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One week. Seven days. In exactly one week I will be in New York, decorating cakes with Kelly Ripa and 14 stellar food bloggers on behalf of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Foodbuzz and Electrolux have a great few days planned for us. Meantime, I'm here at home in southern California, obsessing about cake and trying hard not to get sick. Yes, of course: My husband and both kids are sick, just when I absolutely have to stay healthy. I'm taking my vitamins, washing my hands and giving air hugs - that's about all I can do at this point, other than pray.
After that great cake lesson with Clemence of Gourmandise Desserts, I figured I was ready to try my very own cake. So yesterday I made this:
Unfortunately, I discovered that I…
View Full Recipe at In Erika's kitchen
%20and%20used%20triple%20sec%20instead%20of%20the%20rum%20the%20original%20recipe%20calls%20for.%20I%20think%20the%20cake,%20on%20its%20own,%20would%20have%20been%20okay.%20But%20I%20overbaked%20it.%20So%20it%20was%20dry.%20Pretty,%20though:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThanks%20to%20Clemence,%20I%20knew%20enough%20to%20let%20it%20cool%20all%20the%20way%20through.%20And%20I%20had%20no%20trouble%20splitting%20it%20into%20two%20layers.%20But%20I%20forgot%20to%20even%20out%20the%20top.%20Ah%20well,%20I%20figured,%20I'll%20just%20turn%20it%20upside%20down%20and%20put%20the%20cut%20side%20up.%20But%20the%20top%20layer%20was%20domed%20enough%20to%20make%20a%20big%20gap%20between%20the%20top%20and%20bottom%20layers.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EAnd%20then%20there%20was%20the%20frosting.%20I%20wasn't%20brave%20enough%20to%20try%20the%20Swiss%20buttercream%20Clemence%20had%20made;%20somehow,%20the%20raw%20egg%20thing%20made%20me%20nervous,%20even%20though%20Clemence%20assured%20me%20that%20the%20sugar%20syrup%20cooked%20the%20eggs%20thoroughly.%20But%20the%20whipped%20ganache,%20that%20was%20something%20I%20thought%20I%20could%20manage.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWrong.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20made%20a%20ganache%20with%20my%20normal%20ratio%20of%20one%20pound%20of%20chocolate%20(Trader%20Joe's%2072%20percent%20Pound%20Plus%20bar)%20to%20one%20cup%20of%20cream;%20to%20accent%20the%20orange%20flavor,%20I%20infused%20the%20hot%20cream%20with%20the%20zest%20of%20another%20lovely%20Cara%20Cara%20navel%20before%20I%20poured%20it%20over%20the%20chocolate.%20I%20let%20it%20cool.%20I%20put%20it%20in%20the%20mixer%20with%20the%20whisk%20attachment%20and%20turned%20it%20on.%20But%20instead%20of%20becoming%20a%20light,%20fluffy,%20mousse-like%20puff%20like%20Clemence's,%20mine%20was%20an%20oily,%20curdled%20mess.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ENo,%20I%20didn't%20take%20a%20picture%20of%20it.%20I%20was%20too%20busy%20crying.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EI%20pulled%20the%20mixture%20off%20the%20mixer,%20stuck%20the%20bowl%20over%20some%20simmering%20water,%20and%20melted%20it%20again%20until%20it%20was%20smooth.%20I%20left%20it%20to%20cool%20again,%20longer%20this%20time.%20And%20when%20I%20whipped%20it%20the%20second%20time,%20I%20did%20it%20at%20a%20lower%20speed.%20It%20worked,%20more%20or%20less.%20Still%20never%20got%20as%20mousse-like%20as%20Clemence's.%20But%20it%20was%20spreadable.%20So%20I%20spread%20it%20over%20the%20bottom%20layer,%20then%20over%20the%20top%20and%20sides%20of%20the%20cake.%20Unfortunately,%20because%20of%20the%20upside-down%20domed%20top,%20there%20were%20some%20big%20gaps%20on%20the%20sides,%20which%20I%20filled%20in%20with%20frosting.%20You%20can%20see%20the%20effect%20of%20that%20in%20the%20slice%20I%20cut:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESee%20the%20notch%20of%20pure%20ganache?%20That's%20where%20the%20cake%20layers%20didn't%20come%20together%20and%20I%20used%20the%20frosting%20to%20hide%20it.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EHere's%20the%20problem%20with%20whipped%20ganache,%20or%20any%20ganache%20for%20that%20matter:%20At%20room%20temperature,%20it's%20pretty%20much%20solid.%20Either%20I%20should%20have%20added%20more%20cream%20when%20I%20first%20made%20it,%20or%20I%20didn't%20whip%20it%20long%20enough,%20or%20something,%20but%20this%20was%20basically%20like%20cake%20surrounded%20by%20truffles.%20Not%20what%20I%20was%20going%20for.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESo,%20lessons%20learned:%20Add%20a%20little%20more%20oil%20to%20the%20cake%20batter%20to%20keep%20it%20moist.%20Make%20buttercream%20instead%20of%20ganache.%20And%20level%20the%20top%20of%20the%20cake,%20assuming%20your%20memory%20is%20better%20than%20mine.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EMy%20colleagues%20still%20polished%20it%20off.%20After%20all,%20chocolate%20cake%20is%20chocolate%20cake.%20But%20next%20time%20-%20better.%3C/p%3E){kind=link}