Photos by Nathan Pask
Going For Gold…
Today we have a devilishly delicious chocolate ganache cake recipe to share with you, created by one of our favourite cake bakers Natasha from Nevie Pie Cakes
This recipe is part of her book ‘The Homemade Wedding Cake’ which is available from Murdoch Books, £20 – so if you are looking to make your own wedding cake make sure to check it out!
To make the sponge…
Prep: 30 minutes
Ingredients are for one 7” cake
100 g (3½ oz) unsalted butter
100 g (3½ oz) unrefined sugar
Zest and juice of half an orange
100 g (3½ oz) self-raising flour
2 eggs
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
- Grease and line the relevant-size cake tin(s).
- Beat the butter and sugar together with the orange zest for at least 5 minutes. The mixture should become noticeably paler and take on a fluffy appearance.
- Add the eggs (one at a time) and beat them in well. If the mixture stars to curdle, add a spoonful of the flour and beat again.
- Sift the flour into the mixture and use a large spoon to gently fold it in.
- Stir in the orange juice.
- Spoon the batter into the cake tin. Bake for 20–25 minutes. The cake is ready when the top feels firm but springy to the touch and a cake tester or skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the ganache…
Prep: 5 minutes plus up to 2 hours cooling time.
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) dark chocolate (54% cocoa)
250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) orange juice
Heat the orange juice in a pan until boiling, pour over the chocolate and leave for a few minutes then stir. Allow to cool for an hour or until the mixture is thick enough to spread but not solid.
Decorating the cakes…
Prep: 5–10 minutes
Equipment
Medium round-tipped paintbrush
1/3–3/4 of a 25 ml (1 fl oz) bottle of edible gold paint
- Pour the gold paint onto the top of the cake tier.
The layer of paint should be fairly thin, but thick enough so that you cannot see the ganache underneath. Spread it out with the paintbrush continuing up to and then over the edges. - You should find that drips are starting to form. Use the brush to control the drips, encouraging some to drip more by pulling them down a little; if you feel a drip is dripping too far, scrape a little of it off. If there are gaps in the line of drips then pour a little more paint in the relevant spaces. Leave the paint to dry overnight.
Fro more information about Nevie Pie Cakes and how to book a wedding cake, visit the website HERE
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