cake stuff
Oct. 1st, 2008 11:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
verbicideDavid Lebovitz's German Chocolate Cake
So, yesterday was Sarah's birthday dinner. It was so nice. Her roommate and friend, Tanielle, made us filet mignon and we sauteed some zucchini and roasted cherry tomatoes. It was fantastic! And Emily and I had assembled the cake we baked over the weekend.
It was my first German Chocolate cake and I was mostly pleased with how it turned out. Emily was a fantastic sous chef.
The filling quantity was a little sparse; I would actually double it if I made the recipe again. The texture of the cake was quite nice, velvety and fluffy. I also like Lebovitz's icing, though the directions should really tell you to stick it in the fridge for a bit so it solidifies from the liquid-y chocolate goodness it initially is.
The cake was very soft and delicate, so even lifting it from the cooling rack was a trick. It started to crack and I was really worried about slicing the layers later on. But, since I had to refrigerate it for a couple of nights, that really worked in m favor. The cold layers held together just fine for slicing. The coconut-pecan filing was really stiff (also refrigerated), and time was an issue, so I nuked it in 10-second increments until it was soft and pliable.
Layer cakes are really just damn fun to make. I think they're my favorite thing, actually.
Once the icing chilled, it was really easy to frost the sides--much easier than the buttercreams I've worked with. There's just enough icing to properly ice the sides and then pipe a decorative border on the top and bottom. I wish I'd let the icing cool a bit more, because it was still a degree too soft and Emily and I had a hilarious time with her turning the wheel (too fast! too slow!) for me to get my bearings. Also, I would have liked a slightly larger star tip than the one I used.
So, it looked a little lopsided and uneven. But I was pretty happy with the taste! I would definitely make this again. I didn't like how it looked enough to take pictures, though I probably should so I measure my own improvements!
Lots of lessons learned, which is always worth the cost of making something new.
So, yesterday was Sarah's birthday dinner. It was so nice. Her roommate and friend, Tanielle, made us filet mignon and we sauteed some zucchini and roasted cherry tomatoes. It was fantastic! And Emily and I had assembled the cake we baked over the weekend.
It was my first German Chocolate cake and I was mostly pleased with how it turned out. Emily was a fantastic sous chef.
The filling quantity was a little sparse; I would actually double it if I made the recipe again. The texture of the cake was quite nice, velvety and fluffy. I also like Lebovitz's icing, though the directions should really tell you to stick it in the fridge for a bit so it solidifies from the liquid-y chocolate goodness it initially is.
The cake was very soft and delicate, so even lifting it from the cooling rack was a trick. It started to crack and I was really worried about slicing the layers later on. But, since I had to refrigerate it for a couple of nights, that really worked in m favor. The cold layers held together just fine for slicing. The coconut-pecan filing was really stiff (also refrigerated), and time was an issue, so I nuked it in 10-second increments until it was soft and pliable.
Layer cakes are really just damn fun to make. I think they're my favorite thing, actually.
Once the icing chilled, it was really easy to frost the sides--much easier than the buttercreams I've worked with. There's just enough icing to properly ice the sides and then pipe a decorative border on the top and bottom. I wish I'd let the icing cool a bit more, because it was still a degree too soft and Emily and I had a hilarious time with her turning the wheel (too fast! too slow!) for me to get my bearings. Also, I would have liked a slightly larger star tip than the one I used.
So, it looked a little lopsided and uneven. But I was pretty happy with the taste! I would definitely make this again. I didn't like how it looked enough to take pictures, though I probably should so I measure my own improvements!
Lots of lessons learned, which is always worth the cost of making something new.
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no subject
Date: 2008-10-01 09:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-02 01:51 am (UTC)