I’m very excited about this one!

If any of you have made this & you learned a few things whilst I would appreciate any tips.

Thanks.

Hi Barbara, it is one of my first Cake Bible cakes, and indeed well written. 

1- Beat the eggs until the volume indicated, for me, it always takes a few more minutes.  There is no need to warm the eggs on this genoise recipe, but be sure, eggs are room temp.

2- Chocolate must be completely cool prior to folding.

3- JB Prince Matfer giant balloon whisk is a must have.  You can give it a good fold on this genoise with minimal air loss, and no flour pebbles at the bottom.

4- If your room is cooler than 70oF, your chocolate praline sheets will not wrap around.  A hair drier helps, but I never have good luck with it.  I rather go to a 80oF room!  Placing the praline sheets as shards works well, too, as I had to for Elaine’s 7-cake wedding.

Good luck, report back.  /H

P.S.  Don’t forget the frangelico in the syrup, the amount is so minimal that no-one notices this cake has a bit of alcohol.  Frangelico intensifies the taste of chocolate on the cake.

Alright, I made a variation of the cake…

I chickened out w/the praline sheet on top so I did chocolate fondant instead.

One of my friends was at the party the cake was at & gave me honest feedback.

She said the actual cake was really good & moist. She said the ganache “sheet” over it was good, the chocolate buttercream was good BUT the chocolate fondant seemed dry & to “candyish”. I ended up writing the name & doing the border (it was a 1/2 sheet) in white chocolate which they loved.

Do you know what I did wrong w/the fondant?

She thankfully said though it was a huge hit & there was none left; but I have to figure out the fondant/sheet thing so it can me more a success next time.

Thanks!

Alright, I made a variation of the cake…

I chickened out w/the praline sheet on top so I did chocolate fondant instead.

One of my friends was at the party the cake was at & gave me honest feedback.

She said the actual cake was really good & moist. She said the ganache “sheet” over it was good, the chocolate buttercream was good BUT the chocolate fondant seemed dry & to “candyish”. I ended up writing the name & doing the border (it was a 1/2 sheet) in white chocolate which they loved.

Do you know what I did wrong w/the fondant?

She thankfully said though it was a huge hit & there was none left; but I have to figure out the fondant/sheet thing so it can me more a success next time.

BTW, my friend called it the PMS cake ~ because that’s what women crave whilst… ~ anyway, I thought that was funny.

Thanks!

Barbara, then that is not a Triple Chocolate Cake =)

I’ve just made this one, on a kitchen 30 degrees cooler than what I am used to, I brought my hair dryer to work around, but still could not have the time to wait it drape, so this version of Triple Chocolate Cake was born!

http://www.hectorwong.com/roselevy/ElaineAndMatt4.html

hair dryer?  Great idea ... isn’t it funny what we pull into the kitchen!

Barbara - don’t be too worried about the fondant comment from your friend… fondant is one of those things people either love or hate… just because she wasn’t particularly fond of it doesn’t mean others felt that way too.  Anyway, I find fondant is best tolerated by most palates when rolled as thin as possible.

Patrincia - 19 September 2008 07:57 AM

hair dryer?  Great idea ... isn’t it funny what we pull into the kitchen!

Barbara - don’t be too worried about the fondant comment from your friend… fondant is one of those things people either love or hate… just because she wasn’t particularly fond of it doesn’t mean others felt that way too.  Anyway, I find fondant is best tolerated by most palates when rolled as thin as possible.

I bet it was way too thick… I’m still learning to work w/it. I find when I roll it out to thin it starts shredding or splitting.
Any suggestions working w/fondant would be appreciated.

Hector, that was just an awesome cake! Congrats… I know it wasn’t a triple chocolate cake but it was my intention and that’s why I called it a “variation”. I guess I should have called it “a way, way, way variation.  My little ones are not always willilng to let me work so I get desperate and frazzled sometimes.

Anyhow, I really like the cake!

Are you making Rose’s fondant recipe or purchasing pre-made?  If you’re making it… are you making the correct substitution to compensate for the newly formulated “0 transfat” shortening?