Carol - 23 April 2008 01:23 PM

Help! I need some inspiration. Somebody asked me for a 60th birthday cake for a party, and they want chocolate. No other instructions except the birthday boy likes his cakes fairly plain, dense and flavorful. Not as dense as Rose’s Choc Oblivion Truffle torte, which is why we talked about a regular butter cake. Probably a 9x13 sheet, possibly 2 layers.

Have looked at all my books, and I’m drawing a blank. Maybe because I couldn’t get any clear sense from her of what flavours they like. Any ideas? Thanks!

Not sure if you’re still taking suggestions (have you baked the cake yet?)

I wouldn’t go with fruit/choc combo because some people may not like fruit, or may not like the particular fruit used.

I think go chocolate all the way. Whipped ganache filling with chocolate buttercream on the outside.  Choose a not so high in cocoa chocolate; dark chocolate is an acquired taste and milk chocolate is usually a crowd pleaser… then again, this depends on the crowd.

Thanks, Julius and everyone else who posted. I haven’t heard back from the lady. She was supposed to call yesterday to finalize the arrangements. Seems like her request for something ultra simple was code for “something cheap.” There’s a place for inexpensive baked goods, but I don’t wanna be the baker who provides them. I’m glad that I was tactful but also clear about my preference for using quality ingredients, however simple and uncomplicated the design.

Carol - 05 May 2008 03:31 PM

I haven’t heard back from the lady. She was supposed to call yesterday to finalize the arrangements. Seems like her request for something ultra simple was code for “something cheap.” There’s a place for inexpensive baked goods, but I don’t wanna be the baker who provides them. I’m glad that I was tactful but also clear about my preference for using quality ingredients, however simple and uncomplicated the design.

Good for you! Tactful but clear is a great combination for communicating with customers. I agree, you can get cheap (but NOT good) cakes at all sorts of places. Stick to those quality ingredients and the folks who really like GOOD cakes will find you and appreciate you!

An update, folks! The birthday boy’s wife emailed confirmation a day late. I had to hustle to fill her order, but was able to fit it in. I compromised though not on the quality of the ingredients—just the amount of cake batter. That gave her a price she was willing to pay. So it’s still a two-layer choc butter cake with raspberry ganache filling, white chocolate mousseline bc and a little decoration in dark chocolate. The syrup had a touch of framboise.

I bumped the batter for the 12x18 sheet to max (Rose 8), cut the cake in half to create two cakes, put one in the freezer for future use and sliced the other horizontally for her order. Originally was going to bake the 12 x 18 at Rose 7 and give her both sides torted. In effect, she’s getting almost half the cake and is okay with that because to her, it’s just a token thing. You bring out a cake with candles because it’s a birthday, and everyone just has a little taste. hmmm Hope her guests have the same philosophy.

Have learned a couple of things (in addition to more about dealing with people). I love the raspberry ganache! Had never made it before. Mixed a bit of it with some extra bc to see what that would be like for another cake filling or frosting. Yummy! Looks like a milk chocolate bc, but has an extra flavour that’s hard to identify. Very silky, too. If I’d done that experiment first, probably would have used it for the filling instead of straight ganache.

Another lesson is that baking a 12 x 18 to cut in half and torte sounds like a good time-saver to get a 9x12. But with shrinkage, you end up with roughly 8 x 11. Looks odd and kind of skimpy when you’re used to the more conventional rectangle from baking in a 9x13 pan.

I’m having fun with it, so that makes it all worthwhile. Thanks again for your suggestions. Will try to get a decent picture and post it next week.