out beautiful.  I’ve learned one thing:  tart crusts should be handled with care, and in as much as possible be left in the pan.  North America cracked in 5 pieces!  Well, this just tells that the crust is nice and flaky!  The crusts sit airtight, they should remain fresh for tomorrow, as it is just a cookie and those last months.

I was going to fill the tarts tomorrow afternoon prior to the party, but I will compromise and do tonight instead.  Katie will need to deal with less than freshly made tarts!  Actually, shelf life refrigerated is 3 days, so….... but Matthew agrees that this type of tart is best tasting when freshly done.  Who will notice anyways when there is so much going on at the party, foods, drinks, costumes, entertainment, etc.  And I am hoping the people get distracted with the BIG world instead of the minute details.

I got 2 full time cake assistants for tomorrow to put together the mosaic of cupcakes, one is very detailed and perfect, they are not getting paid, but I am already telling them from now that I expect perfection.  I don’t want even a single rose petal to be damaged, since this is my LOVE (and almost my blood), and even if there will be hundreds of roses, I still care of each rose like Rose!

On Wednesday, my cake assistants begged me to test to fit the cake board in my car, even I measure everything carefully.  Glad I ran this test, because (as I once thought) my door is too narrow to get the cake out of my kitchen, but I do have a window that I can take out, and that worked.  Indeed, the cake board fitted in my car, in fact, it was made according to the dimensions and shape of my car!

This was my dinner last night, healthy and wholesome.  But I made the mistake to eat about 3 chocolates after, so I had a hard time sleeping sound!  The chocolates were excellent in any case, from Peru, who claims the Inkas were the first people to grow Cacao!

Dramatic Hector…